The Dallas Cowboys will report to the 2026 training camp in Oxnard on July 29. But before the Dak Prescott-led team landed in California for camp, senior NFL insider at ESPN, Adam Schefter, made big predictions about the Cowboys entering the 2026 NFL season.
Schefter spoke about the Cowboys’ 2026 season in his latest Spotify episode on ‘The Adam Schefter Podcast’ named ‘Training Camp notes for all 32 NFL teams’ with podcaster Ty Schmit. “Well, here’s a team that has enough talent, again, to make a deep playoff run,” Schefter said when Schmit asked him about the NFC East and the Cowboys. “And everybody knows the Cowboys’ defense has been under fire and in question.”
The 59-year-old insider added, “And what did the Dallas Cowboys do? They went out and they dramatically upgraded their defense, which has to give people hope. It’s not just coaches, it’s players. There’s a new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, who they hired away from Philadelphia. Christian Parker learned under Vic Fangio. I think the Cowboys are hoping that he takes just some of Fangio’s methods and madness to Dallas.”
Schefter ended his take on the Cowboys, saying, “They go out and they draft playmakers at the top of the draft. Caleb Downs to play safety, Malachi Lawrence to rush the passer. They added a safety in free agency, Jalen Thompson, who cannot be overlooked, is going to be a factor. New coaches, new players, new look defense. And if this defense is as improved as Dallas thinks, then Dallas becomes dangerous for the 2026 season.” The biggest NFL insider just put all the NFC and AFC teams on notice before the Cowboys started their season.
What offseason changes did the Cowboys make to the defensive team?
After wrapping up the 2025 season last year, the Cowboys had many tasks to complete. Firstly, firing defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, hired a new DC in his place, picking up a young defensive player who could fill at least some of the gap created after Micah Parsons’ departure. Thanks to general manager Jerry Jones’ strategy of staying in his lane and not creating league-wide drama like last year!
And in the past few months, the Cowboys did complete all the important work that has to be completed as a priority. On Jan 6, 2026, Eberflus was fired. Within 16 days, the front office did not lose the opportunity to hire the then-former Philadelphia Eagles coach Parker on Jan. 22 before picking up safety Caleb Downs in the 2026 NFL draft in the first round.
Parker has been in the NFL since 2019 when the Green Bay Packers hired him as a defensive quality control coach. After spending two years in Green Bay, he landed a defensive backs coaching job in 2021 before joining the Cowboys’ biggest rivals- the Eagles- in 2024. Parker won his first and only Super Bowl while working with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and head coach Nick Sirianni. Hope the 2026-27 season earns him the second Super Bowl in his career.
But to achieve that, his defensive coaching mind should work relentlessly in Dallas. The same team ranked surprisingly low in the 2025 defense rankings. The Cowboys were 30th on the list. On one side, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson, Prescott and the offensive line were fighting to get the team the win they deserved. On the other hand, their defensive rankings soured massively after Parsons’ departure.
Now, all eyes will be on 23-year-old outside linebacker Malachi Lawrence, 28-year-old safety Jalen Thompson, 21-year-old Downs (who has successfully earned the respect of Prescott before even training camp) and newly hired defensive coordinator Parker.
Do you think this year’s Dallas Cowboys defensive team would rank higher and contribute to the team’s victories? Let us know what you think in the comments.