6 Cowboys Preparing for their Final Season in Dallas

2. Osa Odighizuwa, DT

The Cowboys hoped they found their 3-tech of the future in the 2020 NFL Draft when they selected Trysten Hill out of UCF in the second round. After trading their first-round pick to the Raiders for Amari Cooper, Hill was the team's first selection in the draft that year. It was also instantly criticized.

Hill was criticized for his lack of maturity and unsurprisingly was a bust in Dallas. They lucked out, however, in 2021 when they found a superior option in Round 3.

At pick No. 75, the Cowboys took UCLA's Osa Odighizuwa. He worked his way into the starting lineup during his rookie campaign and now enters his fourth season with 125 tackles, nine sacks, 23 tackles for a loss, and one forced fumble. Odighizuwa has been a quality starter and is on the verge of breaking out.

Whether he puts up another season similar to what we've seen, or puts it all together and balls out, the odds are high that the Cowboys front office lets him walk in free agency. As we saw with Tyler Biadasz, other teams will pay more than the suddenly frugal Dallas brass.

It's a frustrating cycle since the team drafts well enough to win games but then hesitates to pay players when they hit their stride. But it's a cycle fans expect at this point.

1. Brandin Cooks, WR

Stephon Gilmore wasn't the only veteran addition in 2023 as the Cowboys also landed Brandin Cooks in a trade with the Houston Texans. The two sides tried to work out a deal in 2022 at the trade deadline but couldn't agree on compensation.

Dallas needed an upgrade at the WR2 spot following Michael Gallup's drop in performance and Cooks had the talent to provide that.

His impact wasn't felt immediately as he had just 22 yards on two receptions in his debut. He missed Week 2 due to an injury and then posted just 17, 27, and seven yards over the next three weeks.

The low output wasn't all on Cooks since the Cowboys were still forcing the ball to Gallup. Once that ended, Cooks took off. His breakout came in Week 10 when he had 173 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions in a win over the Giants.

In all, he had 54 catches for 657 yards and eight touchdowns. Thankfully, he also had one more year on his deal when he was traded, or else those might have been his career numbers. Dallas didn't re-sign Gilmore and they're probably not going to give Cooks another deal. That means this could be the final season we see him with the star on his helmet.

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