You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone in sports media who makes fun of the Dallas Cowboys as much as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. Yet despite how much he mocks the team, he actually ranked them as a top-five unit heading into the 2026 NFL season.
On the latest edition of his “Stephen’s A-List,” Smith ranked the Cowboys No. 5 in the league as Week 1 approaches. The only four teams he has ahead of them are the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills (in that order).
But Smith made it clear that his list is “fluid” and doesn’t have expectations for the Cowboys once the calendar flips to January.
“Surprised you didn’t I!” Smith exclaimed after revealing his pick. “The Dallas Cowboys… I said Jerry (Jones) you did your job. You got your defense set… and we know what you got offensively: Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, (George) Pickens, Javonte Williams – you got a high-powered offense. You’ve got to score points to beat the Dallas Cowboys this year. I got to give the Dallas Cowboys love… for now. I didn’t say a damn thing about January. This is September, okay? That’s different. I got them top-five right now. They ain’t top-four though.”
Fans seeing through the ‘love’
Some NFL fans were stunned that Smith would show any kind of respect to the Cowboys given some of the moves they’ve made since last year. Others suggested that Smith is only setting the team up so when they struggle he can accuse the Cowboys of not living up to expectations:
“Cowboys literally traded the most disruptive Edge Rusher in the NFC in Micah Parsons. He was the heart and soul of that team. Ain’t no way they gon be better without him,” one fan wrote.
“Stephen A has to put cowboys top 5 so that when they fail he can say they let him down! Mind you he said the 49ers are a better team and they’re not in his top 5!” wrote another.
“As a Cowboys fan, he’s just doing this so he can say they had high expectations and failed. No one should have Dallas in their top 5 right now, he scammin,” a third said.
© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
If he is being nefarious here, it’s a good play: He’ll get to either complain about the Cowboys letting him down if they struggle or thump his chest to everyone about being right if they’re good.
Either way, Stephen A. Smith gets to paint himself as a winner.
Well played.
