Down on Dallas: Cowboys Low in ESPN 'Future Power Rankings'

Always in motion, the future is, except if you're the Dallas Cowboys on ESPN's future power rankings.

The Worldwide Leader's prognosticators don't have much faith in America's Team as the future moves forward, placing them 20th of 32 in terms of their potential between the coming season and 2024. Criteria for the final grade included the quarterback and coaching situations, the rest of the roster, and drafting ability.

Ironically, however, Dallas' position in the future seems to be defined by its past. It starts off complementary ... the list curators claim to be "bullish" on Dak Prescott, that CeeDee Lamb "oozes stardom," and that Micah Parsons "could be a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate."

Ledgers of days gone by, combined with a sizzling seat for head coach Mike McCarthy, create the Cowboys' final ranking of 70 (a C grade said to be "average" by ESPN's scale).

"Their rank in this list reflects too many years of falling short of expectations," the Cowboys' caption declares. "While coaching hot seats are a conversation usually better reserved for midseason at the earliest, there is unquestioned pressure on Mike McCarthy to win big this season."

It's fair to see where the list is coming from: despite boasting a surplus of offensive firepower in recent seasons, the Cowboys have struggled to build any sort of lasting success. Enough has been written about the team's respective lack of appearances in the NFC title game, much less the Super Bowl, but their inability to string together even consecutive playoff appearances is perhaps even more troubling. Dallas hasn't appeared in consecutive postseasons since 2006-07 and their last streak over two years was the six-year stretch between 1991 and 1996 that produced their most recent championships. The Cowboys are fresh off a 12-5 record and an NFC East division title, their first since 2018) but further playoff disappointment awaited at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card round in January.

At the same time, the collection of talent in Dallas is relatively young. Prescott is 28. Trevon Diggs is 24. Lamb and Micah are 23. Among key roster members, only two - O-linemen Tyron Smith and Zack Martin - are over 30 ... and both of them are likely Hall-of-Fame-bound.

The Buffalo Bills, fresh off consecutive AFC East championships under the watch of quarterback Josh Allen, headline the list in the top spot - justifiable in many ways, except ... when was the last time the Bills won a Super Bowl? The answer is "zero'' - but yet somehow doesn't factor into their grade.

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