The Cowboys should be players in free agency, but do they have a plan of attack?
The Dallas Cowboys are entering perhaps their most important offseason in recent memory.
With Brian Schottenheimer at the helm, the Cowboys had a top offense in 2025, but a horrific defense.
In comes Christian Parker to turn around the horror show under Matt Eberflus, and if the Cowboys play their cards right, he'll have some serious weaponry at his disposal.
Two first-round picks are a start in a strong defensive draft.
But before that, free agency.
Dallas, with the restructuring of several contracts, coupled with some extensions and cuts, can have over $100 million in cap space.
We have already thrown up names such as Nakobe Dean, Trey Hendrickson, and Alex Singleton as potential additions if the Cowboys so choose
But is there a plan in place for how the Cowboys will attack a free agency period, where Jerry Jones stated that he could bust the budget?
Cowboys Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay offered a little insight.
"I think what we've always talked about is fill in the holes in free agency when you can and drafting the best players," McClay said via DallasCowboys.com. "So, we'll go through the free agency period. There's some good players out there, we'll have to figure out from a cap standpoint, but there are some good players out there, and we want to address it."
That sounds good in theory.
But with the Cowboys needing at least six to seven starting-caliber players on defense, not to mention the contract situations of George Pickens and Javonte Williams taking center stage on offense, there is a balancing act to undertake.
However, if you thought that Jerry simply opening the checkbook and getting whoever he wants was the way Dallas would be going, you know that's not going to happen.
For McClay, the franchise wants to do it the right way.
"We want to address it the right way with the right kind of guys," McClay added. "Once we get the full staff together, we'll get a lot of experience from different places that will give us input on players that they've coached before, coached against.
"So, it just adds to it, and we'll find the right guys if we're able to do some things in free agency."
The right guys. Exactly who that will be is an interesting thought exercise.
But with Parker in charge of the defense, who Dallas goes after in free agency will tell us a lot about his vision for 2026.
And how much backing he gets from the front office.