Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images This is our open thread for Friday discussion. Welcome to our Friday open thread! Over the last few weeks we have been launching daily discussion prompts here on the blog and the purposes is obviously for the greatest community of Dallas Cowboys fans that there is to talk about matters relevant to the team. For the most part our prompts are related to the current happenings of the Cowboys themselves. But this is the offseason and it is Friday which means we can venture off on a tangent or two from time to time. Last week we asked who your favorite baseball teams were what with Major League Baseball beginning play and we got all sorts of answers. The Texas Rangers (obviously), New York Yankees (our cliché), Pittsburgh Pirates (Paul Skenes is on my fantasy team), Chicago Cubs (shout out Kyle Tucker) and Houston Astros (yours truly) were all among those represented. Today we are sticking with a world of sports theme and asking if the number of them going on across sport in general help you pass the time in an NFL offseason. As noted baseball is now going on, the NBA playoffs are around the corner, Lord Stanley will be fought for soon enough, The Masters is next week. Basically there is something for everybody right now. But maybe you feel like none of that matters because football is the only thing that matters. Let us know in the comments down below!

Think you can figure out which Cowboys player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game! Hey Cowboys fans! We’re back for another day of the Blogging The Boys in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form. If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article. Previous games Thursday, April 3, 2025Wednesday, April 2, 2025Tuesday, April 1, 2025 Play more SB Nation in-5 trivia games NFL in-5MLB in-5MMA in-5 Blogging The Boys in-5 instructions The goal of the game is to guess the correct Cowboys player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. Enjoy!

Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images Our latest Cowboys roundtable on Micah, Dak and Ohio State’s running backs Every week, we gather the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have David Howman and Brian Martin. Reports last week came in suggesting Micah Parsons could be getting a contract worth $200 million. Is he worth that much or is this a massive expense and trading him carries better value? A number of reliable reports came out last week stating that the Cowboys and Micah Parsons are getting closer to a deal. How close is unknown, but the reports stated that Parsons wants a contract worth $200 million. Some may say that’s worth every penny, others think this is one sizeable contract too many, and may restrict Dallas in the future signing other quality players. Micah Parsons, should not only ask for a $200 million contract from the Cowboys, that’s what he deserves and should demand to become the highest non-paid QB in NFL history! It’s not his job to manage the cap, plus the Cowboys always cave in the end #DallasCowboys — Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) March 28, 2025 Micah Parsons’ agent and Dallas’ front office discussed a contract at the scouting combine. No serious talks have occurred since Our @calvinwatkins details the star pass rusher’s quest to become NFL’s first $200 million defensive player https://t.co/6S2UaCTnjf pic.twitter.com/GSWuo1tTrK — SportsDayDFW (@SportsDayDFW) March 28, 2025 Brian: A $200 million contract is the going price for a pass rusher of Micah Parsons’ caliber and yes, he’s worth it. Considering the impact he makes on the field, I’d have to be blown away with a trade to part ways with him. I just don’t see a team parting with that kind draft capital as well as paying him a big money contract extension. Howman: Absolutely he is worth it. Micah Parsons is the most valuable defensive player in the NFL, and it’s not particularly close. He’s one of the rare occasions that should be treated like the quarterback, financially speaking, which is to say that you pay whatever the cost is to keep him around. There’s no such thing as overpaying for a man of his talent. Dak Prescott has been filmed back practicing this week. What’s the expectations for him this season? Dak was back in action and throwing for the first time since his injury that ended his season short last year. It’s good to see him working and looking like he’s ready to get back in the saddle and get the Cowboys offense back on track for the new season. @dak finally out there throwing and practicing after his injury last year. Time to go get it brother! #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/S4b9dXygPI — Mike Poland (@kenfigkowboy) March 30, 2025 Brian: Unless the Cowboys get Dak Prescott some additional help at RB and WR my expectations for him aren’t all that high entering 2025. But, if they upgrade the RB position as well as adding another WR2 to pair with CeeDee Lamb, I think we can expect No. 4 to return to his 2023 form when he was the MVP runner up to Lamar Jackson. Howman: Given how much Brian Schottenheimer has spoken about Pete Carroll’s influence on him, and how much Carroll has frequently likened his desired quarterback play to a point guard in basketball, I’m expecting Prescott to be counted on as more of a facilitator than a game changer. That should translate to a little less volume in the passing game but more overall efficiency, kind of similar to Prescott’s first few years in the league. Which Ohio State running back would be a better fit for Dallas? TreVeyon Henderson or Quinshon Judkins? Both running backs had a great 2024 season and both are projected to go in the second round and very closely ranked in the overall rankings. Henderson is the fast, explosive type of running back that hits the hole fast and catching defenders off guard with his burst. Judkins is more the rumbler that has good contact balance and strength. Brian: This is a tricky question because both RBs bring something a little different to the table. It really depends on what Dallas looking for. Judkins is more of an every down RB while Henderson is more of the change of pace/slasher type in my opinion. I lean a little more towards Judkins as the better fit for the Cowboys. I prefer his durability and hard-nosed running style. Howman: The real answer is Cam Skattebo, but I won’t cheat here. I think Henderson is probably the better fit based on what the Cowboys seemingly want to do with their run game. Javonte Williams can be that physical, between the tackles type of runner with Henderson being the explosive, perimeter type of guy.

