Well, the season is officially over so let's start talking about what the Cowboys need to do to end this drought.

He should start by selling the team

got to get a pass rush with just the DL and maybe the secondary will look better

This years playoffs/super bowl proved, once again, just how important your coaches are. Just look at Detroit in Year 1 without Ben Johnson vs. Chicago with him.

Schotty definitely gets an A for his work with the offense in year 1. I'm very optimistic that we, finally, hired the right guy on D. I'm optimistic this team can compete next year... heck, we somewhat competed this year with a historically bad defense.

Still need to have success this offseason bringing in/keeping the right guys and letting the wrong ones go. Our GM has been 50/50 at best in this sorta stuff and that's not good enough.

Let's go all in Jerry!

How much cap space could each NFL team free up with simple restructures?

1. DAL $131M
2. DET $128M
3. KC $109M
...
32. PHI $0.2M 😅

Data: @Jason_OTC (02/11/2026)
A simple restructure converts payments into prorated signing bonuses spread over the remaining years of the… pic.twitter.com/knNG9kAbzB

— SFdata9ers🏈📊 (@sfdata9ers) February 11, 2026

Broadus was saying the other day that he does feel like the Cowboys will go after at least 1 impact free agent. Said he was encouraged how the organization (the Jones's) let the coach handle the DC search. He thinks they are going to give the same coaches the resources to make the team better.

He's also under the impression that the Pickens franchise tag was floated early so that teams can talk to Dallas at the combine about a possible trade. He doesn't see the Cowboys working out a long term deal (same agent as Parsons) so it will either be the tag or we'll let somebody else pay him and we'll take a 1st rounder. Heck, even a 2nd rounder is a win considering we paid a 3rd for him.

J.P. 03 said:

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Did anybody have "Trump will pardon Nate Newton" on their off-season bingo card? I did not see that coming.

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Put that man in the HoF now that his record is clean!

Let you know after the draft.

Bradley Chubb released. Would love to kick the tires on him.

Christian Parker intro presser. Seems calm and direct. Says scheme will be multiple and built around the personnel available (thank God) but core front will be 3-4. At 32:00 mark, talks about how important it is having a versatile nickel in his system.

I get a good vibe from him. Think the defense is in good hands.

What do you think he meant by "versatile nickel"? I'm assuming that means a Darren Woodson type who can play safety and also come down and cover.


Sounds like Caleb Downs to me.

I'm listening to Voch and Broadus from a day or two ago... they are having a fun debate / conversation / argument over the concept "how in the hell did every player on our defense get worse last year!?!".

They have no answer. They hesitate to put it all on Flus, but they also can't explain it. You can't fall into the trap thinking CP is going to fix everybody and our personnel is OK... but you also can't think that we have no chance unless we replace 8 of our starters.

It's a fun listen because they are vocalizing my internal debate.

jr15aggie said:

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What do you think he meant by "versatile nickel"? I'm assuming that means a Darren Woodson type who can play safety and also come down and cover.


Sounds like Caleb Downs to me.

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Thought Downs too. But he's referring to that safety who can play in the slot or play the robber when needed. He perked up when answering that question.

Broaddus mentioned a hypothetical trade on one of his shows: if Downs fell to 6 to Cleveland, would you trade 12 and 20 for 6 and 39 to go get Downs? Think I would make that deal for Downs.

Quote:

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Broaddus mentioned a hypothetical trade on one of his shows: if Downs fell to 6 to Cleveland, would you trade 12 and 20 for 6 and 39 to go get Downs? Think I would make that deal for Downs.

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In that scenario, yeah I can live with that. Using #20 to make it happen and getting an early 2nd in return is good value.

But I'm very stingy with #20... we walked away from a great player for those #1 picks and we've already given 1 of them away for a player. I want our two #1 picks this year. I'm OK with moving the picks and being creative, but I still want two day 1 picks!

Page 1. Let's be SMART this off-season, Cowboys!

My Friday morning draft thoughts:

- Downs isn't making it to 12 and he's not getting close enough for us to consider a trade.

- Sonny Styles looking to be the "run to the podium" pick right now... but there are lots of mocks where he's gone too.

