Clarence Hill: Did the Dallas Cowboys’ offseason moves close the gap on the Philadelphia Eagles?

When the Dallas Cowboys drafted Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith with the 26th pick in the 2023 NFL, star linebacker Micah Parsons exclaimed “No more quarterbacks sneaks” on Twitter.

“He’s going to push guys back,” Parsons said later added. “He’s powerful. He’s strong. He’s going to get under people’s pads. And he’s great in the run game.”

It was a nod to Smith’s strength and power as a run stopping nose tackle.

And it was a pointed comment at the team’s NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles, who’s ability to sneak on short-yardage with quarterback Jalen Hurts helped push them to the division title as well as the NFC conference champs and Super Bowl runner ups last season.

The Eagles were the best team in NFC in 2022 and remain the best team in the conference heading into 2023.

Although the Cowboys saw their season ended a playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers for the second straight year, the Eagles are the standard they must clear if they hope to end a 27-year gap since their last Super Bowl title in 1995.

That was evident Parsons comment and it’s been the focus of everything the Cowboys have done in what has been an active and aggressive offseason.

It started when coach Mike McCarthy fired a host of coaches and installing himself as the play caller, the retaining of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn; it continued with the trades for cornerback Stephon Gilmore and receiver Brandin Cooks and the decision to move on from two-time NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott; it finished with the seven picks they made in the draft.

With 2023 NFL schedule set to be released on Thursday and the season opener less than four months away, it all begs the question: Have the Cowboys done enough to close the gap on an Eagles team that has also been busy since last season?

Let’s not kid ourselves.

The Eagles lost a lot from a year ago, starting with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, who took head coaching jobs with the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.

On the field, they lost major starters in defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, running back Miles Saunders, linebacker T.J. Edwards and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency.

Hargrave had a 11 sacks from the defensive tackle position on a unit that led the NFL in sacks last season with 70. Saunders had a career-best 1,269 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns on the ground for the league’s best rushing attack. Gardner-Johnson led the NFL with six interceptions in 2022.

And while the Eagles are getting credit for a having a young war chest of talent mined from Georgia’s back-to-back national championship teams of the past two seasons, it should be noted that the NFL ain’t college.

Defensive tackle Jordan Davis, picked in the first round in 2022, and linebacker Nakobe Dean, picked in the second round in 2022, are expected to replace Hargrove and Edwards in the starting lineup.

Both had minimal impacts as rookies last season after both dropped in the draft after highly touted careers at Georgia.

That is a cautionary tale and reasons to pump the brakes on expectations of immediate impacts from defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rush Nolan Smith, picked ninth and 30th in the first round of the 2023 Draft. Both also slid in the draft after being standouts at Georgia.

Carter was once billed as the No. 1 overall pick before character concerns and poor ethic caused him to drop.

But there is no question that the talent is there.

The same can be said for the entire Eagles roster.

They kept one of the top cornerback tandems in the league intact in Darius Slay and James Bradberry and were able to retain aging but still productive veterans in center Jason Kelce, defensive end Brandon Graham and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

They added Rashad Penny and D’Andre Swift a running back for a fraction of what it cost the Carolina Panthers to steal Sanders away in free agency.

The Eagles still have the best offensive line in the NFL to power what was the league’s best rushing attack and a talented group of pass catchers in A.J. Brown, who doesn’t want to be compared to CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.

And last but not least is Hurts, who led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in a breakout season in 2022 and heads into 2023 as the consensus best quarterback in NFC.

To that that end, the Eagles remain the best team in the NFC, ahead of the Cowboys and the 49ers.

It’s also safe to say that the Eagles did nothing to improve their squad from a year ago. They lost productive players and both coordinators.

What’s also true is that the Eagles will face the NFL’s most difficult schedule in 2023 with 10 games against 2022 playoff teams.

The Cowboys are not far behind, tied for fourth with the New York Giants, also of the NFC East.

It should also be noted that no team has repeated as division champs since 2004.

Getting back to the original question: Have the Cowboys closed the gap on the Eagles?

The answer is yes.

Whether it’s enough to put them over the top remains to be seen.

The Cowboys have an improved roster from a year ago with additions of Cooks and Gilmore. Tony Pollard’s promotion to the featured role at running back with the Elliott departure is also a step forward.

And it can’t be discounted how much the return of Quinn at defensive coordinator means for the continued development and deployment of Parsons, who may be the best player in the conference.

The biggest questions are: Can quarterback Dak Prescott eliminate the turnovers that plagued him last season? Can the Cowboys finally get it done in the playoffs?

If the former is possible then he will certainly vie with Hurts for the best quarterback in the NFC. And considering Prescott’s 8-3 career mark against the Eagles, it could go a long way in turning the Cowboys chant from “No more quarterbacks sneaks” to “no more Super Bowl droughts”.