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images What is the WORST way that the Cowboys can use the 12th overall pick in your opinion? The NFL draft is fast approaching, and while the Dallas Cowboys made some moves in the early stages of free agency, there is still work to do. The Cowboys are focusing on the draft and are a team that needs to make the most of their available picks. In a highly competitive NFC East division, having a premium in talent is a prerequisite. For Dallas to hang with the Washington Commanders, the Philadelphia Eagles, and their offseason additions, the Cowboys must nail the aspect of roster building they take most pride in: the draft. Yet, Dallas could shoot themselves in the foot as early as their first pick. Here are the worst things they can do with the 12th pick in the draft. Trading up The latest rumor is that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is enamored with Colorado’s two-way star and Heisman trophy winner Travis Hunter. Despite what Jerry Jones thinks of Hunter, he should not trade up for him or any player in the top 10. The Cowboys have far too many needs to give away draft capital to take one player. The Cowboys need healthy players at cornerback, and while Hunter can play cornerback, he would not be enough to make up for the departure of Jourdan Lewis and Trevon Diggs if he has any injury setbacks entering the season. The Cowboys need more help throughout the draft. Even moving up to draft Abdul Carter to pair him with fellow Penn State Nittany Lion Micah Parsons would sound like a nice idea, but the cost to get him would be far too rich. The Cowboys have only ten draft picks and none from the 76th pick overall in the third round to 149th overall in the back of the fifth round. For the Cowboys to move into the top five of the draft, it would cost them the 12th overall pick, the 44th overall pick, and a pick next year to convince any team to agree to move down for Dallas. The best option for the Cowboys is to stay put and take the best available player. Drafting a RB not named Ashton Jeanty Upon further examination, Ashton Jeanty is in a league of his own regarding this year’s class of running backs. Yet, he’ll likely be gone by the 12th pick. That doesn’t mean Dallas should take the next best runner, according to their draft board, at 12. There have been mock drafts of Dallas “settling” with Omarion Hampton at the 12th pick. Hampton is a great prospect, but at 12, that’s a hefty investment for a running back that’s not the same as the talent that Jeanty is. Its understood that the Cowboys wanted to invigorate the offense with a renewed focus on running the ball. However, their new offensive coordinator, Klayton Adams, excels at this aspect. Again, Hampton is an excellent running back but not miles ahead of others in the class, such as Kaleb Johnson or TreyVeon Henderson; the latter has uncanny speed to score with the smallest of creases. Furthermore, Dallas has two solid veterans to lean on in the interim that can ease a Day 2 pick or later into a rotation versus feeling the need to get an instant return on investment on a running back taken 12th overall. This year’s class has talent throughout, such as DJ Giddens, Devin Neal, and Bhayshul Tuten. The Cowboys should be patient versus rushing to take a runner (that’s not Jeanty) that high. Trading out of the first round entirely While trading down for more draft picks seems appealing, Dallas risks missing out on a franchise-altering player. The Cowboys don’t have the best success rate with taking players in the second round, often gambling on players with injury histories. Plus, the caliber of player Dallas is passing up would be far too great. Since 2016, Dallas has drafted three All-Pro players in the first round versus just one in the second (Trevon Diggs 2020). As stated earlier, the Cowboys need help but also the best help to remain competitive in a challenging division. Also, look at how the Cowboys manage their salary cap and player contracts. Dallas requires the utmost contractual flexibility since they’re not big spenders in free agency. Suppose they hit a grand slam with their first-round pick in April; imagine how advantageous it would be to have that player under contract with a fifth-year option. Dallas needs a playmaking wide receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb. Tetairoa McMillian, Luther Burden III, and Matthew Golden are all possible options for Dallas in the round, and the caliber of talent outside of that has a sharp decline in talent. If Dallas wants to trade down, they need to make sure they stay in the first round.

