Dallas made it to the divisional round last year.
Off the top of my head I cant think of anyone we lost besides Linehan, Beasley, Swaim, Wilson, Rod Smith. Linehan was awful and Beasley is the only player that isnt bottom bin on that list.
Cobb and Witten at least offset Beasley and Swaim. Pollard probably cant be worse than Rod Smith. Quinn, Hyder, Covington, Hill is a pretty big talent injection along the DL. Boy wonder Kellen Moore cant be worse than Linehan. McGovern is a nice addition.
Across the board, the roster and coaching seem to have improved or stayed neutral. There were no real steps back anywhere. Then you factor in how young this team is, they're all now just more experienced. You've got Dak, Gallup, Cooper with a full offseason together.
I dont know, I feel pretty good about this year. We're basically a better version of last year and we won a playoff game last year so it follows we should have some success this year.
This! Everywhere seems better, even if it's just a little. As you mention, if Cobb can be better than Beasley (very possible) we look better across the board.
Coaching:
OC - Agree, Kellen can't be worse than Linehan
QB coach - Kitna and his experience I think is better suited to the role
QB - Dak should show natural 4th-year incremental improvement
RB - More depth and certainly more versatile, Zeke might still be improving
TE - Witten > Swaim + Jarwin & Shultz should improve
OT - Collins might still be improving, perhaps some better depth (UDFA's), hoping for a healthier Tyron Smith, with the potential for Williams to maybe take OT snaps.
OG - Williams is bigger/stronger, Martin should be healthier, more depth than previous years (Looney, Su'a Filo, McGovern)
OC: Frederick back is a massive improvement, McGovern I suspect is better than Looney
WR: Full season of Cooper, Gallup should progress, Cobb more versatile than Beasley, Austin and Hurns were solid and if fit could have better season, Wilson/Brown and competition for the last spot or two IMO is better.
DE: Quinn is a big improvement, Taco & Armstrong should improve. If we get Gregory back then depth looks really good.
DT: Hill + Covington > Price + Ross, minimum they are better depth, could even be starters
LB: LVE and Jaylon still improving, Covington is improving.
CB: All players across the board are young and improving
S: Iloka is a better 3rd S, maybe even starter. Donovan adds depth, Fraizer should be healthier, Woods is young and improving
KR/PR: Austin healthy and Pollard should represent an improvement over "fair catch" Beasley.
Objectively, I think every single position looks better with perhaps the exception of slot WR.