After the changes made this offseason, some have the Cowboys among the NFC's elite, and even in Super Bowl contention, but it's a long journey to get there.
Stop me if you've heard this before in an offseason: the Dallas Cowboys are Super Bowl contenders.
It feels like most offseasons, after free agency and the draft, the Cowboys on paper have a team that many believe is capable of winning the Super Bowl. This despite not even getting to an NFC Championship game for three decades.
And this year, after a free agency period that saw some shrewd signings made, plus the draft haul with Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence.
Then, the new coordinator, Christian Parker, whom everyone is swooning over, the Cowboys have made some changes that many think will translate to success.
Me? I'm letting the cake bake on that one. Yes, we know what the offense is, as all key pieces return. But the defense is a big question mark, as we haven't seen it in action yet, nor have we seen Parker call a game.
But for quarterback Dak Prescott, who was speaking at his Faith, Fight, Finish foundation gala, he was asked if the Super Bowl talk is more realistic this time around.
"Absolutely," Dak said. "Each year, you think that, but when you have last year as we did, the offense we did, you make the changes, got a great defensive coordinator, you got young guys, new guys, great mix of vets and us understanding what needs to be done.
"It is a journey, it's a process, understand it's not going to happen in week one of training camp, but we got to make sure we are getting better every day, every moment we're together."
We know what kind of competitor Dak is, and with the Cowboys missing the playoffs for the past two seasons, the first order of business is to make the tournament.
Do that and you have a chance.
The Cowboys, coming off a 7-9-1 record, do have a vastly different vibe to them in Brian Schottenheimer's second year as head coach/play-caller, and many of Cowboys Nation are bullish on the team's chances at amounting to something substantial.
Of course, we've been here before, only for Dallas to flame out.
Will this time be different? Who knows, and training camp hasn't even started yet, so once we see Parker's scheme in full flight (to an extent) and the offensive evolution under Schottenheimer, maybe we can start to make some 2026 projections.
The changes made have been applauded, but as far as Super Bowl talk? Count me out of that for the moment.
