FRISCO, Texas — Stephen A. Smith picked the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East and 12 to 13 games this season on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday morning.
Smith is still waiting for the Cowboys to fall apart, and he said so before getting to the roster.
“We all know that I’m waiting for the crash, the crash landing to happen,” Smith said. “Patience is a virtue. Just wait for it. It’s coming.”
Dallas finished 7-9-1 and second in the NFC East last season and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. The Cowboys allowed 511 points, 30.1 per game, which ranked 32nd in the league. They ranked 30th in total yards allowed and 32nd in passing yards allowed. On offense, they scored 471 points, or 27.7 per game, ranking 7th.
Smith ran into Cowboys owner, president, and general manager Jerry Jones in California within the past few weeks, and his read on the roster starts there.
“From a roster perspective, I was in California the last couple weeks or so, and I ran into the one and only Jerry Jones,” Smith explained. “My Libra buddy right there. And I got to tell you, I think he’s done his job.”
Dallas spent three weeks of training camp at the River Ridge Playing Fields in Oxnard, California, before returning to The Star in Frisco for the preseason finale. Pro Football Reference lists the Cowboys at plus-2500 to win the Super Bowl in preseason odds.
Stephen A. Smith On The Dallas Cowboys Roster
Smith called George Pickens a franchise receiver and placed Pickens and CeeDee Lamb among the top two receiving duos in the NFL, with the Cincinnati Bengals pair as his comparison.
“Dak Prescott is a top-10 quarterback. Let’s stop joking around and acknowledge that,” Smith said. “He’s a bad brother. He’s a top 10 quarterback. I give him that respect. Javonte Williams was a pleasant surprise last year, and he got a contract extension, and damn it, he deserved it. And the offensive line has improved.”
“Their defense is expected to be considerably better,” Smith continued. “Still questions about their secondary, no doubt about that. Overshown is going to be back healthy, hopefully. We’ll see what happens with that.”
Pickens caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns in his first season with Dallas, made the Pro Bowl, and was named second-team All-Pro. He was the offensive MVP of the Pro Bowl Games in February. Pickens is playing this season on a franchise tag worth $27.3 million fully guaranteed, after the July 15 deadline for tagged players to sign long-term deals passed without an agreement.
Lamb caught 75 passes for 1,077 yards and 3 touchdowns in 14 games, and he praised first-year coordinator Klayton Adams’ impact on the offense on Monday. Dak Prescott started all 17 games and threw for 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while completing 67.3% of his attempts and leading the league in completions. Javonte Williams carried 252 times for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns and caught 35 passes for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dallas signed Williams to a three-year contract worth $24 million with $16 million guaranteed on Feb. 21.
Dallas Cowboys Defense And Secondary
Quinnen Williams signed a three-year extension worth $105.9 million in August that runs through 2030. Dallas acquired him from the New York Jets before last season’s November trade deadline, and he made 21 tackles with 1.5 sacks in 7 games. Kenny Clark arrived from the Green Bay Packers in the Micah Parsons trade on Aug. 28, 2025, and started all 17 games with 36 tackles and 3.0 sacks. The Cowboys traded a 2027 fourth-round pick to Green Bay for Rashan Gary on March 11 and sent the 152nd overall pick to the San Francisco 49ers for Dee Winters on April 24.
DeMarvion Overshown played 6 games and made 28 tackles last season after tearing the anterior cruciate, medial collateral, and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee in December 2024. He is moving to middle linebacker and wearing the green dot for first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
“But when you look at their personnel, the Dallas Cowboys should win the NFC East,” Smith said. “They should be the favorites, and you can make a legitimate argument that they’re one of the top three teams in the entire NFC. That I know. Now, it does not mean they won’t fold like a cheap tent. It does not mean that the pressure won’t break those pipes and they will collapse when it’s time. But what it does mean is that I expect the Dallas Cowboys to win 12 to 13 games and to win the NFC East this year.”
Dallas hosts the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving for the first time since 2014 and plays the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 in the NFL’s first game in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Cowboys open the season Sunday, Sept. 13, against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kickoff is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
