FRISCO, Texas -- Will McClay would be at his computer, studying picks for the 2026 NFL draft when his cell phone would ding with another text message from Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
At one moment, it could be a picture of Caleb Downs. The next it could be Malachi Lawrence. They could be of whoever Parker had in mind.
"He does this thing where he messages you and he's trying to get you to think his thoughts," said McClay, the Cowboys' vice president of player personnel.
"Little manifestations, I think," Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "Yeah, [it's] 'The more I talk about Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, the more these guys will make those decisions.'"
The not-so-subtle reminders worked because the Cowboys were able to land Downs and Lawrence in the first round, picks Nos. 11 and 23, of last week's NFL draft. In fact, of the Cowboys' seven draft picks, five came on Parker's side of the ball.
It was reminiscent of the 2021 draft, the first for then-coordinator Dan Quinn, when the Cowboys' first six picks were defensive players, starting with Micah Parsons in Round 1.
Like 2021, the Cowboys entered 2026 knowing they needed to overhaul the defense. When the Cowboys finished 2024 allowing 355.1 yards and 27.5 points per game, they thought it couldn't get worse. But it did. Last season, the Cowboys allowed 377 yards per game and 30.1 points per game.
This offseason in NFL free agency, the Cowboys added safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke. They signed cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Derion Kendrick. Defensive linemen Jonathan Bullard and Otito Ogbonnia were signed as well. They re-signed Sam Williams and believe the move to outside linebacker in Parker's 3-4 scheme will improve his productivity.
In the draft, they added Downs and Lawrence, plus linebacker Jaishawn Barham in the third round and cornerback Devin Moore and defensive lineman LT Overton in the fourth round.
Add in the trade to acquire veteran linebacker Dee Winters from the San Francisco 49ers for a fifth-round pick and the makeover is complete. Well, perhaps so, although executive vice president Stephen Jones said the Cowboys will continue to look for help.
Now Parker has to do his job.
"It's been a dramatic change in the bones of whatever it takes to step out here and play some defense," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "Now we'll see where we go from here."
When the Cowboys named Parker as coordinator in January, Jones said he made up his mind he was going to know more about how the defense would be put together than he had in previous years.
The Cowboys traded defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to the 49ers in part because they did not know how he would fit in Parker's scheme. When the personnel department, Parker and defensive line coach Marcus Dixon talked about Overton, he kept hearing what they had said about Odighizuwa. While they saw little difference in the skill set, there was a difference in the price, considering Odighizuwa was making $20 million per year.
In Downs, Lawrence and Barham, the Cowboys have players who can perform at multiple positions. Same with Thompson, Locke and Durant.
"From the offensive side of it, it's what makes it hard on us," Schottenheimer said. "When you've got pieces out there, you're not sure exactly where they're going to align or where they're going to play. They can do different things."
McClay used Barham as an example.
"Christian came in and talked about the linebackers, and the outside and the inside linebackers, and potentially doing some different things [with Barham]," McClay said. "And then you start looking at Arvell Reese [drafted No. 5 by the Giants]. There's a lot of similarities in what they do and how they did it. And just excited to get [Barham] on the roster because of, number one, he's extremely physical and you want to increase the speed of your defense and the toughness. I think he does that."
Throughout the offseason, Jones' impressions of Parker, only 34, kept growing. He could see the vision Parker had for players.
"And if he can do it to me," Jerry Jones said, "then he'll be a whiz doing it to those players and their minds and their execution out there."
The impression extends to the defensive staff, where the average age of the coaches is 36. Last year, it was 40. Four of the assistants came directly from college football.
"They don't know that they can't do it," Jerry Jones said. "They're there, in the eyes of their boss [Schottenheimer] and that's what we're doing. ... There's no other way to say it. We've got to get better than we have been if we're going to come out at the end of the year better off. I don't even know if I could list the ways you could change it up any more than we've changed it on the field and as far up as the coaching staff. I don't know that you could."
For the first time this weekend, Parker will get on the field with players at the rookie minicamp. It won't be very long or too involved. That will start in Phase 2 of the offseason program when the rookies return to The Star next week and the on-field teaching starts.
Since joining Schottenheimer's staff, Parker has stayed in a hotel. But now he has time to find a place to live. Something a little more permanent.
"It's actually funny, but when we got Caleb, [Parker] told me and Jerry, he said, 'Hey, now I'll buy a house,'" Schottenheimer said. "He hasn't bought a house yet. He's been busy. He's been grinding on film, but getting a guy like Caleb made him comfortable."
