Dallas Cowboys experience significant drop in NFLPA team rankings for 2023

The NFL player’s union, the NFLPA, released report cards for all 32 teams after surveying 1,300 players across the league during the 2023 season. The report card’s purpose is to “highlight positive clubs, identify areas that could use improvement, and highlight best practices and standards.” Unfortunately for the Dallas Cowboys, they experienced a significant drop in the rankings from 2022 to 2023. After coming in fifth overall last season with high marks in all but two of eight categories, the team’s grades this year dropped Dallas in the rankings from fifth to 12th in 2023.

The report card grades teams for categories that they believe best encapsulate general working conditions. Dallas’ lowest grade overall, a D+ for the training room, has them ranked 30 of 32 in that category. They received four A grades for treatment of families, weight room, head coach and locker room. The ownership received a B, ranking 19th in the league.

Check out the full grades and where the Cowboys rank out of all 32 teams.

Treatment of Families/A-/4th
Food Service/Cafeteria/B/11th
Nutritionist/Dietician/B/11th
Weight Room/A/5th
Strength Coaches/B+/17th
Training Room/C-/26th
Training Staff/D+/30th
Locker Room/A/2nd
Team Travel/C-/22nd
Head Coach/A/9th
Ownership/B/19th

Cowboys grade overview

“The Dallas Cowboys finish 12th overall in this year’s rankings,” the NFLPA wrote. “There are a few areas where the team shines; the facilities grade highly again this year. Specifically, the players give high marks to the locker room, weight room and to head coach Mike McCarthy.”

“The major issue in Dallas, based on the responses, is centered around the training room,” the report continues. “The players feel like they are very understaffed in this department, and it is difficult to get the necessary preparation and treatment to perform at their best. Only 62% of the players feel like they get an adequate amount of one-on-one treatment time, which ranks 30th in the NFL.

“The other issue mentioned was that the players feel the training room lacks basic equipment that you would expect to be standard in any other training facility.

Along with the grades, the NFLPA also provided custom solutions to boost the Cowboys’ scores for next season. Among the changes they suggest is the hiring of additional trainers to provide more one-on-one treatments for the athletes.

“With otherwise strong marks across the board, it should be simple to hire additional trainers and physical therapists to ensure the players can get the necessary treatment to stay healthy and perform at the highest level,” the NFLPA writes.