- Assuming Downs is a no go, I think Safety at #20 is heating up. CP said in his presser he covets a nickel player. Thieneman and Mcneil-Warren are two names making the rounds. Without a 2nd/3rd round pick, I think it's very likely Cowboys jump on this position. Possible we try and trade down a few spots before making this pick. Maybe we can pick up a 3rd or possibly swap our 4th for a 2nd to make it work.


Right now the ideal scenario (for me) is Styles at 12, trade back to mid/late 20's and get a Safety + day 2 pick.

Thoughts? Loaded up on defense, obviously. Traded down at 20. I noticed the new DC said their base would be a 3-4. Thought that was interesting. We don't have enough LBers so we're going to have to sign a couple and draft a couple.

Yep, that's the right idea IMO.

If we are able to trade back from 20, I absolutely would like to use the extra day 2 pick to double up at either Safety or LB. I think it's a pretty strong draft for both spots and I 100% believe the best/quickest way to improve our D is at these two positions. We need lots of help at both.

Now, the reality is we likely address some of this in free agency so we don't need to double up in the draft... but as it stands right now, yeah, I like it!

Yeah, agree. I wasn't planning on doubling up at S, but when I read about Ramsey, he seems to fit very well because the DC mentioned the nickel hybrid role. We need one of those guys bad and Ramsey seems to fit that bill.

I know we won't do this and we prob shouldn't with as many holes as we have on defense, but one of the guys that keeps popping up around 20 is Sadiq the TE out of Oregon.


That dude would be dangerous in this offense and our playmaking at TE is really lacking.

Again, I know that's not really somewhere we should be looking but it is interesting to think about.

We don't need to be looking at him any more than we need to be looking at Jeremiyah Love... but we still gotta be ready if they are, by far, the best player available when the time comes.

Macarthur said:

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Yeah, agree. I wasn't planning on doubling up at S, but when I read about Ramsey, he seems to fit very well because the DC mentioned the nickel hybrid role. We need one of those guys bad and Ramsey seems to fit that bill.

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I think Thieneman and Ramsey both fit. McNeil-Warren is another name rising. The name doesn't really matter to me right now (pre-combine), I just know we need a guy.


The good news is that there should be a LB or Safety worth taking at #20 (or possibly late 20's if we can trade back). It gives us some flex at #12 knowing that we can take BPA. I'm just really hoping that BPA at #12 is also a stud defender.

Dallas and free-agent-to-be RB Javonte Williams reached agreement on a three-year contract that includes $16 million in guaranteed money.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 21, 2026

Love that we were able to keep him.

That's a crazy good deal. Frankly I'm surprised he agreed to it without testing the waters.

Love the deal for Javonte. It's effectively a 2yr/$16MM deal, which puts him at the middle of the pack for RB contracts.

Talking about draft scenarios, I'm hearing Avieon Terrell's name being mentioned a lot as a mid-late CB prospect.

I'm really liking what I'm hearing about him being a tenacious slot CB who will cover, tackle, and can even move outside if needed. Sounds like more of a "nickel" player that CP was talking about the other day... he's just not a big guy.

I'm not super keen on taking a CB in the 1st round. I just think a LB / Safety / Edge would be a bigger boost to our defense. But I could get on board with Terrell as more of a nickel pick as opposed to a CB. Assuming we are able to get a LB/Edge at #12 or possibly get caught up in a trade back scenario... Terrell could be a name to keep an eye on with one of our 1st rounders.

Ponds from Indiana sounds like a guy that fits the mold of Parker's ideal nickel. I'd have no problem with taking him at 20 or trading down and taking him early in the second.

He's short, but he's not small. He's one of the best football players in the draft. He just isn't projected high because he's not the ideal size

Yeah, that's a good name too.

As I said above, I'm just not all that interested in a traditional CB pick right now. I'm not a fan of the mocks that have us taking Delane. But a kick ass ball hawk DB would be a big addition... same goes for LB.

Another name I'll throw out for LB... Josiah Trotter from Mizzou.

I don't really know much about him other than the fact that he's (right now) a projected day 2 guy and I was SUPER impressed with how he played against the Ags.

Could be worth watching if we find our selves trading down for more picks.

With QB, RB and both WRs in place, stick to building the D.