CBS Sports released its list of the NFL’s Top 100 players heading into the 2024 season and six Dallas Cowboys made the list – starting with edge rusher Micah Parsons. Ranked No. 9 overall, Parsons dropped one spot from where he ranked before the 2023 season, despite cracking a career-high in sacks last year.
The Cowboys had several more players ranked inside the top 100 via NFL.com’s rankings last year than they do this year. DeMarcus Lawrence (99), Zack Martin (68), Trevon Diggs (60), Dak Prescott (56), Tony Pollard (55), and CeeDee Lamb (34) were all ranked with Parsons topping the list at No. 9 last season.
Now, however, Pollard is gone after signing a new deal in free agency with the Titans and Diggs, who suffered a torn ACL in the second week of the season, has been completely forgotten. Diggs didn’t even make CBS Sports’ list of honorable mentions, though DaRon Bland did after setting a new NFL record for pick-sixes last season.
Despite landing fewer players in the top 100 this year, the Cowboys players that did make the list almost all improved their standing – except for veteran Zack Martin. Prescott moved up seven spots, Lamb moved up nine, Lawrence moved up a whopping 44 spots and former first-rounder Tyler Smith made his debut after also making his first All-Pro team last season.
The Cowboys players rank as follows in the Top 100, according to CBS Sports:
No. 9 Micah Parsons, defensive end
No. 21 CeeDee Lamb, wide receiver
No. 49 Dak Prescott, quarterback
No. 55 DeMarcus Lawrence, defensive end
No. 75 Tyler Smith, left guard
No. 94 Zack Martin, right guard
After the offseason, a big question facing the Cowboys going into training camp later this month is, are they a better team than they were last season? According to ProFootballFocus‘ rubric, the answer is no.
PFF ranks each NFL team’s roster before the season and Dallas’s ranking this year is four spots lower than in 2023. The team dropped from No. 5 to No. 9 thanks to a relatively quiet offseason during which the team lost more starters than they picked up. PFF ranked the Cowboys roster behind the 49ers, Chiefs, Eagles, Jets, Ravens, Lions, Texans and Bengals.
“Their stars are as good as any team in the league, but their salary cap situation has eroded their depth, especially in the trenches,” PFF writes. “They’ll likely still have a good season, but holes at running back and in the middle of their defense could cause headaches against the more physical teams on their schedule.”
The team’s biggest weakness, according to PFF, is its run defense. The key factor for them there will be second-year defensive tackle Mazi Smith. A 2023 first-round pick, Smith contributed little as a rookie, which is why he’s PFF’s lowest-rated projected starter for the Cowboys this year.
