Quarterback

In 2024, the Cowboys fell to a 7-10 record, after going 12-5 the previous season. At first glance, it’s easy to blame injuries to key players as the culprit. In some order, the Cowboys’ most important players are quarterback Dak Prescott, top wide receiver Ceedee Lamb, top edge defender Micah Parsons, and top cornerback Da’Ron Bland. Bland got hurt before the season started and didn’t make his debut until week 12 as a result. Parsons got hurt in week 4 and missed 4 games, not returning until week 10. By the time Parsons and Bland returned, Prescott had suffered a season-ending injury in week 9 that cost him the final 9 games of the season. Lamb played most of the season, only missing two games, but he was limited by injury for much of the year and had a down year by his standards as a result. 

If all four are healthy all season in 2025, this will be a different team, but it’s also unrealistic to expect any four players to all remain injury free for a full season. The Cowboys should get more out of those four in total in 2025 than they did in 2024, but the Cowboys have a pretty top-heavy roster as a result of recent poor drafting and a lack of money spent in free agency, so a lack of depth when injuries knock out any of their top players is a significant concern.

The Cowboys do rank 11th in average annual value of their roster, which correlates heavily with winning percentage, but 17.9% of their average annual value is quarterback Dak Prescott, whose 60 million dollar annual salary makes him the highest paid quarterback in the league by 5 million annually. Prescott’s cap hit is 50.518 million for the 2025 season, about 18.1% of the total cap, and the only quarterbacks who have won the Super Bowl in the salary cap era (since 1994) with a cap hit that was more than 11% of the salary cap are Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers. 

Prescott is an important part of this team, but he isn’t an elite level quarterback, completing 66.8% of his passes for an average of 7.56 YPA, 213 touchdowns, and 98 interceptions in nine seasons in the league, good for a QB rating of 98.1 that ranks 11th in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 1,000 pass attempts over the past nine seasons, one spot behind Kirk Cousins. With Prescott making as much as he does, it’s very hard for the Cowboys to surround him with enough talent for the team to compete at the highest level. Prescott is now heading into his age 32 season, so he likely is what he is at this stage of his career and could even start declining soon. His athleticism has already declined noticeably, as he went from averaging 5.07 YPC on 259 carries in his first five seasons in the league to 3.88 YPC on 161 carries over the past four seasons and another significant leg injury won’t help matters.

Prescott has also become increasingly injury prone, missing at least five games due to injury in three of the past five seasons, with 25 games total missed during that stretch. The Cowboys have previously had a solid backup in Cooper Rush to fall back on and he completed 60.7% of his passes for an average of 6.37 YPA, 20 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions (83.8 QB rating) in 14 starts across his Cowboys career (9-5 record), but he signed with the Ravens this off-season and was replaced via trade with Joe Milton. 

Milton has a higher upside than Rush and he showed that upside in his one start with the Patriots last season, completing 22 of 29 for 241 yards, 1 touchdown, and no interceptions, but that came in a meaningless game against a Bills team that already had their playoff seed locked in and that played backups as a result, so that game isn’t enough for Milton to prove he should have gone higher than the 2024 6th round pick he was a year ago. At the very least, he gives the Cowboys a much lower floor than Rush would have if he has to step in for Prescott in case of injury.

Grade: B+

Running Backs

The Cowboys actually had a better record without Prescott (4-5) than with him last season (3-5), not because they were actually a better team without him, but because their defense was healthy, Cooper Rush played decently, and their running game was significantly better once they gave the feature back job to Rico Dowdle, who rushed for 833 yards and 2 touchdowns on 176 carries (4.73 YPC) in the Cowboys’ final 10 games, after rushing for 246 yards and no touchdowns on 59 carries (4.17 YPC) prior to that. 

We already know that Rush is gone and that their defense isn’t guaranteed to be as healthy in 2025 as they were down the stretch last season, but the Cowboys also opted not to retain Dowdle this off-season and, in his absence, they have one of the worst running back rooms in the NFL. The Cowboys’ completely revamped their running back room this off-season, not bringing any running back who had more than 17 carries last season and adding underwhelming veterans Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders in addition to fifth round pick Jaydon Blue and seventh round pick Phil Mafah. 

Williams, a 2021 2nd round pick, showed promise early in his career, averaging 4.43 YPC across 250 carries in the first 21 games of his career, but he tore his ACL midway through his second season in the league and hasn’t looked the same since, averaging just 3.62 YPC across 356 carries in 33 games since returning. Williams is still young, in his age 25 season, so he could still have some potential and, at the very least, he should be a useful pass catcher out of the backfield, with 158 catches in 54 career games and a career 1.23 yards per route run average, but he’s still an underwhelming option overall.

Sanders is also a former second round pick, drafted in 2019. He had an impressive start to his career with the Eagles, rushing for 3,708 yards and 20 touchdowns on 739 carries (5.02 YPC) in his first four seasons in the league, but he couldn’t replicate his success on a much worse offense in Carolina over the past two seasons, averaging 3.46 YPC on 184 carries. Sanders may fare better now with the Cowboys, but he’s going on three years removed from his last productive season and, while the Cowboys’ offensive situation might be better than Carolina’s, it’s not on the same level as Philadelphia’s was when Sanders was at his best. Unlike Williams, he is not a useful pass catcher, with a career 0.88 yards per route run average. Williams will likely be the nominal lead back to start the season, with Sanders as the backup and the rookies having potential to earn roles, even as relatively late picks, in an overall underwhelming position group.

Grade: B-

Receiving Corps

As I mentioned, Ceedee Lamb had a down year by his standards last season due to injuries that he played through. He still had a 101/1194/6 slash line with 2.27 yards per route run on 152 targets in 15 games, but that was a far cry from 2023, when he had a 135/1749/12 slash line and 2.78 yards per route run on 181 targets. Lamb is still only going into his age 26 season and has surpassed two yards per route run and 1,100 total receiving yards in four straight seasons, so, assuming he is healthier, he has as much potential as any receiver in the league going into 2025.

The Cowboys also added George Pickens via trade this off-season, their biggest off-season addition by far and a much needed #2 receiver opposite Lamb. Pickens, a 2022 2nd round pick who is only heading into his age 24 season, has posted slash lines of 52/801/4 on 84 targets, 63/1140/5 on 106 targets, and 59/900/3 on 103 targets in three seasons in the league, with a career 1.83 yards per route run average, despite inconsistent quarterback play. His best attribute is his deep ball ability, as he has caught 42 of 81 targets 20+ yards downfield in his career, turning them into 1,379 yards and 6 touchdowns, compared to just 3 interceptions. He might not have a high volume role in Dallas’ offense opposite Lamb, but he gives this offense another dimension downfield and will help free up space for Lamb underneath.

Pickens will be a huge upgrade over Jalen Tolbert, who finished second on the team with a 49/610/7 slash line last season on 79 targets and was pretty inefficient, with a below average 1.10 yards per route run. Tolbert will likely be the Cowboys’ #3 wide receiver this season and will almost definitely have a much smaller target total. Tolbert was a third round pick in 2022 and, only going into his age 26 season, he may have some untapped potential, but he has only averaged 1.03 yards per route run in his career and there is no guarantee he is any better in 2025 than he was in 2024. Even as a #3 receiver, he is an underwhelming option, but the Cowboys don’t have a better one and having him as the #3 is a lot better than having him as the #2.

Behind their top-3, the Cowboys’ top reserves are likely to be KaVontae Turpin and Jonathan Mingo. Turpin has a career 1.78 yards per route run average, including 2.06 in 2024, but he is a 5-9 153 pound 2022 undrafted free agent who is best as a situational player, which is all he will be in 2025. Jonathan Mingo, meanwhile, was a second round pick in 2023 by the Panthers and was acquired by the Cowboys for a fourth round pick at last year’s deadline when they thought they were buying low, but he continued showing nothing in his new home and has averaged just 0.72 yards per route run across his two seasons in the league. He may theoretically still have some untapped upside, but it’s also very possible the Cowboys wasted a mid-round draft pick trying to turn his career around. He might be closer to being left off the final roster in 2025 than cracking the Cowboys’ top-3 wide receivers.

Given the state of the Cowboys wide receiver group last season, tight end Jake Ferguson was second on the team with 86 targets last season and he too was underwhelming, finishing with just a 59/494/0 slash line and 1.27 yards per route run. The 2022 4th round pick will likely see a smaller target share this season and could have some bounce back potential as well. He flashed some promise in a limited role as a rookie, with a 19/174/2 slash line on 22 targets and 1.66 yards per route run, and seemed to break out as the starter in his second season in the league in 2024, turning 102 targets into a 71/761/5 slash line and 1.46 yards per route run, before he took a big step backwards last season, with could have had something to do with an injury he suffered early in the season and played through.

Behind Ferguson, the Cowboys have 2023 2nd round pick Luke Schoonmaker, who took on a bigger role in the passing game in 2024 with Ferguson struggling, going from 369 snaps to 411 snaps, a 8/65/2 slash line to a 27/241/1 slash line, and a 0.62 yards per route run average to a 1.35 yards per route run average. Schoonmaker was originally drafted to be a future starter before Ferguson broke out and, barring Ferguson missing significant time, he will likely remain a only a solid #2 tight end for at least another season, rather than a true 1b to Ferguson’s 1a. With Lamb and Ferguson likely bouncing back from injury plagued down seasons in 2024 and George Pickens being added, the Cowboys’ receiving corps has a clear path to being a lot better in 2025.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

One of the Cowboys’ best players for years has been right guard Zack Martin, but the likely future Hall of Famer opted to retire this off-season, ahead of what would have been his age 35 season. Martin was not nearly what he used to be last season, with just a 65.6 PFF grade in 10 starts, but he could still be missed. The Cowboys used their first round pick to replace him, taking Alabama’s Tyler Booker, who appears to be a massive reach as the 12th overall pick. 

