Cowboys News: Ranking The Team’s Biggest Offseason Moves

Here We Goooo: Ranking the top 10 most impactful Cowboys offseason moves – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com

These are the best moves the Cowboys have made so far this offseason.

4. CB Cobie Durant signs one-year deal with Cowboys

Cornerback was a thin position room for the Cowboys last season, and the unit also struggled to generate turnovers throughout the course of the season.

In signing Durant, the Cowboys gained a versatile player that can play on the outside at corner or in the slot and is coming off a season where he had six total interceptions across the regular and postseason. Durant’s three postseason interceptions were the most in the NFL.

Versatility has been the name of the game with Dallas’ offseason secondary acquisitions, as Christian Parker’s defense will have a lot of flexibility and different things they can do with the personnel currently on the roster.

3. Javonte Williams re-signs with Cowboys on three-year deal

It was no secret that after his year full of career-high marks, the Cowboys wanted to bring back running back Javonte Williams.

In late February, they did, signing him to a three-year, $24 million deal. Williams proved to be a reliable bell cow in Brian Schottenheimer’s offense, and opened up plenty of other opportunities for the unit as a whole in the play action game.

Dallas also returns all five of their starting offensive lineman in 2026, which is a big plus not just for the offense as a whole, but for Williams, who thrived running behind them in 2025. The right side of the line with Tyler Booker and Terence Steele was especially strong in creating rushing lanes for Williams.

The Dallas Cowboys are discussing trades for two big-name linebackers, potential compensation needed for each – Mauricio Rodriguez, AtoZ Sports

Could a new linebacker be coming to Dallas soon?

The Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker situation is so urgent and dire that waiting until the 2026 NFL Draft to do something about is a dangerous proposition.

But since the best linebackers in free agency have already been signed, their best chance to truly improve the roster is the trade market. And the latest intel pinpoints their potential top two targets.

Cowboys are discussing two LB trades

Earlier in free agency, it appeared Pittsburgh Steelers LB Patrick Queen was in the Cowboys’ crosshairs. According to insider Nick Harris from Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that is no longer the case.

However, he reported two other candidates are being discussed.

“They’ve pivoted off Queen,” Harris wrote on social media. “(Houston Texans’ Azeez) Al-Shaair & (Miami Dolphins’ Jordyn) Brooks are being discussed though.”

Record Cowboys signing Jalen Thompson on defense: ‘We got all the right pieces’ – Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Jalen Thompson is confident in where the Cowboys are going defensively.

While leaving the only NFL home he’s known was difficult, the decision in free agency for Thompson was an easy one.

“I got a chance to go up there and meet the coaches at the facility,” he said. “It really gave that family feel. That’s what I feel like I’ve been missing for the last seven years of my NFL career. Everybody was nice, everybody felt really welcoming. It went really well.”

Specifically, Thompson’s relationship with new secondary coach Ryan Smith — whom he has spent the last three seasons with in Arizona — was a big reason toward him signing in Dallas.

“He’s definitely a players’ coach,” he said. “He knows how to coach really well. Knowing that a guy like that is over here with an organization like this, it made the decision that much easier for me.”

Along with Smith and defensive coordinator Christian Parker, Thompson feels confident about the pieces in place after the first two weeks of free agency to at least bring the Cowboys’ defense out of the basement of the NFL where it spent the 2025 season.

“I just feel like we have all the right pieces,” Thompson said. “[Parker] puts the players in the right places. Players that have worked under him have been All-Pros. He brings that versatility to the defense where he puts guys in different places that do the right thing for the team.”

“We got all the right pieces. We’re ready to go. I’m excited to get going with the guys and meet the others as well and create our identity this year as a defense. We got to show that it’s not the same defense as last year.”

How free agency tells us the Cowboys’ NFL draft plan – Brandon Loree, Blogging The Boys

Is Dallas gearing up to take a pass rusher in the first round?

