Skill players on both sides most likely to take a leap in 2026

We are indeed back in the downtime of the offseason until the end of this month, when we will go without football until February and with that comes some of these types of blog posts.

Let me be clear, I am not saying these two players are going to set records or anything like that, but one guy on both offense and defense in the skill positions could have a chance to take a leap this season.

One of them has had a decent career with Dallas thus far, but I think he can finally get over the 1k yards mark on offense, and on the other side of the ball I am including safety and adding the guy Dallas signed this offseason.

Jake Ferguson

So the first guy I am going with is Jake Ferguson. I think he found his groove again last season. He finished with 600 yards and 8 touchdowns after a down in 2024, but the year before that, he set his career high with 761 yards.

The reason why I picked Ferg is that I think this could be the year he goes over 1k yards. Teams now understand they have to lock down CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

Doing that in the second season under Brian Schottenhimer will get Ferg easy looks, but let me be very clear, Ferg needs to show up this season.

Dak Prescott was sharp today with four tds in goal line drills, two to Ryan Flournoy on two amazing contested catches, one to CeeDee Lamb and one to Jaydon Blue

He also had a td pass in 7 on 7 to Jake Ferguson.
But stock in Flournoy talking another huge step
The confidence is… pic.twitter.com/ZfWBvQxiBQ

— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) June 4, 2026

They wasted a second-round pick on Luke Schoonmaker in 2023.

Since that pick, they’ve tried to backfill the depth chart with UDFAs. Brevyn Spann-Ford is a top blocker but offers little as a pass catcher through two seasons.

This year, they added intriguing pass catcher Michael Trigg, who has many other hurdles before becoming a trusted member of an offense.

Jalen Thompson

Jalen Thompson has never made the Pro Bowl, but working under Christian Parker might change that for him.

You can agree to disagree about Safety being a skill position, but they do just as much on the defense as guys like WRs do on the offense.

Signed from Arizona on a three-year deal worth up to $36 million, the 27-year-old brings proven production and versatility, including the ability to play both free safety and nickel corner.

Caleb Downs is going to be a huge asset also when playing nickel, but Thompson, I think, Thompson is being overlooked in this Cowboys defense, and they are going to need him badly.

The secondary is still the worst thing about them right now, and they are banking on corners who are still battling back from injuries, so Thompson is going to need to take an even bigger leap than he has in the last couple of years and help this defense be just average.

I could put a handful of players on this list, but these are two guys that I think if they don’t take a leap this season, won’t hurt them, but if they do, it will only make them that much better.

ELITE: Dallas Cowboys Safety Group Will Be NFL's BEST With Jalen Thompson & Caleb Downs!https://t.co/F3qf1AN1wK

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) June 29, 2026

Training camp is slowly approaching, and we will have a lot to look forward to, but these two guys are dudes that I think are on the verge of having a very good year and both could make the Pro Bowl.

We will see how the rest of the summer goes. I am just hoping the Cowboys can stay drama free and just keep playing football, because it has been so nice to not have to write a post every single week about how annoying Jerry Jones and his son are.

Call me crazy, but the Cowboys could have a top 3 safety duo in all of football this year and will probably be in the elite class.