u/Leonflames

By: Seth Walder

Dallas Cowboys:

C+

Biggest move: Keeping WR George Pickens on the franchise tag -- and only the franchise tag

Move I liked: Keeping Pickens on the franchise tag

Move I disliked: Trading DT Osa Odighizuwa

The ripple effects of Dallas' decision to trade Micah Parsons ahead of the 2025 season were still being felt this offseason. That was most apparent when the Cowboys were among the teams vying for Maxx Crosby. They didn't get the Pro Bowl edge rusher, who landed back in Las Vegas.

But losing Parsons was also likely a factor in the Cowboys' decision to trade a fourth-round pick for edge rusher Rashan Gary -- an overpay considering Gary is a vastly diminished relative to his pre-torn-ACL self and still will make $16 million per year.

The Parsons effect was also felt at defensive tackle. The Cowboys had used some of their extra draft capital from the deal to trade for Quinnen Williams in midseason, creating a bit of a surplus at interior lineman with Kenny Clark and Odighizuwa. Dallas' solution was to trade Odighizuwa to San Francisco for a third-round pick.

The Cowboys chose the wrong D-tackle to deal, as Odighizuwa is younger and makes less than Clark, plus is arguably better than the veteran at this stage of their respective careers. The Cowboys would have gotten less draft capital for Clark, but I don't think they fared particularly well with the Odighizuwa deal and wonder if they didn't trade Clark, who was part of the Parsons deal, due to the optics.

Dallas' other major player decision was related to Pickens. After the wide receiver's exceptional 2025 season, the Cowboys applied the franchise tag but said they wouldn't negotiate a long-term deal with him. This was the right move. Handing him a new contract right now would be paying Pickens at the peak of his worth. And I can't help but think about Pickens falling out of favor in Pittsburgh even with Mike Tomlin there -- and wonder if there's a risk of that happening in Dallas, too. Considering that, I don't see a great reason for Dallas to commit to him long term before it has to. And it doesn't have to right now.

The Cowboys made a change at defensive coordinator after finishing last in defensive EPA per play last season. They replaced Matt Eberflus with Christian Parker, who was the Eagles' defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach. Dallas added safety Caleb Downs and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence in the first round of the draft, signed free agent safety Jalen Thompson and traded for linebacker Dee Winters.

If the coordinator change and personnel reinforcements can make Dallas' defense roughly average while the offense maintains its torrid 2025 production, the Cowboys can quickly become a contender.

By: Patrik Walker, Tommy Yarrish & Nick Eatman

20) Aside from Downs, which rookie makes the biggest impact?

Patrik: My first instinct here is to go with Malachi Lawrence, and I don't doubt he'll make an impact in Year 1, but the first year in the league is rarely a breakout campaign for edge rushers — alongside the fact there are young veterans at the position who will get their shot (such as Sam Williams and James Houston). That said, I'm drawing a circle around rookie cornerback Devin Moore, and for a couple reasons.

Positionally speaking, Moore is more of a boundary cornerback than anything, and there have been serious availability issues with DaRon Bland. I am a firm believer Bland can return to form if he can stay healthy, but the foot injury has nagged him. If Bland misses time, it likely thrusts Moore in rotation with Caelen Carson (but Carson is in the final year of his contract). I believe Christian Parker and Ryan Smith want to develop the fourth-rounder to be a longterm solution at boundary CB, the same formula attached to Shavon Revel. Moore might be a pleasant surprise as early as Year 1, in my opinion.

Tommy: Go ahead and call me basic for picking the second first-round pick, but I do think that it's Malachi Lawrence. This is a pass rushing unit that has a lot of youth spread around it, and Dallas is banking on that youth to grow up and formulate a strong combination of good pass rushers. Lawrence has all the traits you could want in a pass rusher but may need some time to grow accustomed to NFL play. If he ends up learning and developing at a quicker rate, I think there's absolutely a world where he's considered to be the Cowboys' best pass rusher early in his career.

For the 2026 season, if there's noticeable growth and he's able to at the very least show the flashes of what made Lawrence a first-round pick based on the tape from UCF, I think that makes the biggest impact for Dallas outside of Caleb Downs. The good news for Lawrence in the learning process is I think he's got a strong group of position coaches around him in OLBs coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe and pass rush specialist consultant BT Jordan to be able to tap into his skillset early and make the necessary tweaks to his game that'll foster growth.

Nick: Immediately after the draft, I answered a question on here about my favorite Day 2/3 pick and I went with LT Overton. So I'm not going to change that answer here. I think it applies just the same because I really like the plan and vision the Cowboys have for Overton. Unlike the other rookies, the Cowboys do have players that play the same spots as Barham, Lawrence, Shelton and Moore.

But Overton is quite unique in that he's pretty much the smallest and quickness of the defensive tackles. I get the sense the Cowboys are going to use him on passing downs and he can lean on his pass-rushing skills but from the inside. It won't surprise me if he can get around the 5-6 sack range even as a rookie. That would be a huge impact and so for that reason, the fact that he already seems to have a carved-out role, that will be my selection here.