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The third round could be right spot for the Cowboys to land a defensive tackle. The Dallas Cowboys have been busy beavers this offseason, or at least busier than they typically are. Between trades and free agent signings, they have addressed several positions already. Looking through the roster, the team has certainly filled some holes, but they still have some spots where additional resources are needed. One of those areas is defensive tackle. The Cowboys re-signed Osa Odighizuwa and added the versatile Solomon Thomas on a two-year deal, so there’s some pass-rushing prowess along the interior defensive line. They also have nose tackle Mazi Smith on the roster. Smith is halfway through his four-year rookie deal. This will be Smith’s third different defensive coordinator in as many years. The team isn’t depleted in the middle, but they should still look to add a fresh, new big boy in the trenches, and they might find what they need toward the end of Day 2 of the NFL Draft. They’ve gone this route with Maliek Collins, Neville Gallimore, and the before-mentioned Odighizuwa, but it’s about time to look again. Here are three defensive tackle options who could be great value grabs in the third round of the upcoming draft. T.J. Sanders, South Carolina Sanders gets off the block quickly, looking for the quickest path around his blockers. He has slappy hands to fend off opponents and attacks the shoulder to prevent his man from squaring up on him. His active hands and length do a good job of keeping blockers from getting into his chest. Once he gets started, he’s very hard to redirect. Sanders plays with a good amount of power and does more pushing than being pushed, allowing him to close out running lanes and get to the quarterback. He had 93 tackles and 9.5 sacks over his last two seasons. Consensus mock draft position: 69 Pro Football Focus big board: 36 TJ Sanders is a pure athlete at defensive tackle. He’s a twitchy, explosive DT at 6’4, 284lbs and wreaks havoc against both the run and pass. 60 pressures, 10 sacks, and 54 stops in the last two seasons at South Carolina. Top 50 player for me right now. pic.twitter.com/f4zVSQsarB — NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) February 3, 2025 Shemar Turner, Texas A&M A little undersized at 290 pounds, Turner doesn’t have the prototypical defensive tackle build. He gets off the blocks quickly and works quickly to get into the gaps. He uses his hands well and slaps, tugs, or pushes away any attempt to get into his body. He’s a relentless pursuer and very aggressive, even to the point where it’s gotten him in trouble. He has a mean streak that led to unsportsmanlike penalties. While Turner’s size and short arms will limit his overall effectiveness, he has the athleticism and play awareness to keep him right in the middle of the action. Consensus mock draft position: 83 Pro Football Focus big board: 55 Omarr Norman-Lott, Tennessee With jumpy feet, Normal-Lott gets off the snap quickly and attacks. He loves to reroute his blocker, looking for any way to get around him. He’ll fight with power, using his hands to shove into the chest and drive his man back. He also swipes and swims to sneak around the block. Norman-Lott stays engaged until he’s done with you, quickly breaking apart and firing toward wherever he wants to go. His sudden reaction and burst make him an unsuspecting lane closer just waiting to shut things down. And if he doesn’t get your right away, he might get you later because he’s a high-motor player who is relentless in pursuit. Consensus mock draft position: 89 Pro Football Focus big board: 61 Omarr Norman-Lott has so much juice as a pass rusher. I know Tennessee had a deep rotation but he should have been playing more than 17 snaps per game pic.twitter.com/wU9uJXnVtH — James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) January 22, 2025 The consensus draft positions were found using NFL Mock Draft Database. The Pro Football Focus ranks for defensive tackles can be found here.

Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images The Dallas Cowboys have traded for a new quarterback in Joe Milton! As of Wednesday night the Dallas Cowboys had already executed two trades this offseason, sending compensatory picks to the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans for Kaiir Elam and Kenneth Murray, respectively. Dallas also received picks in return in both trades. On Thursday morning, the Cowboys landed a hat trick of trades of this particular variety as it was reported that Dallas traded with the New England Patriots for quarterback Joe Milton. The Patriots are trading QB Joe Milton III and a seventh-round pick to Dallas in exchange for a fifth rounder, per source. Milton drew interest from multiple teams but ends up with the Cowboys. pic.twitter.com/pCfDbcWsTy — Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 3, 2025 Obviously Milton is the biggest piece of the trade, but the fact that Dallas is getting a pick in return is tremendous as well and speaks to the type of trades that they have been looking to execute this offseason. Recall that the Cowboys were awarded four compensatory picks as free agency began. At the time of this post’s initial publishing, it is unknown exactly which of their fifth-rounders Dallas is sending to New England, but they have three to work with so we will update this to reflect which one it is once we know. Credit to the Cowboys for being a bit honest here as Stephen Jones said earlier this week from the league’s owner meetings in Florida that he felt like they were still in the market to pull off a veteran trade and specifically mentioned backup quarterback as a position to watch. Look at Stephen calling his shots! Joe Milton was a sixth-round pick of the Patriots last year in the 2024 NFL Draft. Collegiately he played at Michigan before transferring and finishing his career with Tennessee. He was regarded as being extremely athletic while in college and was thought to be one of the finer athletes in last year’s quarterback class as it was being assembled. #Tennessee QB Joe Milton has some of the most impressive drive throws you will see at the college level. His game lacks refinement, but there is plenty of optimism in scouting circles – some believe he will be a top-100 pick next April. https://t.co/VxVAXAlABS — Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) August 16, 2023 This is a fantastic trade for the Cowboys as Milton’s athleticism is a lottery ticket of sorts. He has enough potential playmaking abilities to be intrigued by and that could (in the best case scenario) be the flash in the pan you need in a pinch if Dak Prescott has to miss time, and to be fair Prescott has missed some time in four of the last five seasons now (he did not in 2023). This is the exact kind of trade that the Trey Lance one should have been when the Cowboys pulled it off. Unlike with Lance though, the Cowboys still maintain several years of team control over Milton what with him only being on the second year of his rookie contract. It is brilliant and addresses a position of need before the draft even arrives.

Think you can figure out which Cowboys player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game! Hey Cowboys fans! We’re back for another day of the Blogging The Boys in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form. If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article. Previous games Wednesday, April 2, 2025Tuesday, April 1, 2025Monday, March 31, 2025 Play more SB Nation in-5 trivia games NFL in-5MLB in-5MMA in-5 Blogging The Boys in-5 instructions The goal of the game is to guess the correct Cowboys player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. Enjoy!

Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images The Cowboys could benefit from adding some depth before the draft. A little less than a month stands between the Dallas Cowboys and the 2025 NFL Draft. While the Cowboys have made some decent depth signings this spring, there’s plenty of room for upgrades at multiple spots on the current roster. Today, we examine two defensive free agents Dallas should consider taking a flyer on before the start of the draft. Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images 1) CB Asante Samuel Jr By all accounts, losing Jourdan Lewis to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency came as a shock to the Dallas Cowboys. It sure seemed like the Cowboys were planning on having Lewis back as one of their starting cornerbacks for at least the 2025 season. As things stand during the first week of April, Dallas has yet to fill the void left in their defense by Lewis’s departure. While the Cowboys could undoubtedly spend one of their first picks in this month’s draft on a starting cornerback, finding someone left in free agency with starting experience would be wise to cover their bases and give them some flexibility. If Dallas goes in this direction, there’s one player still available who makes the most sense. That guy is 25-year-old cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. The former second-round pick is still on the open market after finishing a four-year tenure with the Los Angeles Chargers. During his time in LA, Samuel had experience playing both inside as a nickel corner and outside, which would be very valuable to Dallas’ defense. Injuries limited Samuel to playing in just four games during last season, ending his Chargers career on a sour note. While the results haven’t always been great during his four-year career, Samuel is undoubtedly a better option than anything the Cowboys currently have on their roster to play alongside DaRon Bland and Caelen Carson. Signing Samuel would give Dallas someone with starting experience at the cornerback position, giving them more flexibility in the draft and preventing them from being forced to spend a premium draft pick to address the position. Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images 2) DE DeMarcus Walker You can never have enough capable pass rushers on a defense, especially in today’s NFL. While the Cowboys did go out and sign edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr to a one-year deal back in mid-March, they could still benefit from adding some pass-rush depth before the draft. If they were to do so, former Chicago Bears defensive end DeMarcus Walker would be a good target. Walker played under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus in Chicago during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Over that two-year span, Walker recorded 86 total pressures, 54 QB Hurries, and eight sacks, via Pro Football Focus. Signing Walker wouldn’t drastically change the outlook of the Cowboys’ defense, but it would give them another solid rotational pass rusher to pair with Dante Fowler Jr and Sam Williams. Walker makes even more sense when you consider that Williams is coming off a serious injury and could potentially be limited to start the year, The 30-year-old would likely be willing to sign a one-year deal, making this a very low-risk, no-brainer move for the Cowboys.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images 2025 is a big year for Matt Waletzko. Unlike most of the Cowboys’ 2022 draft class, offensive tackle Matt Waletzko isn’t going into 2025 with a great sense of security. But at least there’s a solid opportunity at his position, giving Waletzko a puncher’s chance at continuing his NFL dream in Dallas. The class of 2022 has already yielded two of the Cowboys’ youngest stars in G Tyler Smith and CB DaRon Bland, plus another Pro Bowler in TE Jake Ferguson. It also gave us WR Jalen Tolbert, a potential starter this season, and two likely role players in DE Sam Williams and LB Damone Clark. Only the last two picks of that draft, DT John Ridgeway and LB Devin Harper, are off the roster. Currently, Waletzko’s stock is the lowest of the remaining bunch. He’s had a hard time staying healthy, missing his rookie year including most of training camp with a shoulder injury. It was again a shoulder that took him out in 2023, and he missed all but the last few weeks of the season. After three years, Waletzko has only been active for 11 games and has yet to start one. We’ve all heard the line about the importance of availability, and that’s certainly been a problem for this fourth-year prospect so far. But even without the career momentum of his draftmates, Waletzko still warrants some intrigue in 2025. Even when he was drafted, Waletzko was considered a raw prospect with great athletic gifts but a heavy need for development. He’s a 6’8” specimen who’s missed out on the very things he needed most to make it in the league: practice and playing time. As long as he makes it to this year’s camp, perhaps whatever experience and coaching he’s had so far will give Waletzko a chance to start putting things together. And, of course, finally having better luck with injuries. It’s not like the Cowboys don’t need him. While Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele should be starting again this season, they come with their own question marks. Guyton struggled mightily as a rookie and Steele has never gotten all the way back to his 2021-2022 form, though there were encouraging signs late last year. The hope is that new offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, an offensive line guy, and new OL coach Conor Riley will help them get back on track. If so, they could also have a positive impact on Waletzko. Veteran Chuma Edoga has left in free agency, leaving Asim Richards as the leading in-house candidate for the swing tackle job. But Richards has always been considered better suited for the interior line, while Waletzko is a prototypical tackle prospect. If Waletzko can finally play the part as well as he looks it, he could rise in that discussion. We’re still early in the offseason, so this is not the full scope of Waletzko’s possible competition. The Cowboys could still be looking at veteran tackles in free agency, especially as we get further down the line and asking prices drop. And then there’s the draft, where Dallas is a real wild card when it comes to offensive line prospects. If a strong OT candidate is available early, even in the first round, the Cowboys could justifiably take him as immediate depth and for competition, with an eye on probably replacing Steele in 2026. That would be the biggest blow to Matt Waletzko’s chances, and it’s not hard to fathom. But at the very least, he’s still here and will likely get one more training camp to fight for a roster spot. Injuries have delayed his development, but if things go right in this fourth year then Waletzko could become a bigger factor in the Cowboys’ roster decisions.