PFF deems the Dallas Cowboys a ‘tier 3’ team in latest power rankings

Even though the NFL season is still three months away, the power rankings are already starting to trickle in. It seems like every year the Dallas Cowboys start ranked pretty high and end up trickling down the board or disappointing analysts who put them higher up the charts. Pro Football Focus did not take that approach.

In PFF’s latest power rankings, writer Sam Monson split the league into five categories. In order, they are True Contenders, Could Be the Year, Eyes on the Playoffs, Stuck in Limbo, and Rebuilding. The Cowboys landed in the third tier at No. 12 out of all 32 teams. A ranking done back in May by NFL.com had the Cowboys even lower at No. 13.

First, let’s take a look at which teams were deemed better than Dallas:

1. Buffalo Bills
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3. Los Angeles Rams
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Los Angeles Chargers
6. Green Bay Packers
7. Denver Broncos
8. Cincinnati Bengals
9. San Francisco 49ers
10. Cleveland Browns
11. Baltimore Ravens

Dallas Cowboys slip all the way to No. 12 in PFF’s 2022 power rankings

Some of these make obvious sense. The Bills, Chiefs, Rams, Bucs, and Chargers are all clearly better teams than what Dallas is right now on paper alone. Some teams seem a bit more questionable.

Assuming the Broncos will have immediate success simply by upgrading their quarterback doesn’t seem entirely fair. With several question marks in the air and tons of roster changes in Cleveland, it’s hard to think the Browns deserve to be ranked tenth in the league.

Here was Monson’s exact breakdown as to where he placed the Cowboys:

"Dallas had a curious offseason where every problem it faced seemingly caught the franchise by surprise. The team traded away Amari Cooper because it was upset that he wasn’t providing the kind of value his contract suggested. Cedrick Wilson also departed in free agency. They thought they re-signed Randy Gregory, but he became upset at some contract language, so he took the same offer from Denver, leaving Dallas scrambling to replace him. Overall, this team likely spun its wheels in the mud this offseason while other teams improved, but they are still a good team overall."

As many people have pointed out, Monson’s biggest criticism is how much the Cowboys lost this offseason. Several meaningful components to their roster will be on other teams next season. With few external additions and a handful of rookies who have yet to play an NFL game, it’s hard to say the front office has solidified meaningful replacements for those losses.

With the expectation that a ton of rookies will automatically perform, are the Cowboys in jeopardy of having another disappointing playoff exit this year? Or, do these rankings not truly reflect what this team is capable of in 2022?