FRISCO, Texas — One NFL executive polled by Mike Sando of The Athletic ranked the Dallas Cowboys defense ahead of the Green Bay Packers’ defense one year after the Micah Parsons trade, in a preseason NFC poll published Wednesday.
Six executives ranked all 16 NFC teams under the condition of anonymity. Dallas finished fourth with an average vote of 4.3. Green Bay finished seventh with votes of third, sixth, sixth, eighth, eighth, and ninth, for an average of 6.7. Both teams carry a Vegas win total of 9.5, tied for sixth in the conference with the Chicago Bears.
The voter who ranked Dallas fifth had the Cowboys’ defense ahead of Green Bay’s, according to Sando. For that voter, the secondary is still not a strength.
“I like the coordinator,” that voter said of Dallas defensive coordinator Christian Parker. “He is going to help maximize what they have. The secondary is still not a strength, but they have an impressive front seven.”
The Micah Parsons Trade One Year Later
Dallas traded Parsons to Green Bay on Aug. 28, 2025, for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Parsons played 14 games for the Packers last season, had 12.5 sacks, and was named first-team All-Pro for the third time. Green Bay placed him on injured reserve Dec. 17.
Parsons will miss at least the first four games of 2026 while rehabbing that season-ending injury, according to Sando. The Packers finished 9-7-1 last season.
Clark, a three-time Pro Bowler, started all 17 games for Dallas in 2025 and had 36 tackles and 3 sacks. On March 10, the Cowboys restructured his contract, converting an $11 million roster bonus into a signing bonus, Todd Archer of ESPN reported.
One executive ranked Dallas second in the NFC on the theory that a first-time coordinator brings variance on defense.
“Anything is better than what they did last year on defense,” that voter told Sando. “They shocked the system by trading Micah Parsons, and I just think generally speaking, new coordinators on defense create variance.”
Where The Voters Placed The Green Bay Packers
One of the six executives listed Green Bay as a Super Bowl contender. The other five listed the Packers as a division contender. Dallas drew three Super Bowl contender votes and three division contender votes.
Sando wrote that Green Bay’s best players on both sides of the ball are rehabbing season-ending injuries. The voter who ranked the Packers third in the conference did so because he thought quarterback Jordan Love was improving and that new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon could provide a boost, according to Sando. Love threw for 3,381 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions in 15 games last season.
Dallas ranked 32nd in EPA per play on defense last season, according to TruMedia data cited by Sando, and allowed 511 points, the most in franchise history. Parker, 34, replaced Matt Eberflus in January.
Dallas plays at Green Bay on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
