Injuries up and down the roster put a damper on the Dallas Cowboys’ season. But for Jerry Jones and Co., 2025 offers a chance at redemption. En route to building one of the most expensive rosters in the NFL, the CeeDee Lamb-Dak Prescott-Micah Parsons era needs to yield some results.
This offseason, the Cowboys have been unusually quiet with their moves, promoting Brian Schottenheimer to be the head coach and making upgrades through the draft. A blockbuster trade for George Pickens shook things up, but one analyst believes more help is necessary if Dallas wants to go back to the glory days of America’s Team.
Dallas Cowboys Finding Help for Dak Prescott?
Prescott’s injury last season put an asterisk on the entire year. But the Cowboys need more support for their quarterback from the ground game.
Losing Tony Pollard was a massive blow to the offense, with Rico Dowdle not finding the same efficiency. Even though he finished with more than 1,000 yards on the year, a bottom-three yards-per-carry finish and a below-average success rate spelled the story of the season.
The Dallas offense as a whole finished in the bottom 10 of the NFL on PFSN’s Offense+ metric. The additions of Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders, while decent, do not offer a ton of upside. Both players haven’t been at their best in some time and saw their roles reduce as the 2024 season wore on.
Rookie Jaydon Blue out of Texas offers the most potential for the Cowboys, but if their quest for a Super Bowl is well and truly alive, then they need to look for an upgrade. Thankfully, one might be available in the form of James Cook of the Buffalo Bills.
In his one trade target for every NFL team article, PFSN analyst Brandon Austin suggested that Dallas should try to trade for Cook amidst his contract disputes with the Bills. The league leader in rushing touchdowns last year with 16, Cook has eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in each of the last two seasons.
JAMES COOK FUMBLES AND PICKS IT UP AND RUNS FOR FIFTY YARDS BRO THIS GAME IS DRUNKpic.twitter.com/5Cks6hdlGS
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) November 14, 2023
On the Bills’ side, though, the decision is simple. Their 2022 selection wants a massive payday, in the $15 million ballpark. Unfortunately, Buffalo has no plans to meet his demands.
For a team that deploys a committee approach to their ground game with the likes of Ray Davis, Ty Johnson, and quarterback Josh Allen for support, that number might be far too generous, thereby opening the idea of a trade.
In a potential trade, Buffalo could salvage some of Cook’s value.
“Coming off an impressive season, Cook should draw significant value on the trade market. Dallas also has a connection to Cook with Ken Dorsey, a Cowboys assistant who was his offensive coordinator in Buffalo from 2022-2023,” Austin added.
The addition of Pickens gave Dallas the secondary threat it needed alongside Lamb. But the addition of Cook could allow Schottenheimer to play around with his offense and exploit its versatility. After an underwhelming 2024 campaign, Cook might be the answer to many of the Cowboys’ troubles.