(Editor's Note: In the upcoming weeks before the start of training camp, the staff of DallasCowboys.com is looking to answer the 20 biggest questions facing the team heading into the 2024 season. Today, the staff writers conclude the series with their realistic expectations for the Cowboys heading into the 2024 season.)
1) Super Bowl or playoffs? Realistic goal for 2024?
Nick Harris: There's no question that the 2023 version of the Dallas Cowboys failed to reach their ceiling. That ceiling was a Super Bowl appearance, in my eyes. And yes, with how free agency shook out paired with an added layer of pressure going into 2024 with the expiring contracts hanging over the team, that ceiling is lower. But I still see a reality where the Cowboys can finally get back to the NFC Championship Game. I still like Dallas in games against Detroit, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. It's just San Francisco that I can't see Dallas getting past until the group actually does it. I think a realistic goal is a playoff appearance with the ceiling being reaching that NFCCG.
Mickey Spagnola: The goal always is winning record, win the division, of course qualifying for the playoffs and as we know with the Cowboys 28-year NFC title game desert, get to the conference title game. Realistic? Why not. We know the Cowboys lost a bevy of players in free agency. We know they are incorporating three new defensive coaches. But look, the Cowboys sent 10 players to the Pro Bowl last season, and of the 12 players from last year no longer on the roster heading toward training camp, not one of those Pro Bowlers is missing. Oh, and they have Trevon Diggs, the previous Pro Bowl corner returning from his torn ACL. Developing depth might be the Cowboys key factor to taking the next step.
Kyle Youmans: It's nearly impossible to look at the current makeup of the Cowboys roster and say they're more talented than they were a year ago. But if there's a lack of confidence in the overall makeup of the roster, that's being over critical. This team returns eight players from the 2023 AP All-Pro lists, losing only Tyron Smith during free agency this offseason. Making them one of the best rosters in the NFL and the favorite in the NFC East. Dallas has a chance, just as they have the last three seasons, to win the division and make a run in the playoffs. So, that's the goal. Win the division, make a run in the playoffs, and everything will be okay. Anything less than that could make the 2025 offseason a complete overhaul.
Patrik Walker: I refuse, and I do mean REFUSE to lower my expectations here. I mean, I get it, it's been decades since the last appearance in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl, and some are willing to downgrade their ask and be pleased with a couple of playoff wins. I, however, am not that person. And I don't much care if they enter the tournament as the final seed or the No. 1 seed, seeing as the way they get in hasn't had much impact on their odds of advancing. Getting to the playoffs is not enough. You've done that plenty of times and three times in the last three seasons. Winning one game in the tournament isn't satisfying either, because they've done that before as well. Winning two would feel nice, because it's been awhile but, still, not enough for me. It's Super Bowl or bust for me, and I offer no apologies for standing on that hill. Because instead of me lowering my expectations of the team, I'd rather ask the team to meet the expectations that come along with wearing the Star in the first place. The standard is the standard, so meet it.
Nick Eatman: We all know how long it has been since this franchise has been to a Super Bowl. So for me to say that it's a "realistic" goal just seems a little short-sighted. And it's not to say the Cowboys won't be good enough to get there, but I haven't seen it in nearly 30 years and this team seems like it has lost more players than it added in the offseason. However, I think the Cowboys have gotten way too much criticism for their approach this summer. This team still has a lot of really good players and they're counting on developing a few more from the last three draft classes. If they can get maybe 2-3, even 4 of those players in the Sam Williams, Jalen Tolbert, Mazi Smith category to develop into stars the way Bland and Ferguson did, then it'll make up for the lack of production in free agency. Let's not forget this team won 12 games three years in a row, something that hasn't been done around here since the mid-90s. I think the Cowboys will make the playoffs. That's the ultimate goal - get in the dance. And when they do, they need to hope health is on their side and they're playing their best football. Playoffs is the realistic goal. But once you get in, anything is possible, even if we haven't seen it around here in a long time.
Kurt Daniels: Despite the tough schedule, a new defensive coordinator and a handful of other concerns, I do think this is a playoff team. Offensively, this will be the second year in Mike McCarthy's system, and he's got five Pro Bowlers returning, so they should only get better. On the other side of the ball, Dallas could have a standout secondary, especially if Trevon Diggs can return to form, and they'll still have Micah Parsons rushing up front. Plus, the team will again be strong on special teams. Sure, they need some youngsters to step up, but the Cowboys look like one of the top seven clubs in the NFC. As far as where they go from there? Well, let's hope for the best.
