The Dallas Cowboys have been more aggressive in free agency this year than in previous decade. That can’t be argued.

The Jalen Thompson signing alone was the biggest contract that the Cowboys have handed to an outside free agent in over 15 years. And by all accounts, Dallas might have even gotten a value there, as other publications had him with a much higher projected contract.

We can debate about the Rashan Gary trade and whether it was worth giving up a future fourth-round pick for an edge rusher who was about to be released. But he is a starting-caliber player and has a bunch of familiarity with the coaching staff. Dallas needed a pass rusher who could set the edge and Gary should fit into that role.

But have the Cowboys actually improved on defense this offseason? Well, that’s certainly up for debate. It actually might not be up for debate after they traded Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas on Wednesday night, but let’s focus on free agency transactions, or lack thereof.

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t improved enough this offseason

Free agency has technically just started, but for the most, all of the big-name players and needle-movers have been signed. There are still a few older veterans on the market who can fill roles depending on the right team, but for the most part, the process is over.

The Cowboys were aggressive in the linebacker market, but they fell just short in acquiring Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean. They never seemed all that interested in Devin Lloyd and opted to completely pass on all of the starting-caliber options who were available.

That is a major mistake for a team that let over 1,300 snaps of linebacker play walk out the door in free agency (Kenneth Murray, Jack Sanborn, Logan Wilson).

The Cowboys are hoping that DeMarvion Overshown, who finished the 2025 season healthy, can be a full-time starter in 2026. But that seems like a stretch considering he’s played just 927 snaps in three seasons with the team.

Marist Liufau has been moved to the edge, and Shemar James is the only other linebacker on the roster who has ever played an NFL snap.

Dallas needed to find at least one starting caliber linebacker in free agency and they did not accomplish that goal. Things happen and they got out-bid. It would be easy to excuse that problem if that was their only need on defense.

Cornerback remains just as big of an issue with Daron Bland set to miss almost all of the offseason with another foot injury. At this point, it’s fair to be concerned about his long-term outlook given how delicate foot injuries can, especially for a position like cornerback.

Shavon Revel is the other starting cornerback on the roster, but he’s coming off a major knee injury and a rough rookie season. It’s fair to be optimistic about his long-term future, but that’s only based on his pre-draft profile and nothing that we’ve seen in the NFL to date.

Outside of Revel and Diggs, there isn’t much talent in the cornerback room to speak of and the roster desperately needed to add one viable starter in free agency to cover themselves before the draft. And as of this posting, that has not happened and probably won’t, given the names available.

The cornerback and linebacker rooms are two positions of need heading into the draft, but so is the edge rusher room. Gary is a nice piece, but he is way overmatched as the No. 1 edge rusher for a team. He is better off being a No. 2 or No. 3 edge rusher, much like what Dallas had with Jadeveon Clowney last season. The hope was that Donovan Ezeiruaku might grow into that role, and he still might, but an offseason hip surgery will likely slow his development.

Fans were hoping that the Cowboys would add a proven pass rusher like Trey Hendrickson or Maxx Crosby, but that never felt all that realistic. Instead, names like Odafe Oweh or Jalen Phillips felt more attainable, but their markets exploded and it forced the Cowboys to go back to the drawing board and re-sign players like Sam Williams and Tyrus Wheat.

You can make a real case that the Cowboys haven’t improved their defense much this offseason. They were actually in much better shape in Week 15, when they had a healthy Bland and Ezeiruaku with players like Clowney and Diggs under contract.

But even if we give them the benefit of the doubt here and project that Gary and Thompson are upgrades, we are talking about the worst defense in franchise history. Adding a good safety and a rotational edge rusher isn’t suddenly going to make this defense average or anywhere close. And that’s why fans have a right to be upset.

This was supposed to be the offseason where the Cowboys busted the budget and really spent up to improve the roster. And so far, it’s debatable if they even improved at all.

The draft is still coming and there is a chance that the two first-round picks end up being hits. But that’s putting a ton of pressure on two young kids to turn around an awful unit. Dallas needed to improve their overall talent and depth in free agency before the draft so they could pick freely. So far, they have failed to accomplish that goal.