FRISCO, Texas – Going into the 2026 offseason, it was evident that the Cowboys had work to do in order to fix their defense, which was one of the worst in franchise history.
Fast forward through the first two days of the 2026 NFL Draft, and Dallas has drafted Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence and Michigan LB Jaishawn Barham, plus acquired 49ers LB Dee Winters in a trade. Adding those acquisitions to the other players the Cowboys have acquired in the offseason, and the team believes they're on their way to turning the unit around.
"We've changed this defense…" Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones said. "What you're seeing going on right now is a product of three or four or five years or maybe more that we just haven't been able to ultimately get where we're trying to go and be a contender. It's going to be different, it's going to be fresh; we've got a lot of great energy here."
"We've got guys coming in like the guys that we introduced today. They can be a part when the defense does become what we want it to be or what it could be, they did it. It's their defense."
Going into draft weekend, linebacker was the lone position that the Cowboys had not made an addition at in the offseason. Before their third-round pick on Friday night, Dallas sent a fifth-round pick to San Francisco for Winters, who will have a chance to become the Cowboys' green-dot middle linebacker.
"This is a guy we've been watching play for a while," Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "He's got 17 starts [in 2025], rare speed and athleticism. Adds a veteran in that room for us, which is great."
The additions didn't stop there. Shortly afterwards, the Cowboys drafted Barham, who has played both inside at linebacker and outside as a pass rusher for the Wolverines. For now, the Cowboys will work him closer to the middle part of the field.
"We're going to try him at inside linebacker first," Schottenheimer said. "We love the physicality that he plays with, but one of the things that if you watch a Christian Parker-led defense or Vic Fangio. It's those guys that can play off the ball but then they stem off the ball."
"Think of [Eagles linebacker] Zack Baun. It's guys that have the ability to do that. They change [offensive] line calls. We think we want to start him inside. We also think we can move him as a rusher on third down on passing situations. That's what we love about the guy."
Throughout the offseason, the Cowboys had said they had a plan to address the linebacker position. Both Winters and Barham were a part of that plan. The first time Dallas approached San Francisco about a trade involving Winters was when the Cowboys traded DT Osa Odighizuwa to the 49ers in March, and have kept an eye on him ever since he was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of TCU. Barham got on Dallas' radar at the beginning of the season, and conversations surrounding him heated up at the NFL Combine, with new defensive coordinator Christian Parker being one to bring his name up due to his versatility.
While Dallas is pleased with their additions at linebacker on Friday, the team recognizes there is still work to be done at the position.
"We're still building the room. We needed to rebuild it," Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones said. "As Christian [Parker] said, I think we only had two chairs in the room before the draft. So no, we need to keep being a creative there and adding players and have competition. We'll certainly give that a good going over as we look at situations tomorrow."
Speaking of Parker, the Cowboys have viewed their 34-year-old first-time defensive coordinator as one of, it not the biggest addition to their defense so far this offseason. Schottenheimer has called him a "superstar," and now Dallas has given him four new pieces in two days to add to his unit.
And still, the work may not be finished there. The Cowboys enter the third and final day of the NFL Draft with three fourth-round picks and a seventh-round pick. Given how the board has fallen in front of them, Dallas is confident they can find starting caliber players on defense, or offense, with those fourth-round selections.
"I think we're going to get three really good football players based on all the work we've done on the board," Stephen Jones said. "I think we're going to get guys we have third and fourth round grades on for those picks and that's only going to help our football team."
