The offense did the heavy lifting last season, and the defense offered nothing, but if the scales can be leveled, is Dallas a playoff team?
Last season, the Dallas Cowboys were elite offensively but horrific defensively, and this offseason, the franchise went about rectifying that.
The hiring of Christian Parker and his coaching staff, coupled with the defensive additions in free agency with Rashan Gary, P.J. Locke, Cobie Durant, and Jalen Thompson, set a good foundation.
Then the NFL Draft with Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence as first-round picks further solidified the defense to the point where some are extremely bullish on what Dallas can do in 2026.
Me? I'm holding off on crowning Dallas as anything yet. I've seen this movie before.
However, there's no denying the franchise has moved differently this offseason to help ease the pressure on Dak Prescott and the offense, which had to be perfect for Dallas just to be in games.
That's unbalaned.
CBS Sports' Zachary Pereles, his word to describe Dallas' offseason is "balance."
"The Cowboys were second in total offense last season and fifth in points scored, but 30th in total defense and last in points allowed," Pereles wrote. "It doesn't get much more unbalanced than that. Hoping to be a more balanced team, Dallas focused almost exclusively on its defense this offseason, and Downs, selected 11th overall, is going to be a key figure in that.
"The Cowboys also hope they have balanced their defense as a whole, adding talent up front in first-round pick Malachi Lawrence and trade acquisition Rashan Gary, and in the linebacker corps (Dee Winters), as well."
All eyes are on the defense to see what Parker can cook up in his first defensive coordinator role.
Yes, the pieces are there for this unit to go from 32nd to say 20th, but how they will do it remains to be seen.
We have heard some experts say that Parker's scheme relies on a lot of post-snap movement to mess with a quarterback's eyes, rather than pre-snap movement, when a quarterback can simply get the ball out quicker to avoid pressure.
The defense has to pull its weight in 2026.
The offense did all the heavy lifting under Brian Schottenheimer, and the defense, for the most part, offered little resistance, if any.
That's got to change.
Is a balanced Cowboys team good enough to go on a playoff run?
On paper, yes, but on the field? That is yet to be determined.
