The Dallas Cowboys entered the offseason with one clear goal, to fix the defense. They've made several significant changes, but ESPN statistician Seth Walder wasn't particularly impressed. The move he liked most was Dallas keeping George Pickens with the franchise tag. The move he liked least was trading Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers. He also took into account the Cowboys' decision to hire Christian Parker as defensive coordinator, the additions of safety Caleb Downs and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence through the draft, and veteran acquisitions such as safety Jalen Thompson and linebacker Dee Winters.
However Walder gave Dallas a C+ for its offseason overhaul but chose to view Dallas' offseason through the lens of last season's loss of Micah Parsons. While the grade isn't completely unfair, it fails to account for the bigger picture and should be a bit higher when you consider everything the Cowboys have done to reshape this defense.
Parsons' trade shocked just about everyone, but it happened last season, and the Cowboys have already adjusted their roster-building strategy. Continuing to weigh that move heavily in an evaluation of this offseason feels shortsighted.
The ripple effects of Dallas' decision to trade Micah Parsons ahead of the 2025 season were still being felt this offseason. That was most apparent when the Cowboys were among the teams vying for Maxx Crosby. They didn't get the Pro Bowl edge rusher, who landed back in Las Vegas.
But losing Parsons was also likely a factor in the Cowboys' decision to trade a fourth-round pick for edge rusher Rashan Gary -- an overpay considering Gary is a vastly diminished relative to his pre-torn-ACL self and still will make $16 million per year.