So many out there have written off this Dallas Cowboys season as a lost one, and I don’t blame any of them for it. Injuries have decimated the Cowboys, and losing QB Dak Prescott for the entire season is reason enough for fans to look ahead to 2025.
Fortunately (or unfortunately for draft fanatics), the Cowboys have strung together consecutive wins for the first time this season, and do not look like the team that got demolished by the Detroit Lions by a margin of 38 points.
The defense has certainly stepped up, and the slower pace on offense with Cooper Rush under center has been kind to Rico Dowdle and the rushing attack. So you’re telling me the Cowboys have a defense and a run game now?
Their 5-7 record has some fans already looking to the future. I saw a fan question on Twitter/X that piqued my interest. If you could start the 2025 season with only five core players, who would they be?
This exercise isn’t as easy as it looks, but here goes nothing. I’m sure there is going to be a player or two that you readers feel I left out, and please let me know in the comments if you would complete this exercise in any other way.
QB Dak Prescott
You have to start a team with a quarterback, and the Cowboys already have one on the roster. QB Dak Prescott, the $240 million man, is currently out for the season with an injury, but he will be ready to go for 2025.
It’s difficult to rely on the draft or free agency for good quarterback play, so give me the guy who is just a year removed from what should have been an MVP season. Prescott finished second in MVP voting to the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson in 2023, and many feel Prescott was the rightful winner.
One of the main reasons I want Prescott back as opposed to a rookie or journeyman veteran is because of the connection he has with the next player on my list.
WR CeeDee Lamb
What’s a wide receiver without a quarterback? In a fresh start in 2025, I give Prescott his favorite weapon to throw to. Even without Prescott throwing him the ball, CeeDee Lamb is still near the league lead in receptions entering week 14.
He can make it happen with any quarterback, but I don’t want to take the chance that a new quarterback and Lamb won’t mesh on the same level as he and Prescott. Lamb possesses all the enviable traits of a top wide receiver, and I’d love to see what more he and Prescott can accomplish together.
Considering the state of the rest of the Cowboys’ wide receiver room, it’s that much more important to retain one of the best wide receivers in the NFL for the future. Brandin Cooks is on his last leg. Jalen Tolbert has not developed into an every-week starter. The rest of the guys on the roster are all young and with potential, but not much more.
LG Tyler Smith
LG Tyler Smith was important for me to retain because he has flashed Hall of Fame level potential early in his career, and he will be demanding top guard money on the market in a couple of season.
Smith started his career at left tackle out of necessity, but has since bumped back inside to left guard, and he having a Pro Bowl season. The Cowboys’ run game has improved drastically over the past few weeks, and Smith has a lot to do with that jump.
Only one member of the offensive line made this list, and there is no doubt in my mind that Smith is the best of them. He will anchor the Cowboys’ offensive line for the next decade or more.
EDGE Micah Parsons
Let me comment quickly about the people out there who claim trading EDGE Micah Parsons for multiple first round picks. Are you out of your minds? Why wouldn’t you want the best young pass-rusher in the league on your team?
I don’t imagine the return on the trade will be any more than two 1st round picks. What if neither of those picks hit and the Cowboys traded away the best defensive player in the NFL for nothing but cap savings?
Parsons is an animal on the defensive side of the ball, and the Cowboys would be insane to think otherwise. I’m not sure who the defensive coordinator will be next season, but he will be getting one of the best defensive players in the NFL to work with.
LB DeMarvion Overshown
Speaking of one of the best defensive players, second year LB DeMarvion Overshown is starting to insert himself into that conversation. Not only within the team, but throughout the entire NFL.
Overshown has exploded onto the scene this year after spending his rookie season recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the 2023 preseason. His time off studying has paid off. He ranks second on the team in tackles (53) and second on the team in sacks (5.0). Parsons has praised him several times this season, and with good measure.
The former Texas Longhorn looks like a missile on the field, flying around making tackles sideline to sideline, but he can also rush the passer. I’m excited at the prospect of he and Parsons on the field together for the foreseeable future.
Just Missed the Cut
Readers have the opportunity to tell me where I’m wrong, but I do need to clarify why I left a couple of players off of the list.
Cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland would be on this list if it were seven players long, but it isn’t. I chose to leave the two playmakers off of my list because I believe in building a defense from back to front, and Parsons and Overshown took those spots first.
As much as I would like Diggs and Bland to continue setting interception records, I’d rather have the run support and pass rush that Micah and Overshown bring to the table, and trust Will McClay & Co. to draft another two cornerbacks who can do the same.