Dallas has made some big additions, including trading for Rashan Gary and drafting guys like Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, but there are still plenty of holes on this roster. Dallas firmly believes they can be a playoff team if they turn things around defensively, but have they done enough this offseason?
Today, we’re going to go over some of the biggest questions looming over the Dallas Cowboys as we enter the summer.
What Will They Do at Outside Cornerback?
The Cowboys have seemingly found their solution in the slot, at least for this season, with Caleb Downs, but they still have a massive hole at outside cornerback, and it feels like it’s too late to address it.
Remember DaRon Bland, the guy who had 14 picks in his first two seasons and set the NFL record for most pick sixes in a single year? Yeah, well he one pick in the last two seasons while giving up nine touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards. He’s still slated to be one of their starters, but he has become an absolute liability.
Shavon Revel Jr. was their third rounder last year, but he failed to put together a strong rookie season after returning from a torn ACL in November. He has talent, and maybe in year two he can show something, but his rookie season wasn’t promising.
The Cowboys did sign Cobie Durant, who had the best season of his career last year, but still gave up 483 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions. They also drafted Devin Moore, who has a lot of promise, but played very little college football and won’t be ready to start as a rookie.
Dallas has options, but I wouldn’t say any of them are great. I would’ve loved to have seen them address outside cornerback early in the draft, but Downs fell into their lap and they didn’t have a second round pick.
And What About Linebacker?
Another huge question mark looming over the Cowboys this offseason is what they heck they’re going to do at linebacker.
DeMarvion Overshown had a pretty strong rookie season, but he tore his ACL, MCL and PCL in November of 2024 and returned to the field late last season. He played pretty well in his return, but there isn’t a whole lot of help around him.
Shemar James is the Cowboys’ other projected starter at inside linebacker, and the former fifth-round pick really struggled in coverage last season, allowing 35 of his 37 targets to be caught for 332 yards and three touchdowns.
Dallas did trade for Dee Winters during the draft, but he also really struggled against the pass last year. He was targeted 92 times, allowing 77 catches for 528 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception. He also doesn’t provide a whole lot as a pass rusher or run defender, so I’m not convinced he’s the solution.
Logan Wilson retiring really hurt this team. If he was still around, linebacker wouldn’t be as a big of a question mark as it currently is.
Can Their Tackles Step Up?
Despite having one of the best and most explosive offenses in the league last year, the Cowboys started two of the worst tackles in the NFL in 2025.
Tyler Guyton played 648 snaps at left tackle, and he really struggled, giving up 31 pressures and two sacks while earning a 50 pass blocking grade. But Terence Steele was even worse. He played 1,100+ snaps at right tackle, but he surrendered 52 pressures and six sacks, just one year after giving up nine sacks in 2024. Of the 68 tackles who played 300+ pass blocking snaps last season, Guyton and Steele ranked 66th and 62nd in pass blocking grade, respectively.
Obviously, that’s not very good, but the Cowboys don’t really have many other options at tackle. They actually moved All-Pro guard Tyler Smith to tackle at the end of last season, and he played well, but Dallas would prefer for him to stay at guard and play his natural position, if possible.
The Cowboys finished last season with a top-five scoring offense, averaging 27.7 points per game. Can you imagine what that number would’ve been if they had average tackle play? They could’ve averaged nearly 30 points per game, if they just had two competent tackles.
How Will the George Pickens Situation Play Out?
This won’t really have much of an effect on the Cowboys in 2026, but it will be fascinating to see how the George Pickens situation plays out.
Currently, Pickens is playing on the franchise tag, which will pay him $27.3 million this year, but doesn’t guarantee him any long-term money. He obviously wants to sign a long-term extension sooner rather than later, but that means the two sides will have to agree to a deal, and so far, there has been no indication anything will happen soon.
In his first year with the Cowboys, Pickens had the best season of his career, catching 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. Dallas knows he’s a great receiver, but they want to make sure that wasn’t a fluke season before they pay him top dollar, like they are with CeeDee Lamb.
Sometimes when a player is looking to get a big extension, they ball out and play even better than before. On the other side, they could get disgruntled with the team and let it affect the way they practice and play. Which side will Pickens fall on? Hopefully the former, but we’ll have to see how the situation unravels.
