Dallas Cowboys last won performance-based NFL Honors in 2017, when Dak Prescott won Offensive Rookie of the Year and Jason Garrett won Coach of the Year. The team has not won similar on-field hardware since, and it has also been some time since reaching the NFC Championship game. The 2026 outlook suggests limited chances for award recognition, with one notable exception. Caleb Downs, a former Ohio State defensive back, leads Dallas award-winning odds at +850 to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. His odds are behind only Rueben Bain and David Bailey, and the award has rarely gone to defensive backs, with only a few examples in the 2000s and the last safety winner dating back to 1990. Dak Prescott is listed next at +1300 for MVP.
"The last time the Dallas Cowboys took home performance-based awards was at the 2017 NFL Honors, where Dak Prescott won Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Jason Garrett was crowned Coach of the Year. Time flies when you're failing to make the NFC Championship game, I suppose. Anyway, it has been quite some time since Dallas won some hardware for on-field performance, and while that's not always an indicator of success, it very likely means you at least made the postseason; that's also something the Cowboys haven't done in a bit."
"There is a clear answer to the top spot, as I mentioned: it's former Ohio State star Caleb Downs to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Sitting at +850, Downs's odds may seem high, but he sits behind only two others (Rueben Bain +500 and David Bailey +500) for the best odds at the award at this point in the year. Not to mention, the guy is a defensive back. Versatile as any out there, yes, but still, a DB winning the award is somewhat rare."
"The only three to win it in the 2000s were cornerbacks Marcus Peters, Marshon Lattimore, and Sauce Gardner. To find a safety that won DROY, you have to go all the way back to 1990 when Malik Carrier, a Bears great, took it home. Downs, however, with that aforementioned versatility and elite football talent, has as good a chance as anybody to win the award this coming season."
"The second-highest odds for a Cowboy award-winner are with Prescott, a former MVP runner-up, to be crowned the Most Valuable Player in 2026. Dak Prescott finished second to Ravens QB Lamar Jackson in the voting for the 2023 NFL MVP Award."
Read at Inside The Star
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