Dez Bryant Talks Cowboys, Super Bowl, Favorite NFL WRs and More in B/R Interview

It's not exactly the best time to be the Dallas Cowboys.

After all, the Philadelphia Eagles are set to play in their second Super Bowl in three years on Sunday, while the future couldn't be much brighter for a Washington Commanders team that reached the NFC Championship with a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels.

The NFC East looks like it will be a daunting division for years to come, and the Cowboys responded by moving on from head coach Mike McCarthy and hiring Brian Schottenheimer even though he has no previous head-coaching experience.

Even Cowboys legend Dez Bryant isn't feeling that confident after the team's 7-10 season.

"I love my Cowboys, I'll always love my Cowboys," he told Bleacher Report on Thursday. "I'm going to bleed blue forever. But I can't be biased. I can't really speak negatively or positively on Schotty, but I'm going to go off of what my energy is telling me. I don't think it's going to be a successful year.

"I don't think there are enough pieces in place for my 'Boys to be successful. Do I pray that they'll be successful? Hell yeah because it would give me another reason to talk s--t to the Eagles fans and Commanders fans. But I don't see it. There's not enough support around my guy Dak."

Part of the issue in 2024 was the reality that injuries limited Dak Prescott to just eight games, which prevented him from building on his Pro Bowl effort in 2023 when the team went 12-5 for the third straight season.

At least the quarterback will return in 2025 and continue working with Schottenheimer. While he is a question mark at head coach, he provides continuity after he was the O.C. in Dallas the past two years. He also has an offensive background that includes stops as the O.C. for the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks.

Having CeeDee Lamb will help as well.

Lamb is part of a long tradition of star wide receivers in Dallas and is carrying on the legacy of Michael Irvin, Terrell Owens, Bryant and others. And he was the first pass-catcher Bryant mentioned when discussing his favorite receivers in today's NFL.

Bryant is better-suited than most to evaluate wide receiver play seeing how he tallied more than 1,200 receiving yards and double-digit touchdown catches three straight years from 2012 to 2014. The three-time Pro Bowler also led the NFL with 16 touchdown catches during that 2014 campaign.

While he highlighted Lamb, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown and A.J. Brown, he also admires what a division rival brings to the table.

"I really love Terry McLaurin, he's shown he's a top-tier receiver when he's got a legit quarterback getting him the rock."

McLaurin, who surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the fifth straight year, is another reason alongside Daniels the future looks so bright for the Commanders after they fell a game short of the Super Bowl.

Instead, it will be Brown representing the star NFC East receivers on the sport's biggest stage, although Bryant will be paying attention to the game for another reason as well.

After all, he partnered with Fanatics Sportsbook as its official host of the big game. As part of his partnership, he traveled around the host city, New Orleans, to spread the word about its FanCash Drop that gave the first 1,000 customers to bet on his parlay $100 in FanCash.

Bryant highlighted the ability to earn FanCash with every bet that can then be used on Fanatics' website and app. So what is Bryant's favorite bet for the Super Bowl?

"I really like Kareem Hunt for first touchdown," he said. "Anytime touchdown for sure, but I like first touchdown."

That would be a welcome development for the Chiefs, who continue to rule the NFL. Sunday will mark their fifth Super Bowl in six years, and they are looking to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Lombardi Trophies.

Patrick Mahomes is already in discussions among the best quarterbacks of all-time at 29 years old and can add to his legacy with yet another excellent performance. But he might not even be the biggest difference-maker on Sunday in Bryant's eyes.

"The biggest difference-maker is Taylor Swift," he said of Kansas City's most famous fan while laughing. "I'm rooting for the Swifties. It's the Kansas City Taylor Swifts."

That Kansas City will be playing the Cowboys' rival in the Eagles is even more motivation for Bryant to back the two-time reigning champions. But this is another chance for Philadelphia seeing how it is a rematch of Super Bowl LVII from two years ago.

Kansas City escaped that one with a narrow 38-35 win but didn't have to deal with arguably the league's best running back in Saquon Barkley like it will this time around in New Orleans.

Yet Bryant doesn't think the result will be different.

"I like the Chiefs," he said. "I love Andy Reid, I love the way he and Patrick Mahomes are in sync. I love that they found their formula, and it's hard to beat. They've got the right approach to the game of football, they know how to manage the clock, they know how to get the right players involved. They've got different styles and ways to play the game. A lot of teams can't do it the way they do it, which makes it hard to defend."

Being that hard to defend may mean the first-ever Super Bowl three-peat on Sunday.