11. Dallas Cowboys

Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State

Downs' acclimation has gone exceedingly well, which is not surprising. He has won over veterans with his work on and off the field. He won over coaches with how quickly he has picked up things. He has played in the slot, where he will likely get most of his snaps, as well as each safety spot.

>"He's a worker. He looks for coaching. He craves that. He wants to be corrected. He wants more information," defensive coordinator Christian Parker said. "And he works as hard as he can with the extras and everything else. So, it's been good. He's been good to work with, and I think that he's trying to advance at the right rate." -- Todd Archer

23. Dallas Cowboys

Malachi Lawrence, Edge, UCF

Lawrence gets kind of lost in the shadow of Downs, but the Cowboys view him as a major piece of their pass rush. He took turns during OTAs and minicamp with the first team as last year's second-round pick, Donovan Ezeiruaku, recovered from offseason hip surgery.

>Coach Brian Schottenheimer likes what Lawrence has done, saying, "What I see from him, from a power [standpoint], when they're hitting sleds ... the size and the length that he plays with when you're doing just one-on-one pass-rush drills against dummies and things like that -- the power that he can create with arm overs and swats. I've been most pleasantly surprised by the instincts when he drops in coverage. Like they didn't drop him much at UCF, for the right reasons. But I like the way he's tackled this offseason, I think he's another guy that the talent is real. I don't remember him making a lot of mistakes, and that's a good thing." -- Archer

By: Tommy Yarrish

FRISCO, Texas – When the Cowboys selected Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Dallas' war room erupted in celebration. In the press conference following the first round, the Cowboys' brass admitted they didn't think Downs would be close to being available.

In the days and weeks after, Downs' selection captured headlines as one of the best picks in the draft, and rightfully so. But 12 picks after Downs became a Cowboy, Dallas' second first-round pick Malachi Lawrence was drafted to help the defense too. Lawrence's name hasn't been in as many headlines, and he's perfectly fine with that.

>"I'm kind of used to being in the shadows," Lawrence said. "It doesn't faze me. Once the time comes, people will see the work that you put in…"

>"Not being in the spotlight, if you get on Instagram, you probably won't scroll and see my name, but you'll probably see some other guys' names. Once you kind of get to know who I was, it's like I became out of the spotlight."

The Cowboys are excited about what Downs and Lawrence can do to help their defense, which was among the worst in the league and franchise history in 2025. Throughout the draft process, Downs was regarded as one of the best overall prospects in the class. Lawrence on the other hand was a name that wasn't discussed as widely, but that changed in Indianapolis.

>"Kind of building up into the combine, I knew I was going to kill the combine," Lawrence said. "It was just funny hearing all the mocks and stuff like that. But yea, being in the shadows and then rising to the top, kind of used to that."

Sure enough, Lawrence's performance including a 40" vertical jump and 1.59 second 10-yard split caught the eyes of NFL personnel departments and ultimately led to Lawrence going higher than most mocks suggested.

Now, Lawrence's opportunity to make the climb up begins in his rookie season as part of Dallas' new-look defense, where the work has already begun in the offseason program and is similar to the expectations of his collegiate coaches.

>"This minicamp has been great, just locking in with the vets," Lawrence said. "I'd say I definitely feel like I'm starting to get into that routine of being a pro. It kind of started at UCF too, NIL, so coaches are kind of forcing you to now be a pro. So it's really good."

One aspect of his game that the Cowboys are looking to work on is correct a false step in Lawrence's pass rush, which has been a point of emphasis for him during the time leading up to training camp.

>"I've seen great work just hitting it every day," Lawrence said. "Just making it one of my key focuses so I can use my explosiveness to my advantage when getting off the ball. Working with BT [Jordan] with that has been great."

Along with working with Jordan, Lawrence has gotten some coaching from veteran OLB Rashan Gary, who the Cowboys traded for in March. In Lawrence's eyes, Gary has established himself as a leader in the OLB room and a leader on the team.

>"He's very focused on the small details," Lawrence said of Gary. "Whether it's false stepping, whether it's working on our steps to get into the tackle, just little things like that. He's big on me with that."

Gary communicating with Lawrence and the rest of Dallas' defense is a common theme among what new defensive coordinator Christian Parker is looking to instill. That's the case on the rest of the defensive line as well, where Lawrence pointed to making sure everyone is one the same page being a crucial element to success.

>"All good defenses communicate," Lawrence said.

>"Communication just helps if you're confused with something or you don't know. You never know, the person next to you could have really needed that, and it helped them make the play."

>By: Marcus Mosher

The Dallas Cowboys completely overhauled their defense in one offseason, and the most important move was bringing in Christian Parker to lead the unit. The former secondary coach of the Eagles is one of the most highly regarded defensive coaches in the league, and the expectation is that he’ll turn this defense around into a functional group right away.

