Jerry Jones abandoned his passive approach, aggressively overhauling the roster through savvy trades and tactical signings to finally snap a three-decade drought and silence the salary-cap critics.
FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer leaned toward the hyperbolic the other day when he described his franchise’s busy offseason and the perceived improvements as “incredible.’’
Yeah, that’s a bit much. But relative to previous offseasons? Owner Jerry Jones and his front office have been active and have, in doing so, exhibited a willingness to change.
Of course, a 30-year drought would figure to do that to a guy and his business, right?
Below, I rank the Cowboys’ offseason moves, a top-10 list that is something shy of “incredible’’ while also being one worthy of hopefully turning things around from a year ago when Dallas finished 7-9-1 …
10 Dee Winters & Jaishawn Barham (ILBs) - The Cowboys were in hot pursuit of veteran free agents who could be plugged in here as linebacker upgrades - namely Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Devin Lloyd.
They missed out on all three. But at least they admitted a void.
And then they took two swings at filling it, with the trade for the 49ers’ Winters and the third-round pick used on the Michigan standout Barham.
9 Cobie Durant (CB): Some are projecting the former Rams helper - added on a one-year deal after a standout six-interception season - as an obvious starter. I would suggest that’s an overreach, and that he’s going to be a rotational fill-in at corner and Nickel corner.
But I also believe he’ll be a good fill-in there, a massive step-up from what this team did on defense a year ago.
8 Rashan Gary (EDGE): Acquired in a trade with the Green Bay Packers for a 2027 fourth-round pick, Gary is earning raves from Schottenheimer, who calls him “a grown-(expletive) man!’’
Gary comes to Dallas with a weird statistical quirk: He notched 7.5 sacks last year (good!) but got them all in the first half of the season (bad!).
The Cowboys pivoted to Gary after missing out on the trade bidding for the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby. They talk as if they are satisfied with that pivot.
Short of circling back on Crosby? They need to be right.
7 Jalen Thompson (S): He agreed to a three-year, $33 million contract to solidify the secondary - with the Cowboys pulling off this move before the drafting of Ohio State DB Caleb Downs.
Thompson isn’t being given the credit yet for what he’s capable of; playing in the vast wasteland of Arizona will do that to a guy’s career. But he can be a difference-maker in this system.
6 Javonte Williams (RB): He re-signed on a three-year, $24 million deal, and kudos to both him and the Cowboys here. Williams recognized that he’s a fit in this system, and Dallas gets him for one-third the cost of some more ballyhooed runners.
This can be a steal.
5 Moving Money: The “switch-flips” on Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb? No-brainers.
More gutsy?
We predicted they’d move the money on Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark and Terence Steele, our thoughts flying in the face of critics who foolishly predicted Dallas’ “cap hell’’ would force the team to cut Clark and Steele.
But COO Stephen Jones and company got this (and a Gary money move) done in an assertive way.
I’ve never hesitated to criticize Stephen for his cap frugality. And it’s in that same spirit that he now deserves some praise for this sharp juggling act.
4 Brandon Aubrey (K): In a worst-case scenario, this could’ve been a $10 million APY controversy.
But the much-maligned Dallas front office coolly and quietly - again - avoided overspending and avoided conflict, all while making “Butter” the highest-paid kicker in NFL history at $7 million APY.
3 George Pickens (WR): To some degree, the jury is still out here. Will the Pro Bowl receiver end up being happy with his $27.3 million guaranteed tag contract for 2026? will he pout? Will he protest?
But as I write this, the negative ripples are few. … and credit to all parties is due.
2 Caleb Downs (DB): The Cowboys, on their pre-NFL Draft Big Board, had four names as top-tier guys … and yet while slated to draft 12th, they landed one of them.
It took assertiveness (Dallas traded up one slot) and it took luck. But Downs is already on a “face of the defense’’ path, earning positive reviews from all corners of The Star.
The first-round harvest also included EDGE Malachi Lawrence, and I don't mean to skip over the optimism there.
But ...
That word “incredible’’? As is relates to Downs, it might end up applying here - and quickly.
1 Christian Parker (Coach): The acclaim here isn’t solely about the intellect and the intensity and the other talents of the new defensive coordinator, who at age 34 is about to run his own unit for the first time.
It’s also about the admission of a mistake (leading to the firing of Matt Eberflus) and it’s about a change in management style (as Schottenheimer made this pick, not ownership).
Someday, we may look back and marvel at what Parker did to launch his career into the stratosphere during his short time in Dallas; hey, if he fast-tracks to being an NFL head coach, it will have meant massive success in the coming years.
But for now? Parker isn’t just a coach. He’s also a symbol - a symbol of needed change here inside The Star.
