The NFL offseason is a rich tapestry for hopium.
Free agency and the NFL Draft are opportunities for teams to improve their respective rosters, and training camp, while not real football, is the perfect setting to buy into player hype, overreact to highlight clips, and convince yourself that this year will finally be different.
The Dallas Cowboys are no exception, though it's typically much harder to get swept up in the excitement. This offseason, however, has been different, and that feeling extends beyond Dallas.
In a recent article for The Athletic (subscription required), senior writer Ted Nguyen ranked the top three offseasons for Super Bowl contenders, teams knocking on the door, and rebuilding franchises. The Cowboys claimed the top spot in the "Teams on the brink" category.
Offseason winners? The Dallas Cowboys? Is this real life?
The Dallas Cowboys are putting together their best offseason in years
"The Cowboys look like they are finally putting together a team that can contend in the aftermath of the Micah Parsons trade.
The front office fulfilled much of [Christian] Parker’s checklist of needs through the draft. Getting a dynamic nickel was the top item on Parker’s list, and they got Caleb Downs, who is going to be the leader of their secondary. They also got edge help with their second first-round pick, Malachi Lawrence. Third-round pick Jaishawn Barham perfectly fits the Zack Baun archetype that is key to a Fangio-influenced system. He can play off-ball but can also move up to the line of scrimmage and play the run when they stem their fronts," Nguyen writes.
Often criticized for prolonging contract negotiations, Nguyen approves of Jerry Jones' decision to franchise-tag George Pickens. And he's right.
There is a massive difference between delaying extensions for CeeDee Lamb and Pickens. Lamb earned his deal with four years of elite production and zero off-field drama. Waiting until the last year of his rookie deal to sign him was preposterous.
Pickens was outstanding in 2025, but repeated fines for tardiness reminded everyone why teams still have reservations. Asking him to show more consistency on and off the field is the right call by Dallas.
Keeping Pickens for at least one more year is significant, but hiring Christian Parker to replace Matt Eberflus was the clearest sign yet that the Cowboys are serious about winning. For years, the Jones family defaulted to defensive coordinators they already knew or coaches with previous head-coaching experience. More often than not, it was both.
If you gave Jerry Jones truth serum, would he have even known who Parker was before the interview process started? Letting Brian Schottenheimer lead the search represented a massive organizational shift and an implicit admission from the Joneses that they got it wrong with Eberflus.
The youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history at 34 years old, Parker is widely viewed as a future head coach. But for the first time in years, the Cowboys seem to have laid the groundwork for defensive continuity beyond one coach.
Parker and Schotteheimer assembled a staff that understands and can carry out Parker's philosophy, giving Dallas a foundation that can sustain success even after he eventually leaves.
Instead of rebooting the defense every few years with vastly different schemes like Eberflus, Mike Zimmer, and Dan Quinn, the Cowboys finally have a chance to build something that lasts.
It was never realistic for Dallas to rebuild the defense overnight, but trading for Rashan Gary, signing Jalen Thompson, and drafting Caleb Downs, Malachi Lawrence, and Jaishawn Barham to complement Quinnen Williams gives Parker a solid foundation to build on.
And if DeMarvion Overshown and DaRon Bland stay healthy and return to form, Parker could already have the backbone of a long-term defense in place.
"Winning" the offseason hardly guarantees success, but it's hard to remember the last time the Cowboys earned this much genuine praise for what they accomplished in March and April. They finally look like a franchise with a real plan.
Add us as a preferred source on Google