Most know that this offseason, the Cowboys have a couple of important things to do, but one may trump all the others.
There's no second-guessing what the big point of emphasis is for the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, as free agency comes into view, is there?
Yes, the contracts for George Pickens and Javonte Williams have to be sorted out, but after that? It's all on the defense.
Christian Parker takes over from Matt Eberflus as defensive coordinator, with Parker's staff now filling out with fresh faces and fresh ideas.
Set to have over $100 million in cap space, plus two first-round picks, the opportunities are there for the Cowboys to completely overhaul one of the NFL's worst defenses.
But as we know, the Cowboys aren't always in the business of doing what most would see as the "easy" thing. They march to their own beat.
However, most of the attention should be focused on improving the defense, and it isn't really close.
ESPN's Todd Archer used three words to describe the Cowboys' upcoming offseason, and went with "Fix the defense."
"There is a lot of work to do, but the Cowboys started by hiring 34-year-old Christian Parker at defensive coordinator and an almost entirely new coaching staff," Archer wrote. "Now, they have to find Parker more talent after the defense allowed 511 points in 2025. They have two first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 20).
"They can be more aggressive in free agency depending on how they want to handle their salary cap. But they also need improvement from players already in-house, such as linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku and cornerback DaRon Bland."
Archer isn't wrong.
The Cowboys have to be aggressive in free agency and go after the "Ferrari" as we have spoken about at length here, say Maxx Crosby?
Plus, there are several decent free agency options in Reed Blankenship, Devin Bush, and Alex Singleton, just to name a few.
But another thing Archer also stated is right on the money.
We need to see improvement from Donovan Eze, Bland, Revel Jr., and Overshown, as all four, you can argue, are key pillars of Parker's defense.
With the expected additions to the defense, the development of those already on the roster must continue to improve.
There is a big defensive focus this offseason for the Cowboys, and given the state of their offense, this is an opportunity they can't afford to mess up.