How Jerry Jones was able to turn the Dallas Cowboys from last place in the NFC East into NFL Playoff Contenders

Everyone who follows football knows the Cowboys, once the most beloved teams in the NFL to becoming a laughingstock and then becoming an afterthought. Everyone thinks Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is the craziest owner in the NFL. He's one the few, if not the only NFL owner that acts as the General Manager of the team in which he makes all the decisions on staffing and players. People think that Jones is an inefficient GM as he is unable to bring winning back to Dallas, but the same people who doubt him forgot about all the success the Cowboys had in the '90s, but that's all in the past. Let's talk about now where Jerry Jones has made trades and signings that have turned this afterthought of a Cowboys team into first place in the NFC East.

Let's go way back to 2016 where Jerry Jones started the retooling of the Cowboys. It was evident in 2015 that the Cowboys were struggling and landing the 4th pick in the 2016 NFL draft only proved that they needed help. Many thought the Cowboys would improve their team, but no one imagined that the 2016 draft would prove to be a goldmine for the Cowboys. In this draft, they landed Ezekiel Elliot, Jaylon Smith, Dak Prescott, and Anthony Brown. That's 4 starters right there, and not only that but also 2 Pro Bowlers in Zeke (Elliot) and Dak. In the 2016-17 season, Tony Romo, their former starting quarterback, got injured in preseason which led Dak to start to the NFL season in his rookie year. Many people including myself thought that the Cowboys were about to have another bad season, but (cow)boy did they prove me and the rest of the doubters wrong. Dak came out into the season booming leading the Cowboys to a 13-3 record along with him winning offensive rookie of the year. Dak's fabulous season wouldn't have been possible without Zeke though as he became the NFL's leading rusher as a rookie and scarred defenses into focusing on him more leading other receivers open to who Dak would throw to. 13-3 was the best record in the NFC and the second best in the league behind the 14-2 Patriots, but Jerry wanted more than that. He wanted to win the Superbowl. Walking into the playoffs many pegged Dallas as the favorites to win the NFC and maybe the Superbowl, but as we all know that didn't happen. The Green Bay Packers walked into Jerryworld and outdueled the Cowboys till the end where the Cowboys came pushing back. Yes, the Cowboys were unlucky that they faced Aaron Rodgers in the playoffs, but that was bound to happen, and yes they were unlucky that Dez Bryant's catch didn't count, but it was still odd to see the Cowboys who had dominated so many teams through the years get dominated at home in a playoff game. Fans and analysts together gave the Cowboys excuses though and being a young team led by two rookies was one of them. Even I believed the Cowboys were a force to be reckoned with after that season as I believed they would only improve with their young core, but then came the 2017-2018 season...

The 2017-2018 season for the Cowboys had high expectations. Everyone expected them to breeze through the NFC East and potentially win the Superbowl, but the football gods had different plans. Zeke got accused of assault and while the NFL was investigating Zeke, he played 4 games before getting suspended. From there Dak was destined to lead his team on his on for the rest of the season and he struggled greatly. Because of this the Cowboys ended the season with a losing record and because of that everyone thought that the Cowboys were just a one year wonder. In the offseason following this season, the Cowboys released their star receiver Dez Bryant. From the Cowboys, didn't have a star receiver and expectations for them fell even more.

Coming into the 2018-19 season the Cowboys struggled to find an identity with Zeke struggling and Dak not performing well. Then Jerry Jones changed the path of his team almost instantly, he started Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith as linebackers and they changed the whole defense leading to more wins initially. Then Jones traded for Amari Cooper who became an outcast on the Raiders but changed the whole Cowboys offense. Dak finally had an elite receiver and this helped free things up to Zeke as well as since that time Zeke was able to become the NFL's leading rusher. The Cowboys who started by losing have turned into an efficient team as of now as they are on a 4 game winning streak which includes the best team in the league, the New Orleans Saints

It's still not guaranteed that the Cowboys will make the playoffs, but with the way they've been playing lately, it seems that they'll win the NFC East and be a potential threat in the playoffs.