How the Cowboys can fulfill Jerry Jones' promise in 3 easy steps

The Dallas Cowboys have a mission this offseason: Make the defense as good as possible. Of course the biggest obstacle is the person that is the owner, president and general manager, one Jerry Jones. He is the only one who can deliver on the promise he made to reporters this past weekend during the Grand Prix in Arlington. Jones said this defense has a lot of promise yet, a week into free agency, that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

"I'll tell you, when you have the challenges we had last year, there's no place to go but up on the defensive side of the ball. Had we played a lick of defense last year, we would've had ourselves, I think, a real playoff run. That plus what we have set up for the draft, plus what we really have coming back from our veteran defensive players that really didn't play that much last year, injury issues, things like that, gives us a lot of promise."

Now things can change and for Jones and the Cowboys’ sake, they better. It’s not a hard approach the Cowboys have to have if they want to improve this defense far beyond what it looked like in 2025. Here’s the steps Jones must make to field the defense he needs to go on a much needed championship run. 

Sign Bobby Okereke, Germaine Pratt to bolster this linebacker room

It’s no surprise the Dallas Cowboys need help in the linebacker room. Is Bobby Okereke the best answer? Probably not, but at this point, he’s the best option left. He’s a short term solution so they can get something rather than relying strictly on the NFL Draft. I don’t see Jones wanting to surrender draft capital for a player at this point so it just makes sense to go after Okereke, who’s proven he can do enough to hold them over until they get a more long term solution. 

Germaine Pratt is an under-the-radar type of linebacker and one that could fit in well with the Cowboys. Neither Logan Wilson or Kenneth Murray are on the roster anymore so they need to recoup their interior linebackers. Pratt and Okereke are cheap additions that could either pay off or hold them over. They can still draft for the future, but for now, they don’t have the pressure of starting a rookie and expecting championship-level success from him. 

Sign bridge cornerbacks to add depth to the secondary

It’s no surprise the Dallas Cowboys need depth in their secondary, particularly with their cornerbacks. I’m sure they still want to believe in DaRon Bland so they don’t need a big splash by any means. That said, they do need to improve that position. Martin Emerson is a name the Cowboys should keep in mind, particularly post NFL Draft. Defense has to be their focus in the NFL Draft, but they can’t rely exclusively on it to build a championship roster. 

Marshon Lattimore would be an ideal option, but he’s no different from Tre’von Diggs, who struggled with staying healthy. Emerson might not be the best option, but he’s young and could still have some potential. After all, he did have one good season in Cleveland; had he not gotten hurt this past season, it could have earned him another contract. He can also play nickel cornerback, which can free up Bland on the outside. 

Adoree’ Jackson and Jeff Okudah are a couple of other names to watch, though I doubt the Cowboys go that route unless they have to. Okudah just hasn’t lived up to the first round selection the Detroit Lions used on him and Jackson is an aging veteran. Neither are completely out of the realm of possibility, but also not likely. 

Ace the NFL Draft by any means necessary

Jones has to be banking on the NFL Draft with how quiet the Cowboys have been in this free agency period. To be fair, there weren’t a lot of big names the Cowboys were going to have their hand in, but they haven’t really made any big moves, considering all the restructuring that was done. That’s why this draft is going to be the most important if they want to have a championship-level defense. Relying on rookies is a tough ask, but that’s the position the Cowboys have put themselves in. 

Here’s how they should handle their first three picks of the NFL Draft:

• Rd. 1, pick 12: CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
• Rd. 1, pick 20: LB C.J. Allen, Georgia
• Rd. 3, pick 92: EDGE Caden Curry, Ohio State

This is a pipe dream, but man if it works out, Jones could not only ace this draft, but actually have the best possible selections to build around. This not only addresses their needs, but gives them elite talent at each of the positions. Mansoor Delane has surfaced as the top cornerback in this class. If he’s not there, they could take C.J. Allen at the 12th pick and then draft Avieon Terrell at No. 20. 

I played around with a couple of mock situations and Ahkeem Meisidor and Keldric Faulk are also options with the No. 12 pick, but I think signing a veteran is the move if you can get someone like Delane inside the top 15. As for the Caden Curry pick, well that just has Jerry Jones all over it. He has good value and is probably a top 100 player so it’s not really a reach. 

Jones loves to draft young projects on the defensive end and turn them into future starters. That’s what Curry would be and it might just work out. These are just the three easiest steps the Cowboys can take. There’s no right answer, but there is a wrong one. Continuing to be complacent is only holding this team back from whatever championship aspirations Jones has.

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