NFL executives heaping praise on offseason is uncharted territory for Cowboys

Fans of the Dallas Cowboys had gotten used to the team being bystanders in the offseason. For better or worse — typically the latter — the front office emphasized developing homegrown talent, retaining their own in free agency, and only signing an outside free agent if the money and fit were perfect.

Fresh off another playoff letdown in 2022, though, the Cowboys refreshingly broke out of their shell this time around.

They were one of the more active teams once the legal tampering period got underway, re-signing Donovan Wilson before wheeling and dealing for two grizzled veterans and proven winners in Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks.

While the headline-grabbers, those moves shouldn’t overshadow Dallas’ other accomplishments, Retaining Leighton Vander Esch, Johnathan Hankins, and Cooper Rush were all savvy moves, as evidenced by their respective deals.

As were releasing Ezekiel Elliott to save cap room and reworking the contracts of Cooks, Tyron Smith, Dak Prescott, and Zack Martin.

Again, it’s impossible not to be euphoric with what the Cowboys have done, and one anonymous NFL executive had nothing but positive things to say about them in evaluating free agency to Mike Sando of The Athletic.

Anonymous NFL executives praise Dallas Cowboys offseason

"“You always worry about aging corners, but because of his [Gilmore’s] instincts and smarts and staying on top of routes and using his hands to reroute guys off the line of scrimmage, I thought he was a huge get for the Cowboys,” one exec told Sando of the Gilmore trade."

Another executive is equally bullish on Dallas acquiring Cooks.

"“He [Cooks] can still take the top off and he has been productive as a 1, so if teams choose to bracket CeeDee (Lamb) and roll coverage to CeeDee, Cooks is a player that can be pretty dangerous for them,” another exec said."

The first exec even applauded a move that’s gotten lost in the shuffle amid the Cowboys’ spending spree: franchise-tagging Tony Pollard.

"“Pollard makes the offense go; we saw that in the playoffs. They had to keep him. Schultz, I can’t believe what he turned down. Some of these guys want to hit the market so bad. With Cooks and Gilmore, Dallas got better for sure.”"

The moves that haven’t been mentioned include retaining pass rusher Dante Fowler, who quietly put together a strong 2022, special teams gunner CJ Goodwin, fellow special teamer and promising running back Rico Dowdle, and signing Ronald Jones and Chuma Edoga to add more depth to the backfield and offensive line.

For a team that’s grown accustomed being one of the biggest “losers” of the offseason, this is uncharted territory for the Cowboys. They’re clearly one of — if the not the — biggest winners this year and the NFL Draft is still weeks away, which is typically their time to shine.

It’s all fans have ever wanted.

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