Jerry Jones spent the offseason turning the Cowboys into one of the NFL’s most talked-about teams, and that work has now landed Dallas on The Athletic’s list of the league’s biggest winners.
The attention starts with the sheer volume of change. Dallas didn’t just tweak around the edges. The Cowboys reworked the roster, brought in new coaches, added help on defense and came out of it with a team that has national buzz heading into training camp for the 2026 NFL season.
The Athletic’s Mike Jones pointed to that overhaul when he labeled Dallas one of the offseason’s biggest winners. He noted that the Cowboys started reshaping things last season by trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers while bringing in Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets.
That approach kept rolling this offseason with the addition of pass rusher Rashan Gary and free-agent signings of defensive backs Cobie Durant, Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke.
Dallas also drew praise for its draft work. Safety Caleb Downs was the headliner after going in the first round, and the Cowboys also used a first-round pick on edge rusher Malachi Lawrence before adding linebacker Jaishawn Barham in the third round.
On the offensive side, The Athletic highlighted the decision to keep George Pickens on the franchise tag. With Pickens lined up next to CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott now has another established weapon, and the pairing gives Dallas one of the league’s most dangerous receiving tandems.
Mike Jones believes the combination of those offensive pieces and the revamped defense could put Brian Schottenheimer’s team in position to chase the NFC East title.
That kind of optimism has not always followed Dallas out of the offseason, but this year feels different because Jerry Jones was willing to make real changes. The roster looks deeper, the expectations are higher, and the Cowboys are heading into camp with more attention than they’ve had in a while.
What happens next will come down to how fast the new faces settle in once the regular season begins.
In Other News...
Former Cowboys Defender Linked To Disturbing New Allegations
Former Cowboys defensive end Marcellus Wiley is back in the news for the wrong reasons, with his name now attached to a Florida domestic violence arrest and a separate set of allegations from his wife, Annemarie, that have pushed the situation well beyond a routine legal dispute. For Dallas fans who remember Wiley from his time on the edge, the story has taken on a deeply personal and unsettling tone as it moves from an alleged hotel altercation into family court and public accusations.
Annemarie has filed for divorce and sought a restraining order, while Wiley has denied the allegations and said he is focused on protecting their children as the legal process plays out. The case has already become more complicated with the couples family at the center of it, and the next developments are likely to matter as much for the personal fallout as for whatever comes next in court. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Have One Clear Answer To Washingtons Rasul Douglas Move
Washingtons addition of Rasul Douglas gives the Commanders another experienced option in their cornerback room, and it naturally puts a little more focus on how Dallas stacks up on the back end. The Cowboys have their own reasons to keep looking at the position, especially with the NFC East always turning roster moves into a measuring stick, and the contrast between the two teams corner groups is hard to ignore.
One name that keeps surfacing in that conversation is Kenny Moore, the veteran slot corner who was released by Indianapolis in May after the Colts were unable to find a trade partner. Moore has been one of the leagues more reliable nickel defenders for years, with a track record of handling a heavy workload inside and enough versatility to give a defense some flexibility. For Dallas, that kind of profile makes sense as the secondary continues to take shape around a division rivals latest move. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Pass Rush Just Sent A Message Fans Needed To See
A handful of Cowboys defenders are heading to Las Vegas next week for a pass-rush summit that says plenty about where this team wants its edge to come from. Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark are set to join coach Brandon Jordan at the 2026 Sack Summit, a three-day gathering built for NFL rushers to trade technique, ideas and the kind of details that can change a season.
The timing matters, too, with training camp opening July 28 and Dallas still trying to bounce back from a defense that never found enough answers last year. For a unit that needs more disruption up front and better resistance against the run, the trip is less about offseason networking than it is about showing up with a plan, a sharper toolbox and a clearer sense of what the Cowboys need from them once camp begins. [Read more 🡒]