The Dallas Cowboys certainly underwhelmed fans and management in 2020. Jerry Jones even said it himself.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is disappointed in not making the playoffs this season but said he still believes in head coach Mike McCarthy.​ https://t.co/buL9i6IuXT

— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) January 6, 2021

It's not all gloom and doom for the Cowboys looking ahead to 2021, though. Why could they be serious candidates to improve next year?

Dak will be back

As long as Dak Prescott's contract and injury situation are good to go, he should be ready to go by the start of next season. He could be playing on another franchise tag, but the Cowboys front office seems confident that they can work out a long-term deal with him. Dak was on a historical pace to begin the 2020 season. That was partly due to a lackluster defense. It was also because of his improvement and his plethora of weapons on offense. Not to mention, it seemed like the combo of Kellen Moore and Mike McCarthy was an improvement on Jason Garrett and his offensive regime.

For those who oddly posited the #Cowboys were somehow trying to replace Dak Prescott with Andy Dalton, or leveraging:

"At the end of the day, and Andy knows this, this is Dak’s football team. We’re very committed to getting Dak signed.”

Stephen Jones to @1053thefan.

— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) January 4, 2021

Dallas ranked #1 in total offense with 431.5 yards per game with Prescott at the helm. That ranking fell to 12th in the league once Dak was injured. Not to mention, much of the offensive line went out fairly early in the season as well. This left Andy Dalton behind a tarnished offensive line in a brand new offensive system for him. Hopefully, that will be much different for the Cowboys next season.

The #Cowboys paid $68.6M in cash in 2020 to the following players:

Dak Prescott
Tyron Smith
Zack Martin
La'el Collins
Blake Jarwin

They played a combined 1,157 snaps this year.

Pretty easy to see why they didn't have more success.

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 6, 2021

A returning offensive line

Speaking of offensive linemen, their return is certainly worth noting. When healthy, Dallas collectively has one of the best units in the league, and they pay them as such. 2021 opens the door for the return of guys like Zach Martin, Tyron Smith, and La'el Collins. All of these guys are considered some of the best at their positions. They're vital for the success of running backs, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, as well as Prescott and his weapons.

Also, protecting Dak Prescott coming off one of the most gruesome injuries in recent memory is clearly important for the team's success moving forward. Rookie Center Tyler Biadasz was a pleasant surprise in 2020 as he replaced Travis Frederick. He can look to improve even more in 2021 while playing alongside some elite talent.

Zack Martin is good at football pic.twitter.com/VHRdI6O1Wc

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 5, 2021

A plethora of draft picks

The Cowboys are slated to have ten picks in this year's upcoming NFL draft. Plus, seven of those ten picks come in the first five rounds of the draft! That is some serious capital that can improve a roster both in the short-term and the long-term. Look for them to heavily invest in the defense that held them back for much of 2020. Additionally, they could look to provide more depth to an offensive line that has struggled with injuries over the past few years.

The 2020 draft landed them key pieces to their future in CeeDee Lamb, Tyler Biadasz, and Trevon Diggs, so can 2021 follow suit? That remains to be seen. They certainly have plenty of opportunities to improve their roster on draft weekend.

Defensive coaching changes

The Cowboys just fired Mike Nolan, so big staff changes seem to be coming this offseason. Dallas fans are surely rejoicing as Nolan's 2020 unit was one of the worst in the NFL. Both statistically and progression-wise, the defense definitely took a dip. They ranked 28th in points allowed per game and were 31st in rushing defense. Opposing teams took advantage of the young interior line and struggling linebackers. Speaking of linebackers, 2020 saw another Sean Lee injury and more Jaylon Smith regression.

A new defensive coordinator and staff could certainly improve the young secondary and get the best out of well-paid players like Smith and DeMarcus Lawrence. Aldon Smith's pass rush was also a bright spot in 2020, and he could build on that in 2021. In the secondary, Trevon Diggs and Donovan Wilson showed some really nice flashes that could be signs of what's to come for them.

It may be a rollercoaster of an offseason for Dallas fans, but these are some legitimate reasons that the Cowboys could see serious improvement next season.

Goodness knows – it can't get any worse than 2020, right?

RIGHT?

Featured Image via USA TODAY-Sports