Brian Schottenheimer and Dallas aren’t pretending last year’s roster was good enough. The Cowboys have been moving pieces and rebuilding a defense they cannot afford to see fail again. Landing Von Miller was the biggest move yet, but Dallas is not finished. After roughly 14 defensive moves this season, the Cowboys are still looking for more.

“In addition to Von Miller, the Cowboys have explored cornerback help via free agency. One name to watch is Adoree Jackson, who was with DC Christian Parker in Philadelphia. Jackson has interest from a few teams, though,” Jeremy Fowler posted on X.

Jackson’s fit comes from his familiarity with defensive coordinator Christian Parker, who coached him in Philadelphia last season, but let’s not pretend this would be some blockbuster addition.

The Cowboys already appear set with DaRon Bland and Cobie Durant outside and Caleb Downs in the slot, so Jackson would likely be fighting Shavon Revel Jr. and Caelen Carson for the CB4 job. That sounds underwhelming, and frankly, it is.

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But Dallas finished last in the NFL in passing yards allowed and points allowed in 2025, so this is not a team in position to be picky about experienced secondary depth. Jackson still produced 55 tackles, 11 passes defended, and an interception in 14 games, but his 54.6 PFF grade, 90th among 114 qualified corners, is a pretty loud warning that his best football may be behind him.

If Dallas signs him, it would not be because they think they found a difference-maker. It would be because their defense was so bad last season that even a flawed, familiar veteran represents useful insurance.

Dallas’ defense has gone from a strength to a liability in brutal fashion. After allowing just 315 points in 2023, the Cowboys surrendered 468 in 2024 and then a franchise-record 511 in 2025, giving up more than 30 points per game last season. The decline has been impossible to ignore, with Dallas finishing near the bottom of the league in scoring defense and pass defense while cycling through personnel and coaches.

The departures have only made Dallas’ defensive problems harder to solve. Over the last two offseasons, the Cowboys have lost a long list of experienced contributors, including DeMarcus Lawrence, Jourdan Lewis, Osa Odighizuwa, Dante Fowler Jr. and Donovan Wilson, stripping away pass rush, coverage experience and veteran leadership from an already struggling unit.

Dallas has been forced to rebuild a broken defense, fueling aggressive moves for Rashan Gary, Von Miller, Caleb Downs and potentially Adoree’ Jackson.

Jackson also carries pedigree as a 2017 first-round pick, Jim Thorpe Award winner and unanimous All-American. He has experience in multiple defensive systems and played alongside Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in Philadelphia. Dallas may need to act fast, with several teams reportedly interested.

And Jackson would not be arriving in isolation, either. Dallas has already been busy loading up on defensive help; hence the Miller move. He’s set to join a retooled outside linebacker group that already includes Rashan Gary, first-round pick Malachi Lawrence, Donovan Ezeiruaku, and Sam Williams.

Von Miller signs with the Cowboys

Von Miller is officially a Cowboy, and he made sure everyone found out through him first. He posted the news on Instagram, already decked out in a No. 40 Cowboys jersey for the photo.

Miller brings both production and pedigree to a pass rush that badly needed help. He recorded nine sacks in 17 games for Washington in 2025, including 1.5 against Dallas, a total that would have led the Cowboys last season.

Now he arrives with 138.5 career sacks, the most among active players, two Super Bowl rings, and a clear sense of what the move means to him. “Dallas! Let’s make this one special,” Miller wrote after signing. For the Texas native and former Texas A&M star, the move is not just another stop in a Hall of Fame-caliber career, but a homecoming with a defense desperate for proven edge production.

That homecoming theme got an extra boost from Cowboys legend DeMarcus Ware, Miller’s former teammate in Denver. Ware shared a FaceTime screenshot of the two smiling together after the signing and added “#CowboysNation,” a fitting welcome from one elite pass rusher to another.

The bigger challenge, though, is what Miller is walking into. Dallas hasn’t sniffed an NFC Championship appearance since its last title run in the 1995 season, so expectations remain heavy even with another big-name addition.

Still, Miller fills a real gap for the Cowboys at outside linebacker, especially within Christian Parker’s 3-4 scheme. If Dallas is serious about fixing its defense, adding a proven veteran like Miller is at least a step in the right direction.