Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys Drafted Their Way to More Super Bowl Respect

The Dallas Cowboys cooked during the 2026 NFL Draft.

If you take a look around the NFL landscape, just about everyone agrees, from fans to analysts. In fact, the Cowboys scored the fifth-best GPA (grade point average) of grades from experts.

So, it doesn't come as too much of a surprise that the Cowboys are seeing a bump in their Super Bowl odds to +2500, according to DraftKings. Dallas is also seeing an increase in its odds to win the NFC to +1300.

Dallas' +2500 odds are tied for the 15th-best in the NFL and, at +1300 to win the conference, Dallas is tied for seventh-best. The Chicago Bears are even with the Cowboys in both cases.

For reference, the Cowboys were sitting around +3500 and +1700 to win the Super Bowl and NFC once the NFL calendar rolled over into the offseason following Super Bowl 60.

Then, the Cowboys got a nice bump to +3000 to win the Super Bowl and +1600 to capture a conference title after the opening stage of free agency.

Why Cowboys are getting more Super Bowl respect

UCF Knights defensive lineman Malachi Lawrence is selected by the Dallas Cowboys. — UCF Knights defensive lineman Malachi Lawrence. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The mandate going into the offseason for the Cowboys was to fix a broken defense that stood between Dallas and the playoffs in 2025. the Cowboys ranked 32nd against the pass and in points per game allowed, 23rd against the run.

"I'll tell you, when you have the challenges we had last year, there's no place to go but up on the defensive side of the ball," owner Jerry Jones said in March.

"Had we played a lick of defense last year, we would've had ourselves, I think, a real playoff run."

As we prepare to turn the calendar to May, we think the Cowboys have done a good job identifying their needs and attacking them to the best of their ability. And, Jerry didn't go off the rails and deviate from the plan, either.

Dallas needed edge rushers and linebackers, so they went out and traded for Rashan Gary and Dee Winters (and almost traded for Maxx Crosby) and drafted Malachi Lawrence and Jaishawn Barham.

More help in the secondary was needed, so Jerry got aggressive and pulled off a trade up to put in his draft card for Caleb Downs. Adding veterans like Cobie Durant, Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke will also help.

Now, none of this is to say the Cowboys have been perfect, because we know that is certainly not the case, especially considering there's a lot of one-year contracts yet again.

But it's not even like the Cowboys have to be elite on defense with how good their offense is.

An average showing from Christian Parker's unit will be enough for Dak Prescott and Co. to at least lead Dallas back to the playoffs in 2026, ending the franchise's two-year absence.

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