The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2026 NBA Draft with the #9 pick, the #30 pick and a fair amount of trade rumors swirling around them. After selecting Morez Johnson, Jr. at #9, things went dreadfully quiet on the trade front. As subsequent picks were made and the minutes ticked by, it seemed apparent that Dallas would be making a selection at #30 instead of packaging that pick with a veteran in an effort to move up the draft board. Any hope at picking up a young guard to help in the rebuild looked bleak.
Dallas, TX
The best Cowboys players from Week 18, according to PFF
The Cowboys accomplished their mission – beating the Commanders – and were rewarded with an NFC East title. They won big too, with a 38-10 score to give Dallas the second-best point differential in the NFL for the season.
They did that with a few standout performances from their standout players. Here are the highest graded players from the game, according to Pro Football Focus.
Offense puts up a strong performance on the road
The Cowboys’ struggles on the road have been well-documented this year, and much of that has revolved around the offense. That wasn’t the case at all against the Commanders, though, as Dallas put up 440 total yards of offense and averaged 6.4 yards per play.
WR CeeDee Lamb – 86.0
CeeDee Lamb had a great finish to the best year of his career. He caught all 13 of his targets for 98 yards and two touchdowns, doing just about whatever he wanted against the Commanders secondary. Seven of his receptions went for a first down, and 41 of his yards came after the catch.
RB Tony Pollard – 80.7
Tony Pollard hit the 1,000 yard mark in this game, which is good enough on its own, but Pollard had one of his best games of the year too. He totaled 70 rushing yards on 17 carries with a touchdown, providing several very good runs. It’s just the latest in a string of games where Pollard has looked like his former self.
Since Week 9, Tony Pollard ranked 3rd in PFF rushing grade, 5th in yards after contact and 3rd in missed tackles forced.
TP playing his best ball when it matters most. #Cowboys
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) January 8, 2024
TE Jake Ferguson – 80.6
CeeDee Lamb wasn’t the only Cowboy with a perfect catch percentage in this game. Jake Ferguson was targeted six times and caught all six of them for 69 yards. His 44 yards after the catch was crucial in moving the chains, which he did on all but one of his receptions.
QB Dak Prescott – 80.4
It’s crazy to think that Dak Prescott only comes in fourth on offense in player grade, but it also speaks volumes about the performance of the three guys ahead of him. Prescott completed a ridiculous 86.5% of his passes for 282 yards with four touchdowns. While he did throw an interception, Prescott finished the day with zero turnover worthy plays, a reflection of how the tipped pass turned pick wasn’t his fault.
Defense recovers from sluggish start to dominate
Things started out poorly for the Dallas defense, as they got beat repeatedly on the Commanders’ opening drive before making a stop on fourth down. Then, they gave up a touchdown on a short field. But from that point on, this defense put a foot in the ground and dominated, with 10 different players recording a player grade above 75.0 for the game.
CB DaRon Bland – 91.1
What a way for DaRon Bland to cap his 2023 regular season. As has been the case lately, Bland wasn’t thrown at much, with just three targets all night. That was all it took, though, and Bland came up with an interception on a deep shot late in the game. It marked his league-leading ninth interception of the year, a great end to a great season.
S Donovan Wilson – 89.9
Donovan Wilson has been on a heater lately, with his three best player grades of the season coming in the last five weeks. He was great against Washington, tallying five tackles and a pass breakup in addition to a pretty impressive interception.
EDGE DeMarcus Lawrence – 85.3
DeMarcus Lawrence turned in a classic performance on Sunday, not dominating in any one area but playing stout defense in every facet. He had a pressure, a hit, a batted pass, and two run stops on the day, once again showcasing his all-around talent.
CB Jourdan Lewis – 83.1
Much like Donovan Wilson, Jourdan Lewis is hitting his stride at the perfect time. After being picked on for most of the year, Lewis has clamped down in coverage while his physicality in the run game has returned. His signature play on Sunday saw Lewis rip the ball out of the running back’s hands and then recover it right away for an impact takeaway.
