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Safety Jalen Thompson signed with the Dallas Cowboys last month.

It’s hard to look at what the Dallas Cowboys have done in recent weeks and not see at least some level of improvement. The Cowboys brought in at least three new players who will be starting for them defensively, and considering that the defense was ranked among the worst in the NFL last year, that’s obviously a good thing. Rashan Gary has been a star as an edge before coming to Dallas, Jalen Thompson was an expensive safety signing and Cobie Durant was a good-value addition at corner.

The Cowboys did not fill all their holes, certainly. The middle linebacker hole remains the biggest, and a major concern as the team is going into the draft. There’s still more help needed in the secondary, as well as another edge rusher.

But even with all of the additions the team has made, plus the hiring of new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, there is still a sense that the Cowboys have underwhelmed in free agency, that they came up well short of the rumored trade for Maxx Crosby or the fallback free-agent pursuit of Trey Hendrickson, and certainly short of Jerry Jones’ vow to “bust the budget” in an attempt to avoid another seven-win season.

‘A Little Disappointed’ With Cowboys

If that’s your view as a Cowboys fan, then take comfort (or not) in knowing that it’s also the view of Cowboys opponents in front offices across the league. On Saturday, The Athletic put together a spate of comments from anonymous front-office denizens, and their reviews of the Cowboys’ offseason efforts were not glowing.

They traded a fourth-round pick for Gary, who was on the verge of being released by the Packers. They got only a third-rounder for Osa Odighizuwa, a 27-year-old who has played every game since he was drafted in 2021.

Said one exec, according to The Athletic, “I was a little disappointed with Dallas. They got Rashan Gary, who Green Bay was not fired up about. They were not necessarily going to bring him back.”

Another hit the nail on the head, as far as the wider picture on the Cowboys and their typical free-agent efforts: “Dallas is one of those spin-your-wheels type teams that never really gets a lot better.”

Plenty of Issues Left to Solve

That’s not entirely fair, of course–the Cowboys did get better. But that is a function of the fact that they were rated as having the worst defense in the NFL last year, a bunch that gave up a league-high 511 points on the season.

There’s still time to change things for the Cowboys. It was after the draft in 2025 that the Cowboys made the trade that brought in George Pickens for a third-round pick, a move that completely changed the trajectory of their offense. Maybe there’s a similar trade out there to be made for a linebacker. Maybe the rumored resuscitation of the Crosby trade possibility will circle back, too.

Those are longshots, though. And the Cowboys are letting contract standoffs with Pickens and Brandon Aubrey fester, which never seems to end well for Dallas.

Based on what they’ve done, who they let go, and the holes still left on the roster, it’s hard not to be critical of the Cowboys’ offseason haul–especially not after owner Jerry Jones promises much more.

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney