The Dallas Cowboys season ended without a playoff berth, but they believe they can make a run in 2026 as long as they fill a few holes.
A huge part of that will take place in the NFL draft, and their scouting officially kicks into gear with the East-West Shrine Bowl at The Star in Frisco on Tuesday night.
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As important as the draft is, the Cowboys need to be even more active in free agency. Thankfully, vice president of player personnel Will McClay understands how important that process is. While preparing for the Shrine Bowl, McClay discussed the team’s process heading into free agency which he says is about finding “the right kind of guys.”
“We’ll go through the free agency period, there’s some good players out there,” McClay said. “We’ll have to figure out from a cap standpoint and all that stuff, but there are some good players out there. And we want to address it, but we want to address it the right way with the right kind of guys,” McClay said via Tommy Yarrish.
“Once we get the full staff together, and we’ll get a lot of experience from different places that will give us input on players that they’ve coached before, coached against, so it just adds to it and we’ll find the right guys if we’re able to do some things in free agency.”
Dallas will fill holes in free agency to set up the NFL draft 
Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay (R) during practice at the Ford Center. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
One thing Dallas did well in 2025 was to fill their biggest roster hole in free agency. By adding Javonte Williams, they avoided the need to reach for a running back.
This year, they should employ a similar approach. The problem is that they have multiple holes, all throughout their defense.
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Ideally, Dallas will find capable starters at linebacker, EDGE, and safety to avoid entering the draft with a glaring hole.
They don’t need to find their long-term answer, or even a Pro Bowl-caliber player at each spot. But if they can simply add players they feel comfortable starting, they’ll be free to use their two picks in Round 1 on the best available players regardless of position.
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