Jerry Jones has heard this song before, but the tune around the Cowboys is starting to change.
Dallas hasn’t been to the Super Bowl since the 1994 season, and the last two years ended without a playoff berth. That backdrop still hangs over the franchise. Even so, the early outlook for 2026 is getting a little brighter, at least in the eyes of ESPN analyst Mike Clay.
Clay slotted the Cowboys ninth in his latest roster rankings, putting them among the NFC teams that could matter in the postseason chase. He pointed to the top of the offense as the biggest reason for optimism.
“Quarterback Dak Prescott has a solid offensive line in front of him, as well as an elite wide receiver duo in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens,” Clay wrote.
The offense already showed plenty of punch in 2025. Dallas finished fifth in scoring at 27.7 points per game, but that production was paired with a defense that had a rough year from start to finish. The Cowboys gave up an NFL-high 30.1 points per game, a number that made every shootout feel like a bad bet.
That’s where the offseason overhaul comes in. Christian Parker has been installed as the new defensive coordinator, and Clay believes the front office also did enough to change the look of the unit.
“Rashan Gary, Dee Winters, Cobie Durant and Jalen Thompson were savvy additions, while first-round rookies Malachi Lawrence and Caleb Downs should also be big factors,” Clay wrote. “Along with Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Donovan Ezeiruaku, DeMarvion Overshown, Bland and Malik Hooker, you suddenly have what looks like a solid unit.
“With a productive offense and serviceable defense, Dallas should be squarely in the NFC playoff mix.”
Clay did flag one area that could decide how far the Cowboys can really go: the cornerback room, which he described as relatively inexperienced. After last season’s defensive collapse, that group will have to hold up if Dallas wants to get back to the postseason for the first time since the 2023 campaign.
In Other News...
Eagles Rookie Is Giving Cowboys Fans A Reason To Laugh
Training camp has already given Cowboys fans one small comfort in Philadelphia, and it comes courtesy of a rookie tight end who was supposed to help stabilize the Eagles passing game. Eli Stowers, a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has instead spent much of camp and the preseason fighting to find his footing, with his blocking and receiving both drawing scrutiny as the Eagles try to sort through a depth chart battered by injuries at receiver.
For Dallas, the details are almost beside the point. Any time a division rival invests premium draft capital and then sees the early returns wobble, it invites the kind of unflattering comparisons that stick around, and Stowers has already been mentioned in the same breath as JJ Arcega-Whiteside, another second-round Eagles pick who never lived up to the billing. The bigger issue for Philadelphia is immediate pressure, because the injuries around him leave the rookie with even less margin for error as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Have A Real Roster Decision At Two Key Spots
The Cowboys got a useful look at a few roster battles in their second preseason game, and it did more than just fill out the exhibition calendar. Joe Milton kept building his case to be the backup quarterback, while wide receivers Camden Brown and Jonathan Mingo both put themselves in the conversation for final roster spots. With cutdowns approaching, Dallas is watching not just who plays well, but who keeps stacking productive snaps when the competition gets tighter.
Snap counts are becoming part of the conversation too, which is usually a sign the decisions are getting real. The Cowboys are sorting through a deeper receiving mix and weighing how much value each player brings beyond one good night in August, and they are also open to exploring trades if that helps shape the 53-man roster. For a team trying to balance upside, depth and certainty, the next few evaluations may matter as much as anything that happened in the preseason opener. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Face A Tough QB Roster Decision
Dak Prescott is locked in as the Cowboys starter, but the competition behind him has become one of the more interesting roster questions in camp. Sam Howell and Joe Milton III have both put together strong preseason stretches, enough to make Dallas at least consider carrying all three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster even though teams usually prefer to keep just two.
Todd Archer of ESPN projects that possibility, and it speaks to how much the backup battle has shifted from a routine depth issue to a real decision point. The Cowboys still have not settled the spot behind Prescott, and with the preseason winding down, the outcome is less about naming a favorite and more about deciding whether either Howell or Milton has done enough to force an extra quarterback onto the roster. [Read more 🡒]