Booker had by far the lowest relative athletic score of any player drafted in the first two rounds and was not a particularly dominant college player either, ranking 126th among guards on PFF in 2024 and 28th in 2023. Between his lack of athleticism and lack of elite tape, Booker only earned a second round grade from PFF and he’s unlikely to be a significant upgrade on Martin as a rookie, even with Martin not anywhere near his best last season.

Booker is the second straight first round pick the Cowboys have used on their offensive line, taking left tackle Tyler Guyton in last year’s draft and Guyton’s career has not gotten off to a good start, as he finished his rookie year with a terrible 49.4 PFF grade, in large part due to his 18 penalties, tied for second most in the NFL. He has the upside to be a lot better in his second season in the league, but he has a long way to go to even be an average starting left tackle and he could easily continue struggling.

The Cowboys also used a first round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on an offensive lineman, Tyler Smith, and at least that pick has worked out. Smith has finished with PFF grades of 71.4, 72.9, and 75.0 in three seasons in the league, while making 47 total starts, with 29 coming at left guard and 18 coming at left tackle. The Cowboys prefer him at left guard, where he has been slightly better in his career, but his ability to move out to left tackle in a pinch is an added bonus.

Center Cooper Beebe is not a former first round pick, but he is also a young, recent draft pick, selected in the third round in 2024. Beebe started all but one game as a rookie and, while he wasn’t spectacular, he held his own, with a PFF grade of 65.4. Now going into his second season in the league, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take a step forward and, at the very least, he should continue being at least a capable starter. 

Right tackle Terence Steele is the veteran of the bunch, going into his sixth season in the league. Steele wasn’t drafted in 2020, but has still made 74 starts in five seasons in the league. He’s been inconsistent, finishing in the 50s on PFF twice (2020, 2023), in the 60s twice (2021, and 2024), with a career best 73.9 PFF grade coming in 2022. It’s tough to know what to expect from him in 2025, but he has generally averaged out as a solid starter and, still going into his age 28 season, he’s still in the prime of his career, so there is at least a good chance he’ll be a solid starter.

The Cowboys’ top reserves last season were Brock Hoffman and TJ Bass, who had PFF grades of 66.3 and 63.0 respectively across 515 snaps and 315 snaps respectively, primarily at guard, with Hoffman showing the ability to also play center if needed. Hoffman and Bass are recent undrafted free agents, 2022 and 2023 respectively, and last season was the first time either had finished above 60 on PFF in their careers, so they could struggle if forced into significant action, but they’re not bad reserve options. The Cowboys also added 2021 undrafted free agent Robert Jones in free agency and he has mostly been a marginal starter in 29 starts over the past three seasons. He will also provide depth on the interior and might be a better option than Hoffman or Bass because of his added experience.

At tackle, the top reserve option is likely Asim Richards, a 2023 5th round pick who has played 221 nondescript snaps in two seasons in the league. He’s an underwhelming option, but he is probably the best they have unless 6th round rookie Ajani Cornelius can exceed expectations in his first season in the league. Overall, this looks like an underwhelming offensive line, but they at least have some young players with potential, the majority of whom are recent high draft picks.

Grade: B

Edge Defenders

As I mentioned, the Cowboys were without top edge defender Micah Parsons for four games last season, which was a big absence. A capable, but unspectacular run stopper who dominates as a pass rusher, Parsons has totaled 52.5 sacks, 64 hits, and a 19.0% pressure rate in 63 career games, including 12.5 sacks, 13 hits, and a 16.4% pressure rate in just 13 games last season, leading to him receiving overall PFF grades of 89.8, 91.6, 92.7, and 90.0 in four seasons in the league, despite his middling play against the run. 

Parsons is still only in his age 26 season, so he should remain one of the top defensive players in the league for years to come and seems likely to win a Defensive Player of the Year Award at some point, having finished in the top-3 in DPOY voting in all three healthy seasons in the league. Having him healthy for all or most of the season would be a boost for this defense and it seems likely that will happen, as he had only missed one game in his career prior to last season.

The rest of the edge defender group is much more of a question mark. For the first three seasons of his career, Parsons had the talented DeMarcus Lawrence opposite him, but he missed all but four games last season, leaving an uninspiring group behind in his absence, and then he wasn’t retained as a free agent this off-season. The Cowboys also didn’t retain free agent Chauncey Golston, hybrid edge defender/interior defender who played 790 snaps last season and was decent with a 65.3 PFF grade, nor did they retain Carl Lawson, a pure edge player who had a mediocre 59.7 PFF grade across 402 snaps. 

To replace them, the Cowboys signed veteran Dante Fowler, used a second round pick on Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, and are hoping to get more out of 2022 2nd round pick Sam Williams, who missed all of last season with injury, and 2024 2nd round pick Marshawn Kneeland, who was limited to 255 snaps in 11 games by injury and struggled with a 50.8 PFF grade as a rookie last season. Williams probably has the most upside of the bunch if he is past his injury, as he flashed potential with PFF grades of 70.9 and 68.5 on snap counts of 274 and 306 in his first two seasons in the league before missing last season, totaling 8.5 sacks, 10 hits, and a 12.6% pressure rate despite a very limited role, though his recent injury history and his relative lack of experience are still concerns. 

Ezeiruaku and Kneeland also have upside, but haven’t proven anything at the NFL level yet, with Ezeiruaku being a rookie and Kneeland being a second player who struggled in an injury plagued rookie season. The veteran Fowler has had some success in his career, with 37.5 sacks, 31 hits, and a 12.3% pressure rate in 95 games over the past seven seasons combined, but he has been inconsistent and he now heads into his age 31 season, so it is hard to depend on him to play at an above average level. 

Fowler did have 10.5 sacks last season with the Commanders, but his peripheral pass rush numbers weren’t as good, as he had just 4 hits and a 12.9% pressure rate, and he struggled against the run, leading to just a 62.1 PFF grade overall across 563 snaps. Getting a healthier season out of Parsons will be a boost for this defense and Parsons elevates the overall grade of this position group significantly by himself, but the rest of the group lacks any clear above average players.

Grade: A-

Interior Defenders

The Cowboys made the smart decision this off-season to keep one of their best defensive players Osa Odighizuwa on a 4-year, 80 million dollar deal, making him only the 16th highest paid interior defender in the league and notably paying him significantly less than the less-proven Milton Williams (4-year, 104 million) got from the Patriots as a free agent this off-season. Odighizuwa almost definitely would have surpassed Williams’ contract had he been allowed to hit the open market, so the Cowboys got a relatively bargain by locking up Odighizuwa ahead of free agency. 

Odighizuwa consistently struggles against the run, finishing below 60 on PFF in run grade in three of four seasons in the league, including a 50.8 run defense grade last season, but he has also exceeded 60 on PFF in pass rush grade in all four seasons, including three straight seasons above 70. In total, he has accumulated 13.5 sacks, 39 hits, and a 10.5% pressure rate in 67 career games, including 11.5 sacks, 32 hits, and a 11.0% pressure rate in 51 games over the past three seasons and 4.5 sacks, 16 hits, and a 11.5% pressure rate in 17 games last season. 

Odighizuwa’s run struggles have led to him finishing above 70 in overall grade just once in four seasons in the league, with a 81.4 overall PFF grade in 2023 in his one season above 60 against the run, but he’s still a valuable player because of his effectiveness as a pass rusher and, only in his age 27 season, having missed just one game due to injury in his career, I would expect him to remain a high level interior pass rusher for at least a few more years.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys also lack depth at the interior defender position, even more than they do on the edge. The Cowboys used a first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Mazi Smith, but he has been a massive disappointment, finishing with PFF grades of 49.8 and 34.8 across snap counts of 304 and 524 over his first two seasons in the league. He still has upside, only going into his age 24 season, but he would have to take a big step forward to even be an average starting caliber player in 2025, which is far from a guarantee.

Smith is likely locked into a starting role though, because the alternatives are mediocre veteran Solomon Thomas, 2024 7th round pick Justin Rogers, who didn’t play a snap as a rookie, and a pair of 7th round picks from this year’s draft Jay Toia and Tommy Akingbesote. Thomas will likely replace Chauncey Golston as a situational pass rusher, but he is a big downgrade, finishing below 60 on PFF in six of seven seasons in the league, struggling mightily against the run, but not excelling as a pass rusher either, with 18.5 sacks, 36 hits, and a 7.2% pressure rate in 115 career games. 

Now going into his age 30 season, Thomas is unlikely to be better in 2025 and could be even worse if he starts to decline due to his age. The Cowboys interior defender group is similar to their edge defender group in that they have one top player who plays at a much higher level than the rest of the bunch, but that top player Odighizuwa is not nearly as good as Micah Parsons and the Cowboys’ other interior defender options are also significantly worse than the Cowboys’ other edge defender options.

Grade: B-

Linebackers

The Cowboys’ top linebacker last season was Eric Kendricks, who had a 75.2 PFF grade across 918 snaps, but Kendricks was heading into his age 33 season in 2025 and the Cowboys opted not to retain him this off-season. Instead, he will be replaced by trade acquisition Kenneth Murray, who figures to be a clear downgrade. Murray was a first round pick in 2020 and has played 765 snaps per season in his career, but he has consistently struggled, with PFF grades below 60 in all five seasons, including a 45.9 PFF grade across 815 snaps in 2024. Murray is already in his age 27 season, so he probably is who he is at this stage of his career and it’s unlikely he will suddenly show why he was a first round pick, now in his sixth season in the league.