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t been the big spenders in free agency that they led us to believe they would be this offseason, but they accomplished a lot in filling multiple holes on defense. They addressed the safety position with Jalen Thompson, who they have high hopes for, and got some proven pass rush help by acquiring Rashan Gary from the Green Bay Packers.

Gary was a backup to their original plan to go after Maxx Crosby, and were in the running until the very end. Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News published a mailbag discussing a few questions around the Cowboys. One question is whether Dallas will be looping back to the Crosby market now that the trade with the Baltimore Ravens has fallen through. Unfortuneatly it doesn’t sound likely.

@Matthew8912471: I still think the Cowboys should pursue Maxx Crosby what do you think?

Watkins: It seems the Cowboys are out of the Maxx Crosby picture. The team offered two draft picks — a first- and second-rounder — and was willing to take on a bulk of his salary and deal with his knee issues. Now that the Crosby trade with Baltimore fell through, going back at Crosby isn’t in the plans at this stage. Trading for Rashan Gary and focusing on finding another pass rusher in the NFL draft is where the Cowboys sit right now.

The interesting point Watkins brings up in his response is that the Cowboys were willing to take on a bulk of Crosby’s salary from Las Vegas and were okay with his knee issues. The uncertainty around Crosby’s long-term health post-knee surgery is what pulled the deal off the table for Baltimore, but if the Cowboys are looking to maximize this two-to-three-year window right now, they may have been okay with the risks. They’ve taken much bigger swings and misses on less proven players than Crosby.

Even though Jerry Jones won’t close the door on a future deal with Crosby just yet, all signs point to Dallas staying put with Gary as one of their outside linebacker/edge players and shifting their focus to the draft. Given the Cowboys sit at 12th overall with their first pick on night one, the board will have to fall perfectly, allowing one of the top edge rushers to fall to them.

5 questions about potential Dallas Cowboys draft picks: Rueben Bain, Jermod McCoy and more – Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News

Every premium draft pick linked to the Cowboys has something to be monitored.

Georgia LB C.J. Allen

Question: Is he athletic enough for a top-20 pick?

The perfect first round picks marry production with projection. Allen, while intriguing for the Cowboys for a reason, leaves a little bit to be desired from a projection standpoint. Allen racked up 205 tackles as a middle linebacker at Georgia. He also had 13.5 tackles for loss, one interception and 10 passes defended. Those numbers are good, but not overwhelming.

His potential, often derived from athletic testing, is at the very least a mystery, too. Allen didn’t work out at the combine or his Pro Day. An ESPN report said Allen elected to only do positional drills instead of athletic testing at his pro day due to swelling from a minor meniscus operation. Allen reportedly suffered a knee injury in the middle of November.

For what it’s worth: Allen’s best asset isn’t rooted in his production or his potential. He’s known as someone who could raise the tide of an entire defense based on his football IQ and his propensity for getting his teammates properly aligned.

Still, the lack of answers on his athleticism — especially for a 6-1, 230-pound linebacker — should spark questions from the Cowboys.

Miami (FL) edge Rueben Bain and Texas A&M edge Cashius Howell

Question: Are there arms long enough?

Here’s a two for one, considering Bain and Howell have the same question about them.

We already explained earlier this week that long arms aren’t mandatory in Christian Parker’s system when it comes to defensive backs. But how about players near the line of scrimmage? Some might point to Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham as an example of Parker’s potential willingness to have a short-armed pass rusher. Graham, however, has arms just over 32 inches.

Bain has 30 7/8-inch arms, while Howell’s are even shorter at 30 1/4.

Both have other attractive abilities. Bain shows plenty of power in his pass rushing ability. Howell ran the fifth-fastest 40-yard dash at the combine among edge rushers (4.59), matching the speed he showcases on film. Both Bain and Howell could add some juice to Dallas’ pass rush, if the Cowboys deem their shorter arms aren’t an issue.