Brian Schottenheimer had a little fun with a classic Cowboys hypotheticals question this week, and it didn’t take long for Michael Irvin to turn it into a full-blown roster debate.
During his Wednesday press conference, Schottenheimer was asked about Rams legend Aaron Donald coming out of retirement, with Dallas and Los Angeles set to meet in Week 15. That led to the obvious follow-up: which former Cowboy would he bring back if he could?
Schottenheimer’s answer was Irvin, with the coach joking that “you can never have enough good receivers.” It was a quick laugh in the middle of the session, but it gave Irvin a chance to weigh in on his own terms.
On “The Rich Eisen Show” today, Irvin responded to the nod and said the Cowboys were “locked and loaded at wide receiver.” From there, he started with a serious choice for the current roster: Charles Haley.
Irvin then shifted to Deion Sanders, pointing to what Sanders would mean on one side of the field and pairing that idea with rookie Caleb Downs, whom Irvin compared to Darren Woodson. In Irvin’s view, that combination would have a major effect on the defense.
Sanders would obviously be a massive boost for Dallas, especially with cornerback still an issue. That said, the same argument could be made for almost any team in football. The greatest cornerback in the history of the game would help just about anybody.
If the goal was to address the Cowboys’ clearest problem right now, though, the cleaner answer might be Erik Williams at right tackle.
That spot is the biggest question on the roster. Terence Steele’s slump this offseason pushed Dallas into trading for Broderick Jones, a first-round bust in Pittsburgh, and the uncertainty there hangs over the offense.
Williams would change that in a hurry. A third-round pick in 1991, he was a two-time first-team All-Pro, a four-time Pro Bowler, and a core piece of the 1990s run in Dallas. Over 10 years with the Cowboys, he started 133 of 141 games.
So yes, the whole exercise is pure fantasy. But Irvin’s answers still said plenty about where the Cowboys’ pressure points are heading into 2026. Pass rush and cornerback remain major concerns, and right tackle is right there with them.
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