The Cowboys’ second best linebacker last season was DeMarvion Overshown, who had a 61.1 PFF grade across 708 snaps in 13 games, before a brutal season ending knee injury. Overshown, a 2023 3rd round pick, also missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury and now his 2025 season seems in doubt after his latest injury. He could still return mid-season, but that’s far from a guarantee and he might not be the same player immediately upon his return. In Overshown’s absence, the Cowboys will probably start Marist Liufau, a 2024 3rd round pick who started as a rookie in Overshown’s absence down the stretch last season, struggling with a 49.4 PFF grade across 520 snaps. 

Liufau could be better in his second season in the league, but has a long way to go to even be an average starter. If the Cowboys choose to bench Liufau, their other options are Damone Clark, Jack Sanborn, and Shemar James. A 2022 5th round pick, Clark started in 2023 and did a decent job, with a 61.8 PFF grade across 782 snaps, while also playing pretty well in limited roles in 2022 and 2024, with PFF grades of 65.5 and 68.2 respectively on snap counts of 398 and 163 respectively, so he would probably do a better job than Liufau, but the Cowboys seemed hesitant to use Clark last season, even after Overshown got hurt, so Liufau is probably the favorite over him for the starting job. 

Jack Sanborn, meanwhile, is a 2022 undrafted free agent who has been decent as a reserve in his career, but has only played 977 snaps total in three seasons in the league, while Shemar James is just a fifth round rookie. The Cowboys don’t have bad depth options at least, but their likely starting linebacker duo of Kenneth Murray and Marist Liufau is very underwhelming and, even if DeMarvion Overshown is able to play next season, he might not be 100% upon his return.

Grade: C

Secondary

As I mentioned, the Cowboys should get a healthier year out of cornerback Daron Bland, who missed all but the final seven games of last season due to an injury he suffered before the season started. Bland was one of the best cornerbacks in the league in 2023, with a 90.4 PFF grade and, even if he’s a one-year wonder in terms of playing at that level, the 2022 5th round pick also had a 71.9 PFF grade across 597 snaps in a part-time role as a rookie and a 70.1 PFF grade across 436 snaps after returning from injury last season, so he comes with a pretty high floor, in addition to having a huge ceiling if he can regain his 2023 form. Only in his age 26 season, he is one of the best young cornerbacks in the league.

Unfortunately, the rest of this cornerback depth chart is a big problem. Jourdan Lewis had a 71.7 PFF grade across 871 snaps last season, but was not retained in free agency. Trevon Diggs struggled with a 56.6 PFF grade across 683 snaps last season and now his 2025 season is in question due to knee surgery. Diggs led the NFL with 17 interceptions from 2020-2022, the first three seasons of his career, but he also gave up a lot of big plays and only had PFF grades of 62.7, 59.6, and 66.9 as a result, and then he missed almost all of 2023 with a knee injury before struggled in 2024 and reaggravating his knee down the stretch. Even if he can play some or all of the 2025 season, I don’t expect a big year out of him.

In the absence of Lewis and potentially Diggs, the Cowboys’ other cornerbacks options are holdovers Caelen Carson, Israel Mukuamu, Josh Butler, and Andrew Booth, who all struggled mightily in limited roles last season and who would almost definitely struggle in a bigger role in 2025, as well as third round rookie Shavon Revel and former first round pick bust Kaiir Elam, who the Cowboys took a flier on via trade with the Bills this off-season. 

Carson was a 5th round pick in 2024 and struggled mightily with a 39.7 PFF grade across 252 snaps as a rookie. Mukuamu is a 2021 6th round pick who has played just 452 snaps in four seasons in the league, including a career high 201 last season, when he had a 48.5 PFF grade. Butler is a 2023 undrafted free agent who had a 49.9 PFF grade in the first 160 snaps of his career last season. Andrew Booth was a second round pick by the Vikings in 2024, but has been limited to 374 snaps in three seasons due to a combination of injury and poor performance and last season he had a 35.6 PFF grade across 116 snaps.

Revel is probably the best option of the bunch, as he could have been a first round pick if he didn’t tear his ACL during his final collegiate season, but between the knee injury he is returning from and the fact that he’s a rookie, he is a shaky option for the Cowboys in 2025. Elam had his moments last season with a 70.2 PFF grade across 305 snaps, but he has largely been unable to crack the Bills depth chart in three seasons in the league, despite being a high draft pick, playing 939 snaps in total in three seasons in the league, and he struggled in both 2022 and 2023, with PFF grades of 56.7 and 58.8, before showing some signs of life in 2024. Only in his age 24 season, he was a worthwhile flier for the Cowboys to take this off-season, but it’s hard to depend on him as a starter in 2025.

Fortunately, the Cowboys do have a better situation at safety. Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker both made all 17 starts last season and had decent PFF grades at 62.2 and 65.3 respectively. That was actually a down year for both players. For Wilson, it was the lowest grade of the 2019 6th round pick’s 6-year career. In 2020, 2022, and 2023, which were the other seasons in his career in which he made 10 or more starts, he finished with PFF grades of 72.0, 71.3, and 66.2 respectively. Wilson is now going into his age 30 season, so his best days could be behind him, but he has a good chance to at least remain a capable starter and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he bounced back somewhat from last year’s down season, as he isn’t totally over the hill yet.

For Hooker, last season was his lowest graded season that wasn’t significantly affected by injury. Hooker was very injury prone early in his career, as the 2017 1st round pick missed 28 games in his first four seasons, but he has only missed four over the past four seasons and he had PFF grades of 70.4, 76.2 and 77.4 in 2021, 2022 and 2023, before struggling by his standards in 2024. Hooker is still only in his age 29 season, so he has a better chance to bounce back than Wilson, though his injury history is at least worth noting, even if it hasn’t really been an issue for him lately.

The Cowboys also have some promising reserve options at safety. Juanyeh Thomas, a 2022 undrafted free agent, flashed a lot of potential with a 81.1 PFF grade across 192 snaps in 2023, before falling to a 56.1 PFF grade and only playing 93 snaps last season. He’s very inexperienced and is a former undrafted free agent, but there may still be some upside there. Markquese Bell is also a 2022 undrafted free agent. He was weirdly converted from an impressive coverage linebacker in 2023, when he had a 76.8 PFF grade across 701 snaps, to an underwhelming, lightly used reserve safety in 2024, when he had a 51.6 PFF grade across 34 snaps. Linebacker is probably still his best position, but the Cowboys seem committed to keeping him at safety and it’s possible he has some upside there too. The Cowboys may use three safeties together more frequently in 2025 than they did in 2024 to try to mask their lack of depth at cornerback.

Grade: B

Kickers

The Cowboys at least have one of the best kickers in the league, as Brandon Aubrey has finished 5th and 9th among kickers with 8.82 points above average and 7.06 points above average in two seasons in the league. Only four kickers have more points above average over the past two seasons combined. He was an old rookie and is already in his age 30 season, but kickers usually age pretty well and he figures to continue being one of the best kickers in the league for years to come.

Grade: A

Conclusion

The Cowboys should get more out of their four most important players this season, Dak Prescott, Ceedee Lamb, Micah Parsons, and Daron Bland, who all had their 2024 seasons significantly impacted by injury. The Cowboys also added George Pickens in a trade with the Cowboys to give their offense a big boost. Based on that, you might be expecting the Cowboys to take a big step forward in 2025 and be a playoff team again. That is a possibility, but it doesn’t seem likely for a couple reasons.

For one, the Cowboys were even worse than their 7-10 record suggested last season, ranking 28th in both yards per play differential and first down rate differential, so they are starting from a lower base point than most realize. Additionally, it’s unlikely that all four of the Cowboys most important players all stay healthy all season this year and this is a top heavy roster that significantly lacks depth at several positions. This isn’t a bad roster, but I think when all is said and done, there will be at least seven teams better than them in the NFC and they will be left on the outside looking in at a playoff spot as a result.

Update: The Cowboys’ already slim playoff chances have further taken a hit from the surprise Micah Parsons trade.

Prediction: 6-11, 3rd in NFC East

Quarterback

The Cowboys have been among the best teams in the league over the past three seasons, finishing 12-5 in each of the past three seasons, giving them the second most regular season wins in the league over that stretch, only behind the Chiefs. However, while the Chiefs have won two of the last three Super Bowls, the Cowboys have yet to get over the hump in the post-season, going just 1-3 in the post-season, including a big home upset loss to the Packers in the first round last season.

Making matters worse, the Cowboys’ window seems to have closed. In need of more help to get them over the hump, the Cowboys instead added arguably the least of any team in the league this off-season, while parting ways with several key players. In terms of average annual salary, which correlates heavily with winning percentage, the Cowboys went from 8th in last season to just 28th this season. The benefit is the Cowboys now have the 7th most projected cap space in the league next off-season, but, in the short-term, the Cowboys are significantly less talented than a year ago.

Part of the reason the Cowboys couldn’t add more talent this off-season is that their quarterback Dak Prescott has a cap hit of 55.455 million (21.71% of the cap) in the final year of a 4-year, 160 million dollar contract, after years of the Cowboys using his contract to borrow future cap space. The Cowboys could have extended Prescott and lowered his cap hit in the process, but doing so would have required giving Prescott another top of the market contract that would have significantly hurt the Cowboys’ long-term financial flexibility. Instead, the Cowboys seem to be making Prescott prove he can carry a less talented roster before committing to him at a high number long-term. If he can’t do that, it’s possible the Cowboys will opt to move on from him and start over at the quarterback position next off-season, similar to what the Vikings did with Kirk Cousins this off-season.

