FRISCO, Texas – For Cowboys' COO/co-owner Stephen Jones and the rest of the organization, player acquisition is a 24/7, 365-day process. As the team inches towards the start of OTAs and minicamp, they still may make additional moves, but for the most part have fielded a roster they're happy with.
"I just think the offseason really came together good for us and we feel really good about our football team…" Jones told reporters at AT&T Stadium following a Pro Bull Riders event on Thursday. "You start to look at all the guys we're going to get back that didn't actually play last year, it's a good feeling."
Crucial pieces of the puzzle like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons and Zack Martin all missed time at various points of the season as the Cowboys were ravaged by injuries. In the 2025 offseason, Dallas focused on building their depth as much as possible.
"We got them all running mates," Jones said. "Tyler Smith was out there and I said 'We added Booker for you,' Micah was there and I said 'We brought Dono[van Ezeiruaku] for him,' everybody's got some running mates to go with them that they didn't have last year. It's exciting to see all these guys come together."
The running mate for CeeDee Lamb was George Pickens, who the Cowboys traded a third and fifth round pick for on May 7 after emphasizing the need for a second wide receiver threat all offseason. Pickens' addition was a massive boost to the offense, but he isn't the only new piece that Dallas is high on.
"When you break the huddle, you want weapons…" Jones said. Certainly, we were needing that. You bring the juice of a [Jaydon] Blue that we drafted, that's why we picked him. You see a lot of times a 4.4 beside a guy's name and you turn on the tape and say, 'Where is it?'
"His is the opposite, he should've ran a 4.3 when you turn on the tape."
Figuring out how to combine and utilize all the weapons falls into the lap of Brian Schottenheimer, who will handle play calling duties in his first year as the Cowboys' head coach. It can be a tall task to juggle head coaching and play calling responsibilities at the same time, but Jones is confident Schottenheimer can pull it off because of the staff he's assembled.
"It's a challenge and you certainly have to surround yourself with a great staff and I feel like he's done that," Jones said. "I feel like his staff brings the same energy that coach Schotty brings to the table… in general it just feels like there's a high energy level and I see the players responding to it."
In talking to players, coaches and front office personnel over the offseason, "energy" has been one of the biggest and most commonly used buzzwords to describe what the Schottenheimer regime will be known for. Those ripples have spread everywhere throughout the organization, and most importantly to the players.
"It's outstanding, the energy in our building is just amazing in terms of what Schotty's brought with this staff," Jones said. "It's always great to have young guys… have that young energy join and see how they feed off of the vets, and then of course you've got the veterans that we've brought in from other teams that certainly bring something to the table."
The Cowboys will certainly need some of that energy in the back half of their 2025 schedule, where they play one of the most difficult stretches in the league from Weeks 12 through 17 against teams that all won at least 11 games last season.
Each year is different of course, but it's a big ask for a new coaching staff and depends on what personnel is available that late in the season. Regardless, Jones is taking a positive look ahead and knows Schottenheimer and company will do all they can to be up for the challenge.
"The plus side of that is they're at home, a lot of them. I love it for our fans, they're going to get to see us compete," Jones said. "Got to play the games, the schedule is the schedule, I'm glad a lot of those happen to be right here for our fans to enjoy those."
"Certainly, we've got some challenges early going on the road… we've got a spicy schedule at the end… we look forward to that, and I know Schotty's fired up about the schedule, we're ready to go."
The Cowboys will also play four games on Thursday night in the 2025 season, something that has never been done before. It's a tough look on paper, but Jones is optimistic about how the team will handle a few short window weeks to prepare.
"I don't think so. These young men, they get after it, they adapt. We've got a great coaching staff that's going to get the guys prepared, obviously you've got some short windows where you've got to get to prepared but then that gives you a ten-day window sometimes following that… but overall, we're big fans of the schedule."
OTAs, minicamp and training camp still lie ahead, but the real game action is set to begin for the Cowboys on the first night of the NFL season on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 4 with a 7:20 p.m. kickoff.
