The idea of the Dallas Cowboys “running it back” in any way, shape, or form on either side of the ball is not typically one that gets this fanbase overly excited. Far too many times in recent history, the team has stared obvious regression in the face by doing so, and then seen that regression waste potential in other phases of the game, squander playoff berths, or miss out entirely.
With the 2026 NFL Draft on the horizon, the ‘26 Cowboys face a unique challenge when it comes to this problem. All
eyes have been on what Dallas can do about a historically bad defense from 2025. So far this offseason, the Cowboys have made more noteworthy coaching changes than personnel ones on defense, but the hype is growing rapidly that Dallas, with a pair of first-round picks, will be aggressive on night one of the draft and grab an instant-impact defender early on. Starting off the draft with this type of bang would be a welcome move, but the reality is this is still a defense in need of multiple starting caliber players for new coordinator Christian Parker.
Any fan that actually had to watch the Cowboys defense in 2025 would likely have little objection to the Cowboys gearing up to have a very defensive player heavy draft, but this approach is always problematic in the same way. Dallas cannot put all of their eggs in the defensive basket without answering for how they expect to maintain a top-scoring offense, likely without the benefit of a top draft pick anywhere on this unit.
Luckily, some of the Cowboys plausible answers here are actually pretty sound. Much like they’re making a big bet on defensive coaching improving from last season to this one, the next development from Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams as the brain trust of the offense with continuity to carry over is an exciting place to build from offensively. The offensive line did not lose any starters this offseason, running back Javonte Williams is back, Dak Prescott is healthy, and the duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens is ready for an encore season.
That last part is where things stand to get the most precarious, and no we’re not talking about the Pickens contract and annual drama surrounding a star player in Dallas in this situation. Going into the last several drafts, wide receiver has felt like a perpetual need for the Cowboys where the group was never truly good enough from top to bottom to be a sustainably great offense. Last year’s draft was the first time the Cowboys did not draft a wide receiver at any point since 2019. Now, things have flipped on their head and the Cowboys actually find themselves in position to be rooting for a surprise offensive player, receiver or otherwise, to be drafted in the first eleven picks of this draft to greatly increase the chances of a top defensive prospect falling in their lap without having to trade up from 12th overall.
The wounds from the Cowboys never really making the trio of Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup work out as expected are arguably not even fully healed to this point, but the closest the Cowboys have come to the right mix of star power and play making ability at receiver was last year with Lamb and Pickens, and even their efforts were wasted by an incompetent defense.
Whether or not the Cowboys are truly in the best possible position to allocate most of their draft resources towards the defense will depend most heavily on how both Lamb and Pickens perform in 2026, after combining for 2,506 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. Perhaps most importantly, the duo complemented each other well, with both targets averaging over 14 yards a catch. The Cowboys were second in the NFL in explosive passing plays in 2025. Almost by pure statistical probability, one of the areas the Cowboys defense should improve moving forward is in explosive plays allowed after being at the bottom of the league in ‘25. Even becoming an average defense in this area under Parker while maintaining a high rate of explosive pass plays themselves can go a long, long, long way in the all-important win column.
The Cowboys dependency on this finally being the offseason they’re well off enough at wide receiver to aggressively target other needs does go beyond Lamb and Pickens as well. Ryan Flournoy had a breakout season in Schottenheimer’s offense, and expanding on his role as a wide receiver three is promising. For an offense that was multiple from week to week and more gameplan specific that any other recent Cowboys offense, a bigger role offensively for KaVontae Turpin may also be something the Cowboys explore to keep new wrinkles in an offense that likely won’t have a ton of new faces to provide them. The receiving potential of Jaydon Blue out of the backfield is something the Cowboys hardly tapped into during his rookie season either.
If Dallas is able to add a wide receiver on day three of the draft, they will be able to come in with fair expectations for a day three picks and develop behind Lamb, Pickens, and Flournoy, while also having the opportunity to see real snaps in the event of injury and become that player with un-scouted looks to catch defenses by surprise.
The notion that defense wins championships may be alive and well after yet another Super Bowl where the Seahawks defense dominated the Patriots to hoist the Lombardi trophy, but the story of how that happened has a lot to do with wide receivers as well. The Achilles heel of the Patriots pass catching group all season long was their lack of explosive ability, and in the biggest game of their season they ran into the defense most capable of exploiting this, and were held scoreless into the fourth quarter as a result. Sam Darnold for Seattle was only 12 for 27 when targeting wide receivers in this Super Bowl, but the Seahawks’ defensive effort made every downfield shot their receivers did convert mean so much more. There were no meaningless explosive plays from the Seahawks offense, but countless of them for the Cowboys this past regular season.
The Cowboys are looking to come away from this draft with a team that can take on something of a similar identity, and finally make an offense that lights up scoreboards actually mean something when it comes to postseason success. Fixing the defense while continuing to see Lamb, Pickens, and Flournoy thrive on offense is that path forward.