Like Cousins, Prescott hasn’t been the problem for the Cowboys, completing 67.0% of his passes for an average of 7.61 YPA, 202 touchdowns, and 74 interceptions in 114 career starts, but he also hasn’t proven he’s the kind of quarterback who can elevate this team by himself or take a talented roster on a long playoff run. Given that, the Cowboys are smart not to rush into a huge extension with Prescott, as the track record of non-elite quarterbacks being paid at the highest level is not good, as the only quarterbacks who have accounted for more than 11% of their team’s cap and won the Super Bowl are Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers. It doesn’t help matters that Prescott is going into his age 31 season, so his best days could be behind him at this point.

If the Cowboys move on from Prescott next off-season, their options to replace him are limited unless they end up with a high draft pick, so they may opt to replace Prescott internally. Cooper Rush has been a decent backup for several years, as the 2017 undrafted free agent has completed 60.6% of his passes for an average of 6.86 YPA, 8 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in six career starts in seven seasons in the league, but he’s a pretty low upside option who is also going into his age 31 season himself. 

The more likely option would be Trey Lance, who was the 3rd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the 49ers, but who made just four starts and attempted just 102 passes in two seasons in San Francisco, due to injuries and ineffectiveness, before getting traded to the Cowboys for a mid round pick last off-season. Lance is still raw and might not even win the backup job over Rush in 2024, but he’s always had a huge upside and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Cowboys internally viewed him as a potential successor to Prescott, even though he’s yet to throw a regular season pass for them. Overall, the Cowboys have a solid quarterback room, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if it looked very different a year from now.

Grade: A-

Offensive Line

Among the key players the Cowboys lost this off-season were two of their five offensive line starters from a year ago, left tackle Tyron Smith, who had a 83.8 PFF grade in 13 starts, and center Tyler Biadasz, who had a 68.6 PFF grade in 16 starts. To replace them, the Cowboys used first and third round picks on offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe, a collegiate guard who could move to center as a professional. Guyton figures to start at left tackle immediately. 

Guyton has a high upside, but could struggle through some growing pains in year one and will almost definitely be a downgrade from Tyron Smith, who was PFF’s 4th ranked offensive tackle in 2023. Meanwhile at center, the Cowboys will either turn to the rookie Beebe or to Brock Hoffman, a 2022 undrafted free agent who struggled with a 53.7 PFF grade across 222 snaps as Biadasz’s backup last season, after not playing a snap as a rookie. Whoever wins the job will almost definitely be a downgrade on Biadasz and a liability on this offensive line. 

With Guyton being added, Tyler Smith, a first round pick in 2022, will remain at left guard. Smith made 16 starts at left tackle as a rookie in place of an injured Tyron Smith (in addition to one start at left guard) and fared pretty well for a rookie, finishing the season with a 71.4 PFF grade, but he moved to guard in 2023, had a 72.9 PFF grade in 14 starts, and that seems to be where the Cowboys prefer him long-term. Still only in his age 23 season, Tyler Smith could easily have his best season yet in 2024.

On the right side, Zack Martin and Terence Steele remain at guard and tackle respectively. Martin has been one of the best guards in the league over the past decade, being selected in the first round in 2014 and then starting his career with eight straight seasons above 80 on PFF, but he fell to a 73.3 PFF grade in 2022 and then fell further to a 69.8 PFF grade in 2023 and now he heads into his age 34 season and could easily decline further. Even if he doesn’t decline further, his best days are almost definitely behind him. He has a good chance to remain at least a capable starter, but nothing is guaranteed at this stage of his career.

Steele also had a down year in 2023, finishing with a 50.8 PFF grade. Steele also had a 50.3 PFF grade in 2020, so a year like 2023 wasn’t unprecedented for him, but he was a rookie in 2020, he had PFF grades of 64.5 and 73.9 in 2021 and 2022 respectively, and last season he was coming off of a torn ACL he suffered late in 2022, which was probably the cause for his struggles, so he has a good chance to bounce back in 2024, another year removed from his injury and still only in his age 27 season. Despite going undrafted in 2020, Steele has started 57 in four seasons in the league and seemed to develop into a solid starter before his injury.

Reserve options on this offensive line include swing tackle Chuma Edoga, guard/tackle Asim Richards, guard TJ Bass, tackle Matt Waletzko, and whoever loses the battle for the center job. All seem like underwhelming options. Edoga has made 19 starts in five seasons in the league, but has mostly been mediocre. Richards was a 5th round pick in 2023 and saw action at both guard and tackle, but he only played 40 snaps overall. Bass played 344 snaps last season as an undrafted rookie, but struggled with a 54.1 PFF grade. Waletzko was a 5th round pick in 2022, but has played just 8 snaps total in two seasons in the league. This isn’t a bad offensive line, but they won’t be as good as a year ago without Tyron Smith and Tyler Biadasz and their depth is a concern if injuries strike.

Grade: B

Running Backs

The Cowboys also lost feature back Tony Pollard this off-season, after he played 836 snaps, third most in the NFL among running backs last season. In total, Pollard rushed for 1,005 yards and 6 touchdowns on 252 carries, while adding a 55/311/0 slash line on 67 targets. Pollard did only average 3.99 YPC, as well as just 0.78 yards per route run and 4.64 yards per target, but he had an impressive 50.0% carry success rate as a runner and the Cowboys only replaced him by bringing back a familiar face in Ezekiel Elliott, who was originally let go so the Cowboys could afford to franchise tag Pollard last off-season. Elliott is a lot cheaper than Pollard now, signing for only 2 million on a one-year deal, as opposed to the 3-year, 21.75 million dollar deal that Pollard signed with the Titans this off-season, but there’s a reason he’s cheaper, as he figures to be a downgrade. 

Elliott used to be one of the best running backs in the league and, in total, he rushed for 8,262 yards and 68 touchdowns on 1,881 carries (4.39 YPC) with a 51.9% carry success rate in seven seasons in his first stint in Dallas, but his YPC fell to 3.79 and his carry success rate fell to 47.6% in his final season in Dallas in 2022 and then fell further to 3.49 YPC and 45.1% carry success rate in his lone season in New England in 2023, albeit on an overall poor Patriots offense where he didn’t have much room to run. Now Elliott heads into his age 29 season with 2,421 career touches, which makes him pretty old by running back standards. He shouldn’t still be carrying the load at this stage in his career, but the Cowboys don’t really have much of a choice but to give him a big role.

Rico Dowdle showed some promise as the #2 back last season, rushing for 4.06 YPC and a 47.2% carry success rate on 89 carries, while adding 1.35 yards per route run as a pass catcher, despite being a 2020 undrafted free agent with seven career touches prior to last season. He’s still inexperienced and unproven, but with Elliott replacing Pollard as the lead back, the Cowboys could give Dowdle a bigger role as the #2 back, especially if Elliott struggles as the season goes on and Dowdle continues to impress. Other running back options include veteran free agent addition Royce Freeman, who has averaged just 3.80 YPC on 471 carries in six seasons in the league, and 2023 6th round pick Deuce Vaughn, who had just 30 touches as a rookie last season. Overall, this is an underwhelming backfield. 

Grade: C+

Receiving Corps

Relative to their running back group and their offensive line, the Cowboys didn’t lose much in the receiving corps. Michael Gallup was released this off-season to save 9.5 million and he wasn’t replaced, but he only had a 34/418/2 slash line and 1.06 yards per route run last season, so he won’t be missed much. The Cowboys could have moved on from Brandin Cooks as well, which would have saved them 8 million ahead of the final year of his contract in 2024, but they opted to keep him. 

Cooks was a high level receiver in his prime, surpassing 1000 yards receiving six times in seven seasons from 2015-2021, while averaging 1.86 yards per route run over that stretch, but he fell to a 57/699/3 slash line with a 1.64 yards per route run average in 2022 and then a 54/657/8 slash line with a 1.25 yards per route run average last season and now he heads into his age 31 season. He will continue being the Cowboys #2 receiver in 2024, for lack of a better option, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him continue declining and, at the very least, his best days are almost definitely behind him at this point.

The only wide receiver the Cowboys added this off-season was 6th round pick Ryan Flournoy, who is unlikely to be ready to play a significant role in year one, so the Cowboys will likely promote Jalen Tolbert, the 4th receiver a year ago, to replace Gallup. Tolbert was a 3rd round pick in 2022 and has plenty of opportunity in a receiving corps that has lost Michael Gallup (57 targets) and has an aging Brandin Cooks (81 targets), but Tolbert has only averaged 0.89 yards per route run thus far in two seasons in the league, so it’s unclear if he’ll be able to make the most of that opportunity. 

Tolbert could take a step forward in his third season in the league and be a decent #3 receiver, but anything more than that might be a stretch. Aside from the rookie Flournoy, other wide receiver options the Cowboys have behind their top-3 include 2023 7th round pick Jalen Brooks, who played 77 snaps as a rookie, and KaVontae Turpin, an undersized (5-9 157) gadget player who has played just 202 snaps in two seasons in the league since going undrafted in 2022. If any of their top-3 receivers miss significant time with injury, someone will be forced into a role that they are likely very underqualified for.

Fortunately, the Cowboys do still have #1 receiver Ceedee Lamb, who is one of the best receivers in the league. A first round pick in 2020, Lamb was a big part of this offense immediately as a rookie, with a 74/935/5 slash line and a 1.81 yards per route run average, and he’s gotten better in every season since then, with a 79/1102/6 slash line and 2.06 yards per route run in 2021, a 107/1359/9 slash line and 2.38 yards per route run in 2022, and a 135/1749/12 slash line and 2.78 yards per route run last season, ranking 2nd in the NFL in receiving yardage, 1st in catches, 3rd in receiving touchdowns, and 5th in yards per route run. 

