Cowboys get defensive line help via trade with Raiders

With a 5-2 record, the Dallas Cowboys are getting some veteran presence on the defensive line to begin their playoff push.

The Cowboys acquired Jonathan Hankins from the Las Vegas Raiders in a trade on Tuesday.

Hankins, 30, was a second-round draft pick in 2013 by the New York Giants. He spent four seasons in East Rutherford before playing one with the Indianapolis Colts. He’s been with the Raiders since 2018.

In his 10-year career, he’s played in 133 of a possible 145 games, starting in 117 of them.

Hankins has 14.5 sacks in his career, with almost half of them — 7.0 to be exact — coming in his second NFL season with Big Blue. However, as a tackle, his role will be more so to stop the run in the trenches — Dallas allows 120.1 rushing yards per game, the 12th most in the NFL.

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The Cowboys will have to face some tough running games in their next few contests — they will face the Chicago Bears and Giants in two of their next four games, who rank first and second in rushing yards per game, respectively.

They also will have to face Aaron Jones, Dalvin Cook, Jonathan Taylor, Dameon Pierce, Travis Etienne and Derrick Henry throughout the remainder of the season.

Hankins had started in all but two games he played in his first four seasons as a Raider, but in five games played this year, he’s started only one.

The Raiders also sent Dallas a 2023 seventh-rounder, while Dallas gave them a sixth-rounder for next year’s NFL Draft.