Cowboys predictions that feel bold now, but won’t be later

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 04: Phil Mafah #37 of the Dallas Cowboys in action during the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on January 04, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The New York Giants won 34-17. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The idea of bold predictions is so interesting. We step out on a limp and try to forecast something that feels impossible on most levels, but few of them leave it slightly within range if we squint our eyes.

Today we are going to be talking about bold predictions that feel bold now, but later on down the road it might feel plain and obvious. These things tend to happen over time. Imagine if, for example, someone had said that rookie Ezekiel Elliott would lead the league in rushing while the Dallas Cowboys took home the top seed in the NFC. That was a decade ago and a lot has changed, but you get the idea.

Let's begin.

Jake Ferguson will average over 10 Yards Per Reception

This is an interesting year for the Cowboys offense. Opposing teams are obviously aware of how potent the group was last season, and it stands to reason that George Pickens may receive more attention on a game-by-game basis than he did in his inaugural season with the team. Still though he has proven to be an extremely dangerous threat opposite of CeeDee Lamb, and considering that Ryan Flournoy presents as a very serviceable third option, there are plenty of players to guard on defense.

This feels similar to 2021 when the Cowboys had a tried and true trio of Lamb, Amari Cooper, and Michael Gallup. We never really got to see the three of them shine on a game-by-game basis for a variety of reasons, but the composition of everything led to the emergence of Dalton Schultz. That season was the first of consecutive ones where Schultz averaged double-digits per reception.

Jake Ferguson has already done this in a season, incidentally the first that Schultz was gone, back in 2023 when Dak Prescott finished second in MVP voting. Circumstances around Ferguson feel similar to what they did around Schultz a handful of years ago, and he may be the most primary beneficiary of all of the other players that opponents have to deal with.

Shavon Revel will remind everyone why he was hyped

This one may be me trying to manifest more than any other.

Shavon Revel entered a really volatile situation from an overall perspective last year. He was a highly-touted draft prospect, but given that he was coming off of a torn ACL and that dampened his overall ceiling for his rookie year.

Factor in that the Cowboys were still going at things with Trevon Diggs as a part of their plan in the secondary, and that the defense as a whole was so poorly constructed, it was difficult for anybody to properly thrive. An argument can be made that time has allowed for a proper settling for Revel in general, but that the Cowboys doing so as a unit has been helpful in parallel.

This is the time when Revel has to remind everyone why there was such high belief around him last year. He is going to have every opportunity in the world to earn a starting job, and you could argue that the only real player ahead of him in the cornerback room at large is DaRon Bland which is a shaky proposition in its own right.

Again, this is something that kind of has to happen for the Cowboys to take the next step. It just feels like it might off of the number of opportunities alone.

Phil Mafah will emerge as a proper closing option

Javonte Williams is well-entrenched as the Cowboys' primary running back. Williams will get all of the traditional workhorse opportunities in a Schottenheimer sort of offense, one that Brian proved he was able to run along the lines of the NFL's famed Marty Ball version that his father deployed.

In today's league though, you need to have a number of available options out of the backfield. There are a lot of people wish-casting (as I did with Revel above) that Jaydon Blue could be that player; we are not even a year removed from the coaching staff not exactly trusting him. Things can change, but there is a lot to overcome there.

Plus, Phil Mafah represents the type of running that can close out games when matters are close and tough in the fourth quarter. He can help ice games away after the Cowboys offense has done work (with Jake Ferguson averaging 10 yards per reception, obviously!).

What are some bold preditions you have that you think could feel pretty tame by the time, no pun intended, clocks fall back an hour?

Let us know in the comments below.