Still only in his age 25 season, Lamb should remain one of the best receivers in the game for years to come. He’s going into the final year of his contract and needs to be extended, but, unlike with Dak Prescott, there’s no indication that won’t happen. The Cowboys probably would have saved money by signing Lamb sooner, rather than waiting until after other receivers signed, but even if Lamb ends up surpassing the record breaking 4-year, 140 million dollar deal that Justin Jefferson signed this off-season, it would be hard for him to be overpaid, given how talented he is and how bright his future is.

The Cowboys also still have tight end Jake Ferguson, who was second on this team in targets (102), catches (71), and receiving yards (761), and third in receiving touchdowns (5) last season, while averaging 1.46 yards per route run. With the Cowboys being even thinner at wide receiver than a year ago, Ferguson should continue having a big role. The 2022 4th round pick is just a one-year starter, only playing 430 snaps as a rookie, but he flashed a lot of potential with a 1.66 yards per route run average in his first year in the league and it’s unlikely he would regress significantly in 2024. In fact, Ferguson is still only going into his age 25 season and could have upside to be even better going forward.

Ferguson’s breakout year prevented Luke Schoonmaker from having a big rookie year role, even though he was a second round pick who was likely drafted to be the tight end of the future. Schoonmaker struggled across 369 snaps as a rookie, with a 50.4 PFF grade and a 0.62 yards per route run average, but he has the upside to take a big step forward in his second season in the league. He’ll remain the #2 tight end behind Ferguson, but if he proves worthy of a bigger role, the Cowboys could use more two tight end sets in passing situations this season to offset their lack of wide receiver depth. The Cowboys have one of the best wide receivers in the league in Ceedee Lamb and a talented young pass catching tight end in Jake Ferguson, but this is a very top heavy position group with significant concerns behind Lamb and Ferguson.

Grade: B

Edge Defenders

The Cowboys didn’t lose as much on defense as they lost on offense this off-season, but they still lost some key players, including a pair of edge defenders in Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler. They only played 446 snaps and 271 snaps respectively, but both were useful rotational players, finishing with 7.5 sacks, 4 hits, and a 12.1% pressure rate and 4 sacks, 3 hits, and a 17.8% pressure rate respectively in their small roles. To replace them, the Cowboys will probably give a bigger role to youngsters Sam Williams and Viliami Fehoko and they also added another young edge defender in the second round of this year’s draft in Marshawn Kneeland. 

Williams was a second round pick back in 2022 and has shown promise in limited roles thus far in his career, with a 70.9 PFF grade on 274 snaps as a rookie and a 68.5 PFF grade on 306 snaps last season, while combining for 8.5 sacks, 10 hits, and a 12.6% pressure rate. Williams is a projection to a larger role, but, still only in his age 25 season with a high upside, he should be capable of a bigger role in 2024 and I would expect him to be their top reserve edge defender. Kneeland also has upside, but could struggle through growing pains as a rookie, while Fehoko is a 2023 4th round pick who didn’t play a snap as a rookie due to injury and underwhelming practice performances. Both should play roles, but I wouldn’t expect them to be as good as Armstrong and Fowler were a year ago or as good as Sam Williams figures to be this season.

Fortunately, the Cowboys still have Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, who are one of the best edge defender duos in the league. Parsons has been one of the best pass rushers in the league since being drafted in the first round in 2021, totaling 40.5 sacks (4th most in the NFL over that stretch), 50 hits, and a 19.9% pressure rate in 50 career games, including 14 sacks, 20 hits, and a 20.1% pressure rate last season. He isn’t as good against the run, but has still finished with overall PFF grades of 89.8, 91.6, and 92.7 on snap counts of 902, 917, and 862 in his three seasons in the league respectively. 

Parsons hasn’t won a Defensive Player of the Year award yet, but he has played well enough that he could have won it in any of his three seasons in the league, finishing in the top-3 in voting in all three seasons. Still only going into his age 25 season, Parsons should remain one of the top defensive players in the league for years to come and it would be an upset if he didn’t win at least one Defensive Player of the Year award in his career, if not multiple. In fact, I would consider him the favorite for the award in 2024, given the voters’ preference for players who haven’t won one yet.

Lawrence isn’t as good of a pass rusher as Parsons, but that’s not exactly an indictment on him. In total, he has 49.5 sacks, 61 hits, and a 13.5% pressure rate in 105 games in the past seven seasons and he’s even better against the run, consistently being one of the top run stopping edge defenders in the league throughout his career. Because of his well-rounded play, Lawrence has finished above 80 on PFF in six of the previous seven seasons, with three seasons over 90, including an overall 91.3 PFF grade in 609 snaps in 2023, when he had a 92.4 run defense grade and added 4 sacks, 5 hits, and a 12.5% pressure rate as a pass rusher. 

Lawrence is now heading into his age 32 season and could easily decline in 2024, but he’s starting from such a high base point that I would expect him to remain at least an above average starter, even if he declines significantly. Any decline from Lawrence would hurt this defense, especially when coupled with the loss of Armstrong and Fowler, but Lawrence should still remain an above average starter at the very least, Micah Parsons should remain one of the best defensive players in the league, and the Cowboys still have good depth, led by the promising Sam Williams and second round rookie Marshawn Kneeland, so overall this is still a really strong position group.

Grade: A

Interior Defenders

The Cowboys also lost a pair of rotational players at the interior defender position this off-season in Johnathan Hankins and Neville Gallimore, but both struggled with PFF grades of 51.8 and 57.8 on snap counts of 350 and 288, so they won’t be missed much. The Cowboys didn’t add any real replacement options this off-season, but they figure to give a bigger role to 2023 1st round pick Mazi Smith, who only played 304 snaps in 17 games as a rookie. Smith struggled in his limited playing time, finishing with a 49.8 PFF grade, so he could be very underwhelming in an expanded role in 2024 if he doesn’t improve significantly, but he at least has the upside to take a big step forward in his second season in the league, even if that’s not a guarantee.

Smith will start next to Osa Odighizuwa, who was by far the Cowboys best interior defender last season, with a 81.4 PFF grade on 635 snaps. Odighizuwa was at his best as a pass rusher, with 3 sacks, 9 hits, and a 12.1% pressure rate, but he also played well against the run. A 3rd round pick in 2021, Odighizuwa is a one-year wonder in terms of playing at the overall level he played at last season, with a 48.5 PFF grade on 614 snaps as a rookie and a 63.3 PFF grade on 616 snaps in 2023, but he’s always been a solid pass rusher, with 6 sacks, 14 hits, and a 9.1% pressure rate in 33 games in his first two seasons combined. Still only going into his age 26 season, it’s possible he has permanently turned a corner and will remain an above average all around player and, even if he regresses as a run defender, he should remain a useful interior pass rusher.

Chauncey Golston remains on the roster as a reserve option. Also a 2021 3rd round pick, Golston has only played an average of 320 snaps per season in three seasons in the league, but he’s mostly been a capable rotational player, with PFF grades of 59.7, 68.4, and 62.7. He especially is useful as a pass rusher, with a career 9.2% pressure rate. He could see an expanded role in 2024, given the off-season losses the Cowboys have had at the interior defender position, but it probably won’t be a drastically expanded role and, still only in his age 26 season, he could prove to have another level.

The only addition the Cowboys made to their interior defender group this off-season is 7th round rookie Justin Rogers, who is unlikely to play a significant rookie year role and would almost definitely struggle in that role if he did. The Cowboys also have veteran Carl Davis, but he’s never played more than 300 snaps in a season in nine seasons in the league, including just 30 snaps played last season, and he has finished above 60 on PFF in just two seasons of those seasons, so he would almost definitely struggle if he had to play a significant role this season, especially now going into his age 32 season. This isn’t a bad position group, led by a trio of Osa Odighizuwa, Mazi Smith, and Chauncey Golston who are all young players with significant upside, but they all have downside as well and their depth outside of the top-3 is very suspect.

Grade: B-

Linebackers

The one free agent addition the Cowboys did make on defense this off-season was linebacker Eric Kendricks, who signed on a 1-year, 3 million dollar deal. He will be needed because Leighton Vander Esch retired this off-season after a solid, but brief and injury plagued 2023 season in which he had a 65.5 PFF grade in 269 snaps, while Markquese Bell, who had an impressive 80.0 PFF grade on 649 snaps in Vander Esch’s absence, is expected to move to safety in 2024.

Kendricks has been a solid starter for most of his career, playing 61.7 snaps per game in 132 games in nine seasons in the league, while exceeding 60 on PFF in all but two of those seasons, including a 72.3 PFF grade across 847 snaps in 15 games in 2023, but he’s heading into his age 32 season now, so, not only is it unlikely he’ll repeat his 2023 campaign, but he also isn’t guarantee to remain even a capable starter. It’s not a given that he’ll decline significantly, but it’s at least a significant concern and, at the very least, Kendricks seems likely to be a downgrade from Vander Esch and Bell.

Kendricks will start next to Damone Clark, who had a 61.8 PFF grade across 782 snaps in 2023. A 5th round pick in 2022, Clark is only a one-year starter, but he also flashed potential with a 65.5 PFF grade across 398 snaps as a rookie and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him remain at least a capable starter, with the upside for more, now in his third season in the league. The Cowboys also added Marist Liufau in the third round of this year’s draft to provide depth behind Kendricks and Clark and get DeMarvion Overshown back from a torn ACL that cost the 2023 3rd round pick his entire rookie season. Liufau and Overshown are totally unproven, but at least provide upside as reserves. This is an underwhelming position group overall and they will likely miss Vander Esch and Bell, but they’re not a terrible group at the very least.

Grade: B-

Secondary

As I mentioned, Markquese Bell will move from linebacker to safety this season. Bell was originally a safety and is undersized for a linebacker at 6-3 205, but he held up against the run and excelled in coverage last season, coming out of nowhere after playing just 22 snaps as an undrafted rookie in 2022. Not only is he a complete one-year wonder, but it’s fair to question if moving back to safety will be in his best interest, given how well he played at linebacker last season, so I would be surprised if he was as good in 2024 as he was in 2023.

