Jerry Jones Praises Cowboys' Defensive Overhaul After Draft Moves

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has declared the team’s defense markedly better than it was just 48 hours ago—and far improved from last season.

On the first day of the NFL Draft, the Cowboys selected safety Caleb Downs and pass rusher Malachi Lawrence in the first round. On Day Two, Dallas added edge rusher Jaishawn Barham and acquired linebacker Dee Winters from the San Francisco 49ers in a trade.

Jones framed these additions as part of a deliberate rebuild, one he believes will fundamentally reshape the defense.

“We have been able to, as of right now, rebuild this defense. We’ve changed this defense. . . . This is a product of three, four, five years or maybe more of not getting where we’re trying to go and being a contender. It's going to be different, it's going to be fresh, we've got a lot of great energy here, we've got guys coming in like we introduced today. . . . When I lay my head down tonight I'm going to say, We’re doing something about the defense on this team.”

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer echoed Jones’ sentiment, calling the draft’s early work a continuation of a multi-step process that began with the November trade for Quinnen Williams and continued through free agency.

“We felt like this was going to be a continuation of getting the defense where we want it to be,” Schottenheimer said.

Schottenheimer also highlighted the physical, competitive profile of the new additions, noting that his late father, NFL coaching legend Marty Schottenheimer, would have valued players like Barham.

“If you were doing the old Oklahoma drill, which my old man would love to see, I'd probably put Jaishawn out there for the first reps,” Schottenheimer said.

The Cowboys’ defensive overhaul comes after trading Micah Parsons, one of the NFL’s top defensive players, to the Green Bay Packers. Jones indicated that the picks and subsequent moves received in the Parsons deal, along with additional acquisitions, have positioned the Cowboys to field a stronger defense moving forward.