The first few weeks of NFL free agency now in the books and teams are preparing up for the upcoming draft beginning April 24. Pro days are in full swing as prospects show off their skills with the 2025 NFL Draft just three weeks away. As the offseason drama heats up, we’re taking a look at the situation for all 32 teams around the league.
Here’s a check-in on the Dallas Cowboys, who hold the 12th-overall pick, heading into draft season.
State of the Union
The Cowboys are possibly the NFL’s most confusing franchise. It’s particularly difficult to grade their 2024 campaign since quarterback Dak Prescott missed much of the season due to injury, though there’s some common themes to gather from the overall sample.
Dallas finished the season with a 7-10 record — quite the disappointing finish given their expectations of making a deep playoff run. With Prescott healthy, they went 3-4 through the first half of the campaign. He went down in Week 9 with a hamstring issue and didn’t play again, but the Cowboys were shockingly competitive in his absence with a 4-6 record through the remainder of the season.
The one constant at AT&T Stadium throughout the campaign was a subpar defense. The Cowboys conceded the second-most points of any team at 468 and finished bottom-five in total yards allowed. Their run defense was particularly poor, giving up the fourth-most yards per game and a league-worst 25 touchdowns on the ground. Their inability to stop the run was by far their biggest flaw, so teams gashed them in this regard all season. Dallas also lacked standout options on offense aside from CeeDee Lamb, which capped out their own scoring potential more often than not. The mixture of these factors resulted in a bit of a disaster as the Cowboys were surpassed in the NFC East by the Super Bowl-winning Eagles and upstart Commanders.
Once the offseason began, Dallas got a late start in the coaching cycle but eventually parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy. Their new hire, former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, was an in-house promotion and arguably a stunner of a hire given his long track record in the league with little high-level success to show for it. Nonetheless, Matt Eberflus joined the staff as the new defensive coordinator, while they hired former Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams to fill the offensive coordinator role. It’s an unconventional staff, to say the least, but as Jerry Jones so frequently puts it, the Cowboys like their guys.
Whether this new staff can turn things around in Dallas remains to be seen. The hope is that with a productive draft, having Prescott back in the saddle will make all the difference in getting the Cowboys back to the playoffs. They should be competitive, but the range of outcomes for the team in 2025 is sizable — and as always, their NFC Championship Game drought looms as they approach year 30 without an appearance in the conference final.
Free Agency Recap
The Cowboys’ free agency thus far is headlined by a couple of big-time departures and more notable losses than additions. It’s been a bit rough at the top, but they’ve made plenty of depth moves and retaining defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa on a long-term deal is a major signing that stands out among the rest.
Key Losses:
- RG Zack Martin retired from the sport after an illustrious 11-year career, so the seven-time All-Pro’s absence leaves a massive gap behind on the offensive line.
- EDGE DeMarcus Lawrence, a four-time Pro Bowler with 61.5 career sacks for Dallas over his 11 years with the franchise, heads to the Seahawks and seems to have some beef with his former team.
- CB Jourdan Lewis, while not a star name, inked a big deal with the Jaguars and will be missed in the secondary.
- RB Rico Dowdle was a surprisingly capable starter last season with over 1,300 scrimmage yards and five total touchdowns, though the position is largely replaceable.
Key Additions:
- EDGE Dante Fowler Jr. reunites with his former team and is coming off a campaign with 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a pick-six.
- The LB duo of Jack Sanborn and Kenneth Murray might be sneaky-good acquisitions — Dallas’ linebacker corps needed help and Murray in particular brings some veteran savvy.
- QB Joe Milton III was acquired via trade from the Patriots for a fifth-round pick, and while that price tag is high, Dallas was in desperate need of a backup signal-caller after Cooper Rush signed with the Ravens earlier this offseason.
- This is a massive if, but HBs Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders have each flashed upside in the past… neither one is a lock to make the final roster, but Williams in particular has a little bit of intrigue as a cheap option in the backfield on a one-year prove it deal.
Team Needs
Offensive Playmakers: Dallas has plenty of needs, and it’s almost easier to name what holes they don’t need to fill than the ones they do. With that said, they need more talent on offense, plain and simple. CeeDee Lamb is a top-five wideout and Jake Ferguson is a good tight end, but there isn’t another true impact player at any of the offensive skill positions. Whether it’s a top-tier receiver to line up alongside the pass catchers or one of this draft class’ many talented halfbacks (though preferably not one in the early rounds), the Cowboys need guys who can make things happen with the ball in their hands. If they can’t diversify who they’re feeding the rock to, this team isn’t going anywhere.
Cornerback: DaRon Bland is great, but Jourdan Lewis is gone and Trevon Diggs isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the campaign after suffering a season-ending knee injury on which he underwent surgery in January. Diggs also has a history of injuries to that same knee after tearing his left ACL in 2023, and he signed a hefty contract extension which isn’t up until 2028. This cornerback room is going to be very hard to trust, and counting on offseason acquisitions Kaiir Elam and Israel Mukuamu isn’t going to cut it. Dallas needs some help here since they’re so thin.
Defensive Tackle: Poor trench play and run-stopping has been a common theme for the Cowboys over the last few seasons. They need more big bodies up front who can stifle the ground game — if they can’t do that, winning football games gets very, very difficult.
Potential Picks
Matthew Golden, WR, Texas: Golden put up some nice numbers last season for the Longhorns with 987 yards and nine touchdowns on just 58 catches. He made waves among draft pundits with a 4.29 40-yard dash at the Draft Combine last month, though his speed doesn’t exactly jump off the screen on his game tape. With that elite performance in Indianapolis, Golden shot up draft boards and could be a popular pick here as he stays in Texas.
Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona: Another top wideout in this class, McMillan would provide a big target outside the numbers to work alongside Lamb. People love to comp the 6-foot-4 standout to Mike Evans, though he’s arguably more like Drake London since he’s got the measurables but not the top-end speed of Evans. However, Tet is twitchy and tallied the third-most receiving yards of any FBS receiver last season to go along with eight scores. The choice between he and Golden is a matter of personal preference to many pundits.
Will Johnson, CB, Michigan: In this scenario, Dallas takes a cornerback to quell concerns in the secondary. 12th overall probably isn’t too early for the Johnson, though he may not even be on the board at this point. The former Wolverine ranks third among all corners in production score, has great size at 6-foot-2, plus he earned All-Big Ten selections in each of the last two seasons along with a Third-team AP All-American nod in 2024. Is a corner the most fun pick over the wideouts or, say, Ashton Jeanty? No, but it could be the right one.