Bell will likely take over the snaps ceded by free agent departure Jayron Kearse, who played 817 snaps in 2023, but struggled mightily with a 43.1 PFF grade. Fellow safeties Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker also played 731 snaps and 824 snaps for the Cowboys last season, as the Cowboys frequently used three safeties at the same time in sub packages, to mask some of their lack of depth at linebacker, something that is likely to continue in 2024. Both Wilson and Hooker had solid seasons with PFF grades of 68.0 and 77.3 respectively and both remain on the roster for 2024.

Hooker has been a solid starter since entering the league as a first round pick in 2017, finishing above 60 on PFF in all seven seasons, with three seasons above 70, and he is still only in his age 28 season, so he should remain an above average starter in 2024, but durability has been a consistent issue for him, as he’s missed time in every season in the league, while missing 32 games total. Wilson has also finished above 60 on PFF in all five seasons in the league, with two seasons above 70, but he similarly has missed 17 games in five seasons in the league. 

I would expect more of the same from Hooker and Wilson in 2024, solid play, but likely more missed time due to injury. Fortunately, in addition to having Bell, the Cowboys also have Juanyeh Thomas as a reserve option and he flashed a lot of talent with a 81.1 PFF grade in 2023, though it came in just 192 snaps and those were the first snaps of the 2022 undrafted free agent’s career, so he’s still very unproven. When Hooker, Wilson, and Bell are all healthy, all should see roles and Thomas would likely see at least somewhat of a role in the likely scenario that one of the three players ahead of him on the depth chart miss time with injury.

At cornerback, the Cowboys didn’t bring back Stephon Gilmore, who had a 74.4 PFF grade across 999 snaps last season. They do get back Trevon Diggs from a torn ACL that limited him to 101 snaps in two games last season and, in the three seasons prior to his injury, the 2020 2nd round pick had 17 interceptions, tied for the most by a defensive back over that time period. However, Diggs isn’t as good as that suggests, as he also allowed among the most passing yards in the league over that stretch and, as a result, he only had overall PFF grades of 62.7, 59.6, and 66.9 in those three seasons respectively. Now going into his age 27 season, Diggs probably is who he is at this stage of his career, someone capable of making big plays, but also someone who gives up a lot of big plays. He’s unlikely to have as good of an all-around season as Stephon Gilmore had in his absence last season, especially coming off of a significant injury.

DaRon Bland will start opposite Diggs and he had a huge year in Diggs’ absence last season, with a 90.4 PFF grade across 964 snaps (15 starts). A 5th round pick in 2022, Bland showed promise as a rookie, with a 71.9 PFF grade across 597 snaps (8 starts), but his 2023 performance was still a huge jump forward for him. He might not be that good again in 2024, partially because it’s very hard for anyone to be that good two years in a row, partially because he’s still relatively unproven with only one elite season under his belt, but even if he does regress, he has a good chance to remain one of the better cornerbacks in the league and, still only in his age 25 season, he could be one of the better cornerbacks in the league for years to come.

Jourdan Lewis remains the third cornerback and will likely continue being a liability. A 3rd round pick in 2017, Lewis showed some promise early in his career, but he’s finished with PFF grades of 48.1, 61.4, 59.1, and 52.5 on snap counts of 817, 801, 315, and 729 over the past four seasons respectively and, now going into his age 29 season, he is unlikely to get any better going forward. The Cowboys don’t really have a good alternative though, as their other cornerback options are Narshon Wright, a 2021 3rd round pick who has played just 272 mediocre snaps in three seasons in the league, Eric Scott, a 2023 6th round pick who didn’t play a snap as a rookie, and Caelen Carson, a 5th round rookie who would almost definitely struggle in a significant role as a rookie. The Cowboys would be in trouble if any of their top-3 cornerbacks missed significant time with injury, particularly if DaRon Bland missed time, as he elevates this position group significantly by himself. This isn’t a bad secondary overall, but they do have some concerns.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

When you compare the players who left the Cowboys this off-season to the players they added, it’s possible no team lost more this off-season than the Cowboys, who seem to be entering something of a rebuilding process, after three straight disappointing post-seasons. The Cowboys are starting from a pretty high base point, as they had one of the most talented teams in the league last season, and they play in by far the weaker of the two conferences, so they still have a good chance to at least make the post-season, but this team doesn’t look built for a long playoff run once they make it.

Prediction: 11-6, 2nd in NFC East

Quarterback

In 2022, the Cowboys were a good team, but not a great team, finishing the regular season 6th in DVOA, making the post-season as a wild card at 12-5, and ultimately falling short in a divisional round loss to the 49ers. It was a similar season for the Cowboys, who have won double digit games and have made the post-season in five of the past nine seasons, but none of those appearances have led to deep playoff runs, with two ending with first round losses and three ending with second round losses. 

That’s actually a long-term trend for the Cowboys, dating back to their last NFC Championship appearance in 1995, a period of time in which they have qualified for the post-season 12 times in 27 seasons, but have gone just 5-12 in the post-season and have failed to win multiple games in the same post-season appearance. The Cowboys didn’t have a ton of room for flexibility this off-season and they’re an above average team, even if they haven’t been true contenders, so they decided to basically run it back for the second straight season, with minimal changes, beyond a few key changes that I’ll get into later.

Much like this team has been good, but not great in recent years, the same can be said of quarterback Dak Prescott. Since becoming the starter as a 4th round rookie in 2016, Prescott has started 97 games, completing 66.6% of his passes for an average of 7.60 YPA, 166 touchdowns, and 65 interceptions, good for a 97.8 QB rating, while finishing above 70 on PFF in all seven seasons, including four seasons over 80.

He’s certainly not a bad quarterback, but the problem is that he is the 9th highest paid quarterback in the league in terms of average annual salary on a 4-year, 160 million dollar deal and the history of paying non-elite quarterbacks top quarterback money is not promising. Since the start of the salary cap era in 1994, just 5 of 29 Super Bowls have been won by a quarterback with a cap hit that was more than 11% of the salary cap and all of those quarterbacks are Hall of Fame caliber players. It’s close to impossible to win it all with a highly paid starting quarterback unless he is an elite player under center, as it becomes very tough to surround a non-elite quarterback with enough talent to win with if that quarterback is taking a significant percentage of the cap.

Prescott is going into his age 30 season in 2023 and I would expect more of the same. Injuries are becoming a bit of a concern for him, as he’s missed time in each of the past three seasons, 17 games total, after not missing any in his first four seasons in the league. Fortunately, the Cowboys have a decent backup Cooper Rush, who has a career 84.9 QB rating, including a 80.0 QB rating in 5 starts last season in Prescott’s absence last season, after Prescott suffered an injury in week one. 

The Cowboys went 4-1 in Rush’s starts, but that had more to do with their defense, as they were a much more efficient offense with Prescott in the lineup, despite the win/loss records. Rush is not a bad backup, but the Cowboys will obviously be hoping that Prescott can stay healthy all year this time around. This is a solid quarterback room, but Prescott might not be quite good enough for this team to be serious contenders at the highest level with him making the salary he currently makes.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

The biggest addition the Cowboys made on offense this off-season was wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who they are paying 12 million to come over from the Texans for a pair of late round draft picks. Cooks is going into his age 30 season and coming off of a 57/699/3 slash line, a down year for a receiver who has topped 1000 yards six times in nine seasons in the league, but Cooks’ low production last season was in part due to poor quarterback play with the Texans and also in part due to missing four games, as his 1.64 yards per route run average actually wasn’t far behind his career average of 1.81, despite the situation under center in Houston. 

Cooks isn’t totally over the hill and it’s entirely possible he bounces back statistically in 2023, if he stays healthier, in a much better offense. Even if he doesn’t bounce back to his prime form, Cooks should still be an asset for a team that lacked a consistent #2 wide receiver last year, behind #1 wide receiver Ceedee Lamb. Lamb finished last season with a 107/1359/9 slash line and a 2.38 yards per route run average, but their next best wide receiver was Noah Brown, who had just a 43/555/3 slash line and a 1.23 yards per route run average. 

For Lamb, last season was the best of his career, with a 86.3 PFF grade that ranked 7th in the league among wide receivers, but it didn’t come out of nowhere, as the 2020 overall pick has gotten better in every season in the league, going from a 74/935/5 slash line, 1.81 yards per route run average, and a 71.3 PFF grade as a rookie to a 79/1102/6 slash line, 2.06 yards per route run average, and a 84.6 PFF grade in his second season in 2021, to last year’s career best year, when he finished 6th in the league in receiving yards. Still only in his age 24 season, Lamb should remain one of the best wide receivers in the league for years to come in 2023 and beyond.

The Cowboys should also get more out of Michael Gallup (737 snaps), who struggled mightily in his first season back from a torn ACL in 2022, averaging just 1.00 yards per route run with a 39/424/4 slash line, but who has had much better years in the past and, only in his age 27 season, he has obvious bounce back potential, another year removed from the injury. Prior to last season, Gallup had averaged a 1.63 yards per route run and an average slash line of 70/1044/6 per 17 games in the previous three seasons combined, with his 2021 season ending after 9 games due to injury. Durability remains a concern for him and he may never go all the way back to his peak form, but he has a good amount of bounce back potential and should be useful for the Cowboys in 3-wide receiver sets with Lamb and Cooks.

