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Cowboys Tipped To Approach Top-10 Offense Rank With Odd Take On Limitations

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 9:26 AM ET

The Dallas Cowboys' offense under Brian Schottenheimer is expected to be able to put up points through the air.

Dak Prescott has CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Jake Ferguson as his top three options, with Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin and Jonathan Mingo making up the receivers expected to produce in 2025.

The run game, which has been brutalized over the past two weeks with Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams, is an unknown, and until the regular season begins, the Cowboys' rushing attack will continue to get verbal beatdowns.

And here comes ESPN's Bill Barnwell, in ranking every team's skill position players, and out of 32, Dallas comes in at No. 11, but Bill has thrown a curveball in there.

"Lamb will finally get some help on the outside, where George Pickens should — on what can only be described as the most paper-ish substance imaginable — be an upgrade on the likes of Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks," Barnwell writes.

"Tight end Jake Ferguson didn't build on his Pro Bowl campaign in Year 3, failing to score a touchdown in 14 games. He should see the end zone more often in 2025. I'm still not entirely sure why Dallas downgraded from Rico Dowdle to Javonte Williams by choice, but this is arguably the league's worst backfield on paper."

So, the Cowboys have a borderline top-10 offense, with an NFL-worst run game?

It seems the national media fails to see that the hiring of Klayton Adams and Conor Riley, not to mention Schottenheimer's past with producing good run games, and what that could do. Bashing the run game is low-hanging fruit.

But let's not forget, everyone is piling on the run game this offseason with Sanders and Williams and expecting them to be the worst in football. With Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle last year, Dallas wasn't. So why would Sanders and Williams who will have three coaches with skins on the wall in developing good rushing attacks?

And again, Sanders is looming as the starter if a game were to be played today, not Williams, and this isn't the first time we've seen it mentioned that Javonte is the assumed starter.

The Cowboys, it appears, will be propelled forward by the passing attack, with no resemblance of a run game in 2025.

And as far as the Cowboys being predicted to have the worst run game in football?

Don't expect it to be.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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