Entering the 2018 season, the Dallas Cowboys had gone from darlings of the NFL, a team thought to be on the verge of a long and fruitful run, to mostly an afterthought. After missing the playoffs in 2017, the questions around how the offense would move the ball were not only plentiful, but frighteningly realistic.

Quarterback Dak Prescott had fallen right into the famed sophomore slump and running back Ezekiel Elliott missed six games due to a long contested suspension. Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten retired during the NFL draft and wide receiver Dez Bryant was released. A once-loaded offense suddenly found the cupboards empty.

When ESPN’s Bill Barnwell evaluated offensive arsenals around the league last year, he had the Cowboys ranked No. 30 in the NFL ahead of only the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

30. Dallas Cowboys

When you remove that dominant offensive line and quarterback Dak Prescott from the equation, the Cowboys are left with one excellent running back in Ezekiel Elliott and what must surely be the worst receiving corps in football. The four tight ends vying to replace Jason Witten have 94 combined career receiving yards, all of which come from Geoff Swaim. The team’s best wideout is Allen Hurns, who had one impressive season in four years with the Jaguars and hasn’t been able to stay healthy over the past two seasons. The team is excited about third-round pick Michael Gallup, which is a reflection on the power of hope, but even Tavon Austin has to believe that the organizational plan to give the former Rams wideout 12 to 24 touches per game on offense is too much Tavon Austin.

At the time, Dallas fans scoffed, believing that the strong running game and, an ultimately unsuccessful, plan to have a receiver-by-committee approach would prevail. The assumption was that Prescott would benefit from not having to force feed the ball to his top pass catchers and instead be able to spread the ball around to the open man. What the Cowboys soon found was a pedestrian attack and a 3-5 record to open the season.

How the world turns. Entering this season Barnwell ranks Dallas sixth in the league.

6. Dallas Cowboys

Talk about a swing! The Cowboys headed into 2018 with Ezekiel Elliott and a laughably bad receiving corps, but one year later, there’s a lot to like for Dak Prescott. The trade for Amari Cooper revitalized Dallas’s passing game; Prescott posted a 104.6 passer rating with the star wideout on the field and an 86.8 rating with Cooper sidelined or in Oakland. Michael Gallup got better as the year went along, finishing with a 119-yard performance against the Rams during the postseason

And though Jason Witten might not have much left in the tank at age 37 after returning from a year of broadcasting, Dallas’ starting tight ends last season posted a combined line of 38 catches for 345 yards and one touchdown. Even a limited Witten should be a comfortable upgrade in offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s offense.

Before Cooper’s arrival, there was no receiver commanding any real attention, allowing opposing defenses to lock in on Elliott and force Prescott to throw the ball into tight windows time and time again. With Cooper, everything turned around and Prescott again looked like the quarterback Cowboys fans were hoping for.

The veteran addition of wide receiver Randall Cobb, barring injury, should help replace the loss of former wideout Cole Beasley and help Gallup compliment Cooper in a major way.

Football is a game of inches and small sample sizes, making even the greatest prognosticator look foolish on a regular basis. But there is no reason for Cowboys fans to believe their offense should be a liability at this point.