After the NFL Draft, many have the Cowboys as one of the teams to beat in the NFC, but should we tap the brakes on those expectations?
The Dallas Cowboys, through their offseason moves, have positioned themselves for a good 2026 season.
Now, there are varying "goods" in a season, with the Cowboys simply returning to the playoffs for the first time in a couple of seasons.
But then there are those who think Brian Schottenheimer's team will win the division and go on a deep playoff run. Yep, everyone is a Pro Bowler at this time of year.
The offseason has been fruitful, no doubt, with the free agency signings, plus the draft, and what Christian Parker is expected to do for the league's worst defense.
Couple that with Schottenheimer's offense, which was elite last season, and on paper, Dallas has all the tools needed for a bounce-back year in 2026.
And for Mad Dog Sports radio's Adam Schein, he's going all in on the Cowboys.
"I have the Dallas Cowboys winning the NFC East, I think there is a real shot that we see the Dallas Cowboys playing on championship Sunday for the first time in 30 years," Shein said.
"I think Stephen Jones and Will McClay deserve a lot of credit. They restocked that entire defense. They are loaded with team-oriented studs. Caleb Downs has Rookie of the Year vibes, Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, full season. I'm obsessed with the [Rashan] Gary pickup, with [Malachi] Lawrence, Christian Parker.
"Prescott throwing to [CeeDee] Lamb and [George] Pickens, [Jake] Ferguson at tight end, Schotty's done an excellent job, [Javonte] Williams running the football. If you take Jerry Jones' name and the prior Cowboys chaos out of the mix, what's not to love here?"
There is a lot to work through there, and I'm as bullish on the Cowboys as the next person, but as our own Mike Fisher often says, "let the cake bake."
Let's not forget, Parker is a first-time defensive coordinator, so we don't know what we are going to get from him in a real NFL game, calling plays.
Yes, Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence project to be good players off the bat, but that is another unknown.
Will the offense be as good as last season?
I agree with Shein in the fact that there's a lot to like about this version of the Cowboys, but there are also a handful of unknowns, especially in May, to have any serious conviction about Dallas in 2026.
Now, could Shein be proven right? Absolutely, but let's tap the brakes on the division title and playoff talk for now.
Let's actually see what the offense and, more importantly, Parker's defense looks like before making any sweeping statements, shall we?