The Cowboys' defense was horrific in 2025, but that doesn't mean there aren't building blocks on the roster.
By any metric you want to use, Matt Eberflus' Dallas Cowboys defense in 2025 was a train wreck.
Seen as one of the worst units in football, it was no surprise Eberflus was moved on this offseason, and Dallas replaced him with an up-and-coming, bright defensive mind in Christian Parker.
Given how poor the defense was, you could be forgiven for thinking that Parker is walking into a situation that sees no defensive "alphas" for him to work with.
Well, you couldn't be more wrong.
Just because the Cowboys' defense was woeful doesn't mean the cupboard for Parker is bare; in fact, far from it.
It was just that after the top five or so players, the drop-off in talent was astronomical.
So, with the defense a clear priority to fix this offseason, given the size of the task at hand for Parker to transform this laughing stock into a respectable defense, what do the Cowboys need to see from the defense in training camp?
For Cowboys COO Stephen Jones, he's looking at a group of core players that he calls the defensive foundation.
"Let's start with our foundation, we've got three really good interior defensive linemen, and what the vision is for those guys," Jones said. "We've got a great draft pick that we think has a huge future in [Donovan] Ezeiruaku, certainly [DeMarvion] Overshown, we've got you know big- time thoughts about.
"Going to get [DaRon] Bland back and [Shavon] Revel. That's the foundation. Then you start to put the pieces in place from there, whether it's free agency or the draft."
So there are "key" players at the most important spots.
Quinnen Williams, Osa Odoghizuwa, and Kenny Clark along the defensive line are a good place to continue the list.
But ...
Overshown will be further removed from his horror knee injury that ended his 2024 season. He managed six games (five starts) in 2025, so he has something to build off - if he can stay healthy.
The same can be said for corner Shavon Revel Jr., who was coming off an ACL injury that saw him miss all of the offseason workouts, before being asked to play in the final months of the season (seven games).
Isn't it a bit early to consider him "foundational''?
As for Bland, another foot surgery isn't ideal, and the Cowboys will be hoping he is good to go for OTAs and training camp.
So his "foundational' status comes with some question marks, too.
Is the defensive foundation in place? Maybe. But even if it is ... as we saw last season, having a few good core guys means little unless you surround them with waves of healthy talent.