The Dallas Cowboys have become the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NFL. The fans say it’s their year, yet every year, the team finds a way to disappoint them. No, since the days when Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin wore the star have the Cowboys claimed a title, and yet a Super Bowl seems farther away than ever for a team whose window is rapidly closing.
Dallas Cowboys Multiverse
Ashton 3:16 Timeline
The Cowboys Get Their Guy
This may be the most popular fan theory among the Dallas Cowboys faithful, yet somehow every draft comes and goes and the Cowboys manage to leave without a high-end running back in their draft class. It seems like only yesterday when Dallas drafted a generational running back by the name of Ezekiel Elliot.
Despite Elliott emerging as one of the best and most consistent fantasy producers of our time, the Cowboys were never able to parlay his skills into postseason success. Since the prime of Elliott has passed, the Cowboys have struggled to find a replacement even close to his level and have even turned back to Elliott himself in hopes of recapturing his old form.
Ashton Jeanty of Boise State enters the 2025 NFL Draft as perhaps the most hyped running back since Zeke, so the rumor mills are abuzz in anticipation of Jerry Jones drafting himself a shiny new toy. The Cowboys own the 12th pick of the first round and could easily find themselves taking Jeanty if he gets past the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders, who are equally starved at the position.
The well-rounded back could be exactly what the Cowboys’ offense has lacked over the past few seasons and could create a formidable 1-2 punch with Rico Dowdle should the Cowboys re-sign the free agent. If Dowdle moves on in free agency, it’s highly unlikely that Dallas hands the keys to the kingdom over to a rookie and would surely bring in a veteran back to frustratingly eat into Jeanty’s work. I’m looking at you, Najee Harris.
High-End Talent
While the Cowboys may lack a high-end threat at running back, it shouldn’t be forgotten that they still have one of the best receivers in the game in CeeDee Lamb. Even with no supporting cast to draw coverage away from him, Lamb has been so good that he simply beats double coverage regularly.
An offense that sports the air and ground duo of Lamb and Jeanty is one that very few teams can match and which could allow them to make one last run with Dak Prescott under center who could see himself return to low-end QB1 form with a full assortment of weapons.
Dallas is short on salary cap space, ranking 27th in the league, which makes it difficult to acquire any new high-end talent outside of the draft. In addition to Jeanty and Lamb, the Cowboys also own three picks inside the top 80 picks and would be wise to add a legitimate pass-catching option to help out Lamb.
Add in Jake Ferguson, and this Dallas Cowboys offense could quickly see itself return to the explosive level it once seemed to have when Prescott was at his peak.
Call Your Schott Timeline
Bye Bye Big Mike
He wasn’t fired, but Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it very clear that the team would not be renewing the contract of head coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy was a highly sought-after name when his time with the Green Bay Packers concluded, but he was unable to guide the Cowboys to the same level of success he enjoyed in Green Bay.
McCarthy coached the Cowboys from 2020 to 2024, racking up a 49-35 record. He guided the Cowboys to three consecutive 12-win seasons, but a lack of playoff success quickly saw the fan base turn on him. The Cowboys finished the 2024 season with a 7-10 record after losing their quarterback to a season-ending injury and that spelled a change for the franchise.
This offseason, after letting McCarthy walk, the Cowboys opted to promote offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach. Schottenheimer spent two years as the team’s coordinator and has 27 years of experience as an NFL assistant. This is the first head coaching job for Brian who is the son of legendary coach Marty Schottenheimer and his experience and pedigree, along with knowledge of the Cowboys system make him a perfect fit to replace McCarthy.
The Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t miss a beat with this coaching change and will go as far as their talent will take them. Schottenheimer is a more than capable NFL mind and should have the Cowboys competitive in a suddenly tough division.
Without A Guard
It’s not all rainbows in sunshine in Cowboy land as the new coaching staff will have to run an offense that lost one of its most important players to retirement this offseason. Cowboys’ perennial Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer guard Zack Martin announced his retirement this week which now leaves a massive hole in the Cowboys offensive line.
Martin made seven Pro Bowl appearances during his NFL career and was the definition of consistency at the position. While the retirement of Martin leaves the Cowboys with some unexpected salary cap space, it’s certainly not the way they would have wanted to acquire it. Any cap space that Martin vacated is likely to be spent quickly to rebuild this offensive line.
If the Cowboys do draft Ashton Jeanty as the first multiverse would indicate, it might not be a sparkling start to what promises to be an elite career. While the Cowboys offense has some talent, and Jeanty is more than talented enough on his own, the state of the Dallas Cowboys offensive line without Martin could leave Jeanty consistently running into a wall behind the line of scrimmage.
The offensive line is a problem the Cowboys must deal with sooner rather than later otherwise ,it won’t matter who they have in the backfield, he will be a lamb led to slaughter. Ultimately, this need upfront is why the Cowboys may pass on Jeanty in the first round, opting to draft a running back on Day Two of the draft.
Stranger Than Fiction Timeline
Wishful Thinking
For this multiverse, I consulted a good friend of mine and Dallas Cowboys die-hard. I also took to Cowboys fan blogs to see some of their thoughts and this multiverse is easily the most unlikely, yet most entertaining. So bear with me, this one may be a bit out there, but it’s what those eternally optimistic Cowboys fans swear by.
If Cowboys fans have it their way they will be using their first-round pick on Ashton Jeanty and their second-round pick on a wide receiver, likely a WR2-level talent. This scenario would leave the Cowboys to move around some numbers and make some salary cap magic like the New Orleans Saints do every year to go on a spending spree.
The first item on that spending spree is Cleveland edge rusher Myles Garrett, who has recently requested a trade out of Cleveland. This one has Cowboy’s Twitter foaming at the mouth, but it is admittedly tricky since it’s not just salary cap space they would need. The Cowboys would likely have to send Cleveland a collection of picks in next year’s draft in an attempt to help them move on from the Deshaun Watson debacle.
A King’s Ransom
In November, the Browns sent stud defender Za’Darius Smith and a 7th-round pick to the Detroit Lions in exchange for the Lions’ 5th-round pick this year and 6th-round pick next year. That was the price for Smith, who was considered a rental player and short-term replacement for the injured Aidan Hutchinson. Garrett has two years left on his deal and will command a far higher price. The Dallas Cowboys have all of their Day 1 and 2 draft picks next season so they could conceivably package together some early picks for Garret, but with a cap hit of roughly $20,000,000 over teach of the next two seasons it’s a lot to ask for Dallas to swing this deal, but stranger things have happened.
The chances of the Dallas Cowboys starting the season with Garrett and Micah Parsons on the defensive side of the ball is a pipe dream and is about as unlikely to happen as the Jets finding a competent quarterback, but sit back and think of just how much fun this team would have if that happened. Especially if they selected Jeanty in the first round.