EDGE Micah Parsons – 83.0
Crazy but true: Micah Parsons had the lowest pass rush grade on the team in this game. His 55.2 score was also the lowest pass rush grade Parsons has had all year long. He registered exactly one pressure on the day, but it did result in a sack. Where Parsons made his impact, though, was in the run game: he had one run stop and graded out as the third best run defender in the game. That’s a positive step for Parsons after some struggles in run support earlier in the year.
A 12-year-old Dallas middle-schooler ended up on the streets, where a pimp discovered her. For as little as $50, he sold her for sex. He withheld food unless she worked. She later disappeared into the state’s foster care system after suffering from depression. She attempted suicide.
A 13-year-old seventh- grader was forced to have sex with men in Houston by a pimp who hooked her on drugs. She died shortly after turning 18 from a fentanyl overdose — a few months before her abuser was sentenced to prison.
A 17-year-old Lubbock runaway was required to have sex with men in hotels and truck stops until she earned her pimp $1,000 daily. That quota meant seeing up to 20 “clients” per day. She spiraled into drug addiction.
These children have more in common than the abuse they endured — and the lifelong trauma that comes with it. Each was mandated by federal law to receive financial compensation from the pimps and pedophiles who abused them.
You can read more in-depth reporting from our media partner, The Dallas Morning News.
With the #30 pick, Dallas selected Koa Peat, Adam Silver said goodnight and that was that. Except it wasn’t. As the first round of the Draft was concluding, rumors started buzzing that the Mavericks were in fact making a move. Details are still being confirmed, but as it stands, Dallas will be trading the #30 pick Koa Peat and two future second-round draft picks to the New York Knicks in exchange for Sergio DeLarrea’s services. The exact second-rounders were still being determined late Tuesday night.
Here are the details we have at this time:
Los Angeles Lakers Received: 24th Overall Pick (Cameron Carr, Baylor)
Dallas Mavericks Received: 25th Overall (Sergio de Larrea, Spain)
Phoenix Suns Received: 30th Overall (Koa Peat, Arizona)
New York Knicks Received: Cash (Lakers), two second-round picks (Mavericks), and three more second-round picks (Suns)
DeLarrea was on the radar of a number of Mavs Moneyball staffers, perhaps none more than Tyler Edsel who wrote an excellent crash course on him and what he can bring to the Mavs. To be clear, it is unlikely he is going to have a massive day-one impact on the team, but the Mavericks really needed to do something to acquire more young talent that fit a position of need. While he may not be as flashy a name as Brayden Burries (whom the Mavs skipped over in favor of Morez) or Labaron Philon, Jr. (who somewhat surprisingly slipped to #22), Dallas really needed to do bolster the guard position and they came through.
If DeLarrea’s shooting transfers to the NBA level, it would be a big boon for a team that struggled from downtown much of last season. While not an immediate impact player, Dallas did well to move up a bit in a low-cost move that keeps all of their other assets intact for what will surely be a summer of retooling via trades and free agency.
Stay tuned for updates, as it is unclear which second-round picks the Mavericks will let go of in this deal.
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What Drake London’s new deal could mean for George Pickens
Falcons WR Drake London is now the NFL’s third-highest paid wide receiver in AAV, signing a four-year, $141 million extension with $100 million guaranteed and $35.26 million per year.
London, who is 25, is the same age as Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, and both are heading into their fifth seasons in the NFL. Pickens too was seeking a long-term contract, but the Cowboys told him and his representation that would not happen this offseason, and he instead signed his $27.3 million franchise tag that keep shim under contract for the 2026 season.
Pickens’ one-year deal on the tag makes him the 17th highest-paid wide receiver in the league in AAV. Should Pickens go out and post a year similar to his 2025 campaign where he had more than 1,400 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, a deal similar to London’s may be in the ballpark of what Pickens could seek. For reference, CeeDee Lamb is the league’s fifth-highest paid WR at $34 million annually. If Pickens surpasses him and is closer to London’s $35 million per year mark, he and Lamb would become the highest-paid WR duo in NFL history, surpassing the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who currently combine for $69 million per year. – Tommy Yarrish
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