What the Cowboys can learn from the two Super Bowl LX teams

Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Feb 10, 2026

Published in Football

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FORT WORTH, Texas — The 2025 NFL season has come and gone.

It seems like just yesterday that Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the season opener, but Sunday’s Super Bowl win by Seattle marks the end of yet another year that Dallas is out of the championship spotlight.

In watching the Super Bowl, it’s hard to believe that the two participating teams missed the playoffs just a year ago, just like the Cowboys. But unlike Dallas, New England and Seattle corrected course and made it to the sport’s biggest stage for two unique one-year turnarounds.

As Dallas looks for a similar reversal, what can the Cowboys learn from the two teams so that they have another chance at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy?

Go big-game hunting in free agency

For over a decade, the Cowboys have notoriously spent little money in the external free agency market. It has become a standard for a franchise that has said it doesn’t believe in paying top-market money to players on the street.

Well, these two teams may have a direct argument against that notion.

In the 2025 offseason alone, the Patriots gave defensive tackle Milton Williams the second-highest contract at his position in league history ($26 million per year), signed wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a deal worth over $21 million per year and gave cornerback Carlton Davis $18 million per year and linebacker Harold Landry $14.5 million per year. In all, external free agent signings accounted for 27.26% of the team’s salary cap.

Seattle’s financial obligations to 2025 free agents expand wider in future years, headlined by quarterback Sam Darnold landing a contract worth $33.5 million per year, wide receiver Cooper Kupp landing $15 million per year and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence arriving from the Cowboys for a deal worth over $10.8 million per year. And although most of that money is deferred down the line, Seattle’s external free agent signings from last offseason accounted for 15.35% of the team’s salary cap in 2025.

In all, the teams combined to pay nine free agents last offseason contracts that would have been the richest deal that Dallas has given to an external free agent in over a decade.

Hit on premier draft capital

When you see teams like Seattle and New England make the Super Bowl despite having the most available cap space in the league (Patriots) and the 11th-most (Seahawks), it’s probably because they received big impacts from cheap rookie contracts — and these two teams directly represented that.

Each of Seattle’s past five first-round picks provided big impacts to the Seahawks hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Charles Cross (2022) started 14 games at offensive tackle, cornerback Devon Witherspoon (2023) was a second-team All-Pro and forced a fumble on Sunday, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2023) won the Offensive Player of the Year award, defensive tackle Byron Murphy (2024) had two sacks and a fumble recovery on Sunday, and guard Grey Zabel (2025) performed like a seven-year pro in his rookie season.

The Patriots have had similar first-round success since the departure of head coach Bill Belichick in 2023. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez (2023) already has a Pro Bowl and a second-team All-Pro honor on his resume, quarterback Drake Maye (2024) was the league’s runner-up finisher for the MVP award, and although left tackle Will Campbell (2025) had a rough Super Bowl outing, he showed talent in his rookie year.

Now look at the Cowboys. They have already moved on from 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith, and 2024 first-round pick Tyler Guyton hasn’t been able to stay healthy enough to consistently progress on the offensive line. The team’s first-round selection in 2025, guard Tyler Booker, is undeniably a hit.

But with two first-round picks on the slate in the 2026 draft, it is required now more than ever to correctly swing on premier draft capital.

Don’t be afraid to uproot the foundation

The Seahawks and Patriots entered the Super Bowl with a second-year head coach (Mike Macdonald for Seattle) and a first-year head coach (Mike Vrabel for New England), signaling that both franchises are on the heels of major foundational changes — especially when you consider they moved on from Hall of Fame coaches in Pete Carroll and Belichick.

Now don’t get my words twisted, this sports writer is a believer in the future under Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer. In fact, making the change last offseason from Mike McCarthy to the previously inexperienced (at least as head coach) Schottenheimer was a big step in the right direction in this category. But is there more that can be done?

Trading Micah Parsons for future draft capital to acquire cheaper rookie talent at premier selections is a foundational change. But after owner Jerry Jones said last week that he’s looking at multiple ways to change the way he’s been doing things, it will take bigger moves to right the ship and get Dallas back in the big game.

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