With Noah Brown (823 snaps) gone, the Cowboys top reserve this season is likely to be 2022 3rd round pick Jalen Tolbert, although that’s mostly by default, with the rest of the position group consisting of recent late round picks and undrafted free agents, none of whom have surpassed more than a few catches in their career. Tolbert came into the league with a lot of potential, as evidenced by his draft status, and he still does have upside, but he also showed very little as a rookie, playing just 89 snaps, despite the Cowboys’ need for playmakers at the position, and averaging just 0.30 yards per route run. The Cowboys won’t need him much in 2023 unless there are injuries ahead of him on the depth chart, but that’s obviously a possibility and Tolbert could easily end up struggling if forced into a significant role as an injury replacement.

The Cowboys should have a talented top wide receiver trio this season, but they did lose tight end Dalton Schultz in free agency this off-season. Schultz actually finished second on this team with a 57/577/5 slash line on 89 targets, while averaging a 1.38 yards per route run average, giving the Cowboys a reliable tight end target to help make up for their lack of wide receiver depth. Schultz wasn’t replaced by a comparable veteran tight end this off-season, so the Cowboys are likely to have less focus on the tight end position this season, in favor of giving more targets to their talented wide receiver trio.

Jake Ferguson, a 2022 4th round pick who played 420 snaps and averaged 1.66 yards per route run as the #2 tight end as a rookie, is in line to start as Schultz’s replacement, and the Cowboys also added another young tight end, Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker, in the 2nd round of this year’s draft and he figures to also have at least somewhat of a role at the tight end position. Schoonmaker is raw though, while Ferguson is a projection to a larger role. The top-3 targets in this passing game are likely to be the wide receivers, given that they have a talented top trio at that position, but their young tight ends do also have some upside, in a receiving corps that seems strong overall.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

At running back, the big change is the Cowboys releasing long-time feature back Ezekiel Elliott, a move the Cowboys are hoping will be addition by subtraction, with promising young Tony Pollard poised to take over the feature back role, after being by far the more efficient back over Elliott in a limited role in recent years. In his career, the 2019 4th round pick Pollard has averaged 5.13 yards per carry on 510 carries in 4 seasons in the league, with 1.45 yards per route run as a pass catcher, and back-to-back seasons over 85 overall on PFF, while Elliott had averaged just 4.01 yards per carry on 712 carries and 0.69 yards per route run over the past three seasons combined, while not exceeding even 75 overall on PFF since 2019.

Pollard ran in more favorable situations and didn’t have as much usage, maxing out at 232 touches in a season, but he has exceeded Elliott in carry success rate over the past two seasons as well (55% vs. 53% in 2021, 50% vs. 49% in 2022), so he’s been the more efficient back any way you look at it and he could easily break out as one of the best feature backs in the league with Elliott out of his way. That’s not a guarantee, especially with Pollard coming off of a broken leg that he suffered in the post-season last year, but even if he wasn’t coming off the injury, he would still be a projection to a larger role, and I wouldn’t expect him to be as efficient in a bigger role even in a best case scenario, but he doesn’t have to be quite as efficient to be one of the more productive running backs in the league in a bigger workload. 

The Cowboys are betting on Pollard breaking out in his new expanded role, using much of the 13.1 million they saved from releasing Elliott to keep Pollard on the 10.091 million dollar franchise tag, a number he should exceed annually on a long-term deal if he can show himself to be healthy and capable of being a featured back in this offense in 2023. Releasing Elliott at that huge number was a no brainer and keeping Pollard, who will almost definitely be an upgrade, at a fraction of that cost makes sense as well.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys’ depth behind Pollard is a concern without Elliott, especially concerning since Pollard is coming off of an injury and is still a projection to his new larger role. The Cowboys finished last season 6th in the league with 531 carries as a team and if they want to come close to that number in 2023, they will need another running back to prove capable of handling a somewhat significant role. Malik Davis is currently penciled in as the #2 running back and the 2022 undrafted free agent flashed a lot of potential as a rookie in a very limited role, with 2.10 yards per route run and 4.24 yards per carry, but he’s still very inexperienced and an underwhelming option as the primary backup. 

The Cowboys probably want to avoid overloading Pollard, so whoever his backup is will probably see at least somewhat significant action, probably in both running and passing situations, and that very well could be Davis, who flashed potential in both aspects of the game in very limited rookie year action. The Cowboys also used a 6th round pick on Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn and seem like a strong candidate to add veteran depth before the start of the season. Any veteran they add would be more of a threat to the young backup running backs than it would be to Pollard’s expected feature back role though, as Pollard looks like the clear lead back, which elevates an otherwise underwhelming position group.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

The only big change on the offensive line is that they lost left guard Connor McGovern in free agency, but will probably get a healthier year out of left tackle Tyron Smith, who was limited to 271 snaps in 4 games last season. Smith’s return will push his injury replacement Tyler Smith to left guard where he’ll be a replacement for McGovern. The Cowboys are left without much depth and would be in trouble if any of their starters missed significant time with injury, but they could have a solid starting five again.

Tyler Smith played pretty well, finishing with a 71.4 PFF grade on the season, making all but one start at left tackle as a rookie last season, with the other coming at left guard, now his new starting position. It’s possible Smith won’t be as good at a new position, but guard also could be an easier position for him to play and it would be a surprise at all if he took a step forward in year two and became one of the better guards in the league. He was originally drafted to be the long-term replacement for Tyron Smith, who is now going into his age 33 season, but, for now, guard is where Tyler Smith will play.

Tyron Smith’s age is a concern, especially when you consider his injury history, missing at least 3 games in each of the past 7 seasons, with a total of 45 games missed over that stretch and 33 games missed over the past 3 seasons. However, he’s surpassed 75 on PFF in 8 of the past 10 seasons, including a 91.4 grade as recently as 2021 (11 starts), so, if he can stay healthy, even if he declines from his prime form, he should remain at least an above average starter, but that dominant 2021 campaign was surrounded by seasons in which he’s been limited to 2 starts and 4 starts respectively, and it’s entirely possible he misses another significant chunk of time with injury in 2023.

If Tyron Smith does miss more time, the Cowboys replacement options wouldn’t be great. Matt Waletzko, a 2022 5th round pick, only played one snap as a rookie, while 2021 4th round pick Josh Ball has played just 42 career snaps, and those are the only reserve offensive tackles on the roster aside from recent undrafted free agents with no experience. The Cowboys could move Tyler Smith back to tackle if Tyron Smith misses time, but their replacement options at guard only include Chuma Edoga, a 2019 3rd round pick who has been mediocre in 13 career starts, 2021 7th round pick Matt Farinok, who has struggled mightily in 214 career snaps, and 5th round rookie Asim Richards, who would likely be overmatched in a starting role in year one.

The Cowboys’ depth problems are even more concerning when you consider that right tackle Terence Steele tore his ACL in week 14 last season and might not be ready for the start of this season. Even if he is, he could easily not be 100% to start the season. Steele had a 73.9 PFF grade in 13 starts in last season, but he would have been a candidate to regress even before the injury, as Steele is a 2020 undrafted free agent who had formerly received grades of 50.3 and 64.5 respectively from PFF in the first two seasons of his career (27 starts), before his career best year in 2022. With an ACL tear in the mix now, Steele seems likely to have a hard time repeating his career best year again in 2023.

The Cowboys also have an aging star player at right guard, as Zach Martin is also going into his age 33 season. Martin has been one of the best guards in the league for years, exceeding 80 on PFF in 8 straight seasons to begin his career from 2014-2021, but he dropped off to 73.3 in 2022 and he could very well be on the permanent decline. He could remain an above average starter, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he declined further and it seems unlikely he’ll bounce back to his peak form.

The Cowboys also don’t have much depth at center, with no experienced players behind starter Tyler Biadasz, who is going into his 3rd season in that role, posting decent 64.8 and 61.7 grades on PFF and making 33 out of 34 possible starts. The 2020 4th round pick is still only in his 4th season in the league, so he could have a little untapped potential, but, even if he doesn’t, he should remain a capable starter. There is potential for this to be a solid offensive line, but the Cowboys have two starters in their age 33 season and a right tackle coming off of a significant injury, with minimal depth across the board, so there is potential for a lot of downside here too.

Grade: B+

Edge Defenders

The Cowboys’ defense was the strength of this team last season, ranking 2nd in defensive DVOA, and their edge defender group was probably the strength of their defense. That should remain the case in 2023, with this group not changing in any meaningful ways this off-season, aside from adding San Jose State’s Viliami Fehoko in the 4th round of the draft to give themselves even more depth. This position was led last season by Micah Parsons, who is one of the top defensive players in the league, and that should remain the case this season. 

The 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Parsons burst onto the season with a 89.8 PFF grade as a rookie, struggling against the run, but totaling 13 sacks, 15 hits, and a 21.8% pressure rate, and then he followed that up with a 91.6 PFF grade in his second season in the league, 2nd among edge defenders on PFF, taking a big step forward against the run and continuing to be a highly effective pass rusher, with 13.5 sacks, 15 hits, and a 18.4% pressure rate. Still only in his age 24 season, Parsons should remain one of the top edge defenders in the league for years to come and he should be on the short list of Defensive Player of the Year candidates.

The Cowboys also have DeMarcus Lawrence, who has been one of the best edge defenders in the league for years, with 45.5 sacks, 56 hits, and a 13.7% pressure rate in 88 games over the past 6 seasons combined, but he is going into his age 31 season now and, though he still had a 78.1 PFF grade last season, that was his first season below 80 since 2016, so he seems to be declining a little bit and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he continued declining further in 2023. He should remain an above average edge defender, but his best days are almost definitely behind him.