>But beyond the Parker hiring, the Cowboys made some significant changes on defense, adding players like Rashan Gary, Dee Winters, Caleb Downs, Jalen Thompson, Cobie Durant, etc. But there is one holdover from the Matt Eberflus era who could snatch one of the most important roles in Parker’s defense, and no one seems to be discussing him.

When the Cowboys made the trade for Dee Winters during Day 2 of the NFL Draft, the common belief was that he would pair up with DeMarvion Overshown to round out the starting linebacker duo. While that could still be the case, Overshown and Winters primarily play the same position as they are both weakside linebackers by nature.

Overshown and Winters are smaller linebackers who are at their best when they can run from sideline to sideline and chase the ball. Unfortunately, the Cowboys were in a tough spot after free agency as they missed out on Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean, who were their reported targets. Winters is still a good option, but there is some redundancy between him and Overshown.

The Cowboys have spent a good portion of their offseason workouts trying to find ways to make this pairing work, and it’s Overshown who has spent more time learning the ins and outs of playing middle linebacker. However, there is another linebacker on the team who could be a factor in the MLB job and that is none other than Shemar James, a second-year player from Florida.

>Shemar James could be a Week 1 starter for the Dallas Cowboys

James was a fifth-round pick from a year ago and quickly found himself on the field during his rookie season. James did not play a single snap in the first three weeks of the season, but from Weeks 4-10, he played nearly 77% of the defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference. His play was up-and-down during that time, but he did showcase some flashes of starting-caliber play.

James went back to a reserve role in Week 11, but he became a full-time starter again for the final three games of the season. His overall PFF grade (39.9) ranked among the worst linebackers in the NFL, and there is no denying that he struggled.

But it’s also worth noting that he was one of the youngest players in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he wasn’t expected to see the field much as a rookie. He also led the team in tackles with 91, which was completely unexpected going into the season.

>Not every player’s growth and development are linear in the NFL. Some players max out as rookies and others regress. But in the case of Shemar James, we should expect a 21-year old linebacker to improve in Year 2, especially after he earned so many snaps during his rookie season.

But the more fascinating part about James is that he might get a chance to be the Week 1 starting middle linebacker. While he isn’t significantly bigger than Overshown and Winters, he does have more experience playing inside.

James has been getting first-team reps, including some with Overshown out (wedding) and/or practicing with the second team. That doesn’t mean he’s a locked-in starter, but it does indicate that he is likely to be competing for a starting job or arguably to be the first backup off the bench.

The Cowboys appear to be pretty open to letting the linebacker position sort itself out during camp. And with Overshown and Winters both entering the final year of their rookie contracts, it makes sense to make this an open competition. That’s one of the main messages that Christian Parker has preached this offseason. No one will be given a job because of their draft status, contract, or tenure.

If James can prove that he is the most reliable and consistent middle linebacker on the roster, then there is a decent chance that he could open the season as a starter when the Cowboys take on the Giants on Sunday Night Football.

Keep an eye on James throughout training camp and the preseason, as he could be the one calling the plays and running Christian Parker’s new-look defense this year.

July 28: Cowboys report to training camp in Oxnard, California

August 11: Cowboys joint practice @ Rams

August 18: Cowboys host joint practice vs. Saints

>"The excitement, you can feel it. That guy makes it easy. You see us just in routes on air out there, but you just go turn on the tape, that guy is going to get separation. He’s just different. He understands his leverage. He understands his routes."

>"He understands where I’m looking for him at the catch point, the depth. So, yeah (throwing over the next five weeks) is going to be a beneficial time. It’s going to be great. But we can go throw a lot of touchdowns right now. That guy’s ready.”

>Where can Prescott and Pickens improve? Dak: “Every ball that I throw him gets completed. That's my standard. That’s his standard.”

>"I'm very excited for him to compete, and for us and him to have the opportunity for him to stay out there and play and learn. You get better at football by playing football"

>He started 18 games over the last two seasons for the Raiders. Last year in 15 games (9 starts), he had 3 sacks, an INT and 5 tackles for loss.

>He’s listed at 6-6, 250

- QB Dak Prescott will be limited with a "sore knee, nothing we're concerned about"

- S Malik Hooker (back) and S Jalen Thompson (pec), EDGE James Houston (back) will be limited as well

- CB DaRon Bland and EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku are "doing great"

>Brian Schottenheimer said the player reaction to George Pickens arriving for work was "just happy. Not seeing a brother for a couple of months."

>Brian Schottenheimer said if a regular season practice were conducted today, George Pickens could do it. "He's going to be ready (for training camp), so he understands what's coming."

Here's what Voch mentioned about this film session

>O line guru Duke Manyweather deep dived into some film with me and Broaddus. He covers shin angles, hand placement, Beebe's stance, Guyton's growth, intricacies in the run game & "Low man wins" is outdated.