Weaker draft classes and aging out led to Dallas’ downfall on this list.
It was bound to happen.
An NFL team is only as good as their weakest unit, and prolonged success is only possible when each unit has a strong base with depth to support it. In Dallas, the mantra has always been about drafting well so that the front office can reward their own with second contracts and there’s a pipeline of successors who give the brass the option to move on when warranted without missing a beat. This has led to the Cowboys consistently ranking highly in the Talent Under-25 metric, but not so much in 2024.