Reserves Sam Williams (274 snaps), Dorance Armstrong (542 snaps), Dante Fowler (343 snaps) all played pretty well last season, with PFF grades of 70.9, 61.8, and 63.2 respectively, especially performing well as pass rushers, with pressure rates of 13.3%, 12.3%, and 15.9% respectively and a combined 18.5 sacks and 19 hits across the three of them. Williams was a 2nd round pick in 2022 and could take a step forward in his second season in the league in 2023, possibly in an extended role, which could come at the expense of the aging DeMarcus Lawrence. 

Dorance Armstrong was a 4th round pick in 2018 and struggled as a reserve in his first three seasons in the league, but he played 507 snaps in 2021 and also had a decent 65.7 grade, with 5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 11.0% pressure rate, so he should be able to continue being a capable rotational player for the third straight season in 2023. Fowler is coming off a career best year as a pass rusher, though he has exceeded 60 as a pass rusher on PFF in six straight seasons, with 37 sacks, 36 hits, and a 11.1% pressure rate in 92 games over that stretch. He has mostly struggled against the run in his career and he probably won’t be as good as a pass rusher again in 2023, but he could easily remain a useful rotational player. This remains a very deep and talented position group.

Grade: A

Interior Defenders

The interior defender position was a position of relative weakness on defense for the Cowboys last season, so it makes sense that they used their first round pick on Michigan’s Mazi Smith, who figures to have a significant role immediately in year one, likely as a starter. Smith figures to have some growing pains in year one, but has a good chance to be at least a solid starter. He’ll likely start next to Osa Odighizuwa, the biggest bright spot of this group a year ago, as the 2021 3rd round pick had a 63.3 overall PFF grade on 616 snaps, especially playing well as a pass rusher, with 4 sacks, 7 hits, and a 9.0% pressure rate. 

Odighizuwa was also a solid pass rusher as a rookie in 2021 with 2 sacks, 7 hits, and a 9.3% pressure rate in a similar role (614 snaps), but he struggled mightily against the run (37.6 PFF grade). He still wasn’t good as a run defender in year two (54.7 PFF grade), but he was noticeably better. His run defense will likely remain a weakness in his third season in the league, but he should continue being a good enough pass rusher to make up for it.

Another recent third round pick, Chauncey Golston, was the Cowboys’ only other edge defender to finish above 60 on PFF last season, doing so on just 237 snaps, but he had a similar season on 414 snaps as a rookie in 2021, so he’s shown enough that he could earn an expanded role in 2023, even if he remains a reserve. His run defense has been underwhelming in his career, but he has an impressive 8.6% pressure rate in his limited action. Neville Gallimore was also a recent third round pick (2020), but he hasn’t been nearly as good of a selection, with grades of 52.1, 49.6, and 36.6 on snap counts of 416, 164, and 402 in his first three seasons in the league. He may have a little untapped upside, but that’s far from a guarantee and shouldn’t be guaranteed a rotational role or a roster spot at a position group that is deeper than it’s been in recent years.

The Cowboys also have veteran Johnathan Hankins and 2021 6th round pick Quinton Bohanna in the mix. Hankins was acquired in a trade with the Raiders mid-season last year, but he only played 115 snaps in 5 games and struggled mightily, before going down for the year with an injury. Hankins has had better years in the past, finishing above 60 on PFF in eight straight seasons to begin his career from 2013-2020, with four seasons over 70, but he’s had the two worst seasons by far of his career in the past two seasons (46.9 and 46.0) and, now going into his age 31 season, is likely to continue struggling. Bohanna, meanwhile, has struggled on snap counts of 222 and 264 respectively in two seasons in the league and wasn’t a high draft pick, so it’s very possible he never gets any better. This is a young group with some upside and the addition of Mazi Smith definitely makes them better, but they still have some concerns.

Grade: C+

Linebackers

Leighton Vander Esch remains the Cowboys’ top linebacker, coming off of a season in which he received a 70.8 PFF grade on 745 snaps. That was his best single season grade since his rookie season in 2018, when the 19th overall pick seemingly burst onto the scene with a 84.4 PFF grade on 785 snaps. However, injuries and inconsistent play led to him playing just 510 snaps, 460 snaps, and 661 snaps respectively over the next three seasons, while receiving PFF grades of 58.4, 50.6, and 63.5, before staying healthy and bouncing back somewhat to his rookie year form in 2022. Vander Esch is still only going into his age 26 season and could remain an above average every down linebacker, but there’s a good chance he regresses and/or misses time with injury, so I wouldn’t expect as much out of him as the Cowboys got a year ago.

Anthony Barr was the Cowboys’ other starting linebacker last season, receiving a 59.7 PFF grade on 608 snaps, but the Cowboys let the veteran leave this off-season, opting to replace him by promoting 2022 5th round pick Damone Clark, who flashed potential with a solid 65.5 grade on 398 snaps as a rookie. Clark is still a projection to a larger role and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he ended up as a liability in his first season as an every down player, but he also could take a step forward in his second season in the league and continue his solid play into a larger role.

If Clark struggles or can’t lock down the job, the Cowboys have third round rookie DeMarvion Overshown, who figures to be the third linebacker, playing sparingly as an early down run stuffer in base packages, but who also could play a larger role if needed, though he might struggle in that role. The Cowboys also still have 2021 4th round pick Jabril Cox, but he hasn’t shown much in the very few snaps (46) he has played in two seasons in the league and it’s unlikely they are suddenly planning on giving him a significant role in year three. This isn’t a bad linebacking corps, but there is a lot of youth and inexperience and their top player, Leighton Vander Esch, has a history of injury and inconsistency.

Grade: B

Secondary

The biggest addition the Cowboys made on defense this offense was trading for veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore only cost the Cowboys a fifth round pick in draft compensation because Gilmore is going into his age 33 season and is owed 10 million this season, but he’s been one of the best cornerbacks in the league for years and he hasn’t declined much yet, finishing last season with a 79.1 grade on PFF, his 7th season over 70 in the past 9 seasons. 

Gilmore is unlikely to ever return to his prime form, when he received PFF grades of 90.7 and 82.8 respectively in 2018 and 2019, and he might have trouble even being as good as he was last year again this year, given his age, but, barring an unexpectedly massive drop off, he should remain at least an above average starting cornerback, making him a welcome addition for a Cowboys team that needed help at the position, with Gilmore essentially replacing fellow veteran Anthony Brown, who had a 55.0 PFF grade on 728 snaps last season.

Trevon Diggs remains as another starter. He’s well known for the 17 interceptions he has in three seasons since entering the league as a 2nd round pick in 2020, which are tied for the most in the NFL over that span, but he has also allowed 2,361 receiving yards over that stretch, which is also most in the NFL over that stretch, and he’s consistently struggled against the run. His pass defense grades from PFF have still been decent, at 63.9, 66.7, and 66.1 respectively across the three seasons he’s been in the league, but those are not nearly as good as you’d expect just based on his interception totals. Diggs is still in his age 26 season and could continue getting better and he should benefit from having Gilmore opposite him, but I would expect for Gilmore to still be their best cornerback overall and for Diggs to continue being a boom or bust player.

The third cornerback role in this secondary is up for grabs. Veteran Jourdan Lewis has been a starter for the Cowboys for several years, starting 30 of 37 games played over the past three seasons, while playing 52.2 snaps per game, but he has been underwhelming with PFF grades of 48.1, 61.4, and 59.1 respectively. He was better in a more limited role earlier in his career and could benefit from going back to that role, but he could also remain a starter if no one else proves to be a better option.

DaRon Bland is probably their best alternative option, after flashing potential with a 71.9 PFF grade on 597 snaps last season as mostly an injury replacement from Lewis, playing well despite being just a 5th round rookie. Bland is a projection to a larger role and wasn’t a high draft pick, but he could easily end up developing into a solid starter long-term and could prove to be an upgrade over Lewis as soon as this season. The Cowboys also used 2nd and 3rd round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft on cornerbacks Kelvin Joseph and Nashon Wright and they could be candidates for larger roles, but they have played just 332 snaps and 220 snaps respectively in their careers thus far and could easily remain buried on the depth chart.

At safety, the Cowboys have a trio of starting caliber players and they use them together frequently, to compensate for their questionable depth at linebacker and cornerback. Malik Hooker (860 snaps), Jayron Kearse (815 snaps), and Donovan Wilson (959 snaps) all finished with impressive grades of 73.9, 70.2, and 70.1 respectively in 2022 and all could continue playing at a similar level in 2023. 

Kearse didn’t become a starter until his 6th season in the league in 2021, but he also had an impressive PFF grade that season at 76.8, and he’s flashed potential as a reserve before, so he should remain a solid starting caliber player in 2023. Wilson had never played as many snaps as he did last season before, but he did receive grades of 72.0 and 62.5 respectively on PFF on snap counts of 673 and 338 respectively in two seasons of significant action prior to last season, so he has a good chance to remain a solid starting caliber player as well this season. 

Hooker, meanwhile, has been a starter since entering the league as a first round pick in 2017 and has exceeded 60 on PFF in all six seasons in the league, including two seasons over 70, but durability has always been an issue for him, costing him 47 games total in his career, with at least one game missed in every season in the league. He should continue playing at a pretty high level when healthy, but he’s a strong candidate to miss more time with injury. All three safeties have a good chance to remain solid starting caliber players, in a secondary that is well above average overall, especially with the addition of cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

Grade: A-

Conclusion

The Cowboys are still probably behind the Eagles in the division, but they are one of the few teams in the NFC that was a contender a year ago that didn’t get worse from a year ago and, in fact, they are arguably better, due to the additions of veterans Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore. It would be nice if they could win their division and secure homefield advantage, but the rest of the NFC is so weak that the Cowboys could make a run though the post-season even as a wild card and they are arguably the second best team in the NFC overall behind their division rivals. I will have a final prediction at the end of the off-season when all previews are completed.

Prediction: 11-6, 2nd in NFC East