FRISCO, Texas – At ease.
Er, at ease-ier, if you will.
See, since the end of this past season there has been universal high anxiety over the Cowboys inside linebacker position, and with good reason, me included. While the Cowboys had plugged a bunch of holes in free agency, there still seemed to be a gaping one at middle linebacker, no matter what defensive alignment they'd be in. Be it 3-4, 4-3 or 4-2-5 in the nickel, made no difference. Heading into the draft, just worrisome.
And they were aware, too, especially after that disastrous 2025 defensive season when they merely nibbled at a vacancy fix, signing rotational Bears unrestricted free agent Jack Sanborn; having traded for more of an outside linebacker in Kenneth Murray, who was forced to move inside out of sheer necessity when Sanborn was injured; drafting Florida linebacker Shemar James, but 21 years old with just three years of college experience and having to learn on the job; swinging an in-season trade for veteran Logan Wilson on Nov. 7, who had but one start in seven games played before moving on; and then awaiting the return of DeMarvion Overshown from end of the 2024 season's ACL surgery.
Nothing seemed to fire.
Then in the 2026 NFL Draft, even though sitting at No.12 in the first round, nothing at inside linebacker seemed to fall their way. Within the first 10 picks, gone were two potential candidates, Arvell Reese to the Giants at No. 5 and Sonny Styles to Washington at No. 7, though both expected to be off the board that early. And by then, none of the other linebacker candidates, such as Jacob Rodriguez, C.J. Allen, Josiah Trotter or Anthony Hill, were evaluated higher than second-round picks.
Also, no sense reaching, not when an expected top-five choice Caleb Downs was sitting there heading into Miami's 11th pick in the first, the Cowboys not hesitating one bit nor willing to risk losing Downs by trading up that one spot to assure he was their guy.
And without a second-round pick and having traded down from No. 20 in the first to 23, they still couldn't qualify taking any of those other linebackers that high when they already had their eye on defensive end Malachi Lawrence, owner of a higher grade. And then when those aforementioned linebackers with second-round grades began falling in the second like trees in a storm, the Cowboys sprang into action.
Just a wee bit before the second hour of Round 2, the Cowboys traded their own fifth-round draft choice to San Francisco for Dee Winters, the linebacker having started in 27 of his 32 games played for the Niners over the past two years. There you go, Winters immediatelybecoming one potential starting inside linebacker, along with a finally healthy Overshown in this his third offseason since drafted in the third round of 2023.
Then back to the draft on Day 2, in the third round with the draft choice acquired from the Niners in the Osa Odighizuwa pre-draft trade, the Cowboys couldn't call into NFL Draft central fast enough to claim Michigan linebacker/defensive end Jaishawn Barham, eliciting dancing in the war room.
Linebacker Bingo No. 2, the Cowboys wasting little time tagging Barham as initially an inside linebacker candidate, Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay saying, "I think he's been on our radar all season."
Now let me tell you what, wait until you see this guy Jaishawn. He's an imposing target,enough so to attract the lowest of flying radar.
They list BAR-ham at 6-3, a quite solid 240, running a 4.6 time in the 40 at that size. Several scouting reports had given him four out of five stars, seemingly a third-round gem. One report claims he has "violent hands at the point of attack." Last Thursday when Barham arrived here at The Star for the ensuing three-day rookie minicamp over the weekend, that was the first day knowingly laid eyes on him. He also comes with a "violent stare" along with those destructive hands. Seriously.
And then after watching him on the practice field for two days, in merely helmet, jerseyand shorts for those non-contact drills, can see why head coach Brian Schottenheimer said after the end of the draft's second day, "If you were doing the old Oklahoma drill, which my old man (Marty) would love to see, I'd probably put Jaishawn out there one of the first reps.
"Jaishawn's physicality jumps off the tape."
If it were me in that Oklahoma drill line, I'd be taking one of the last reps in that one-on-one tackling drill to avoid this guy. He'd also be that old high school intimidation tactic at away games, the first guy off the bus. Get me?
The Cowboys gave Barham No. 55. Why, in the franchise jersey history of No. 55, he sure looks the part, knowing those coming before him wearing double nickels included Lee Roy Jordan, Jack Del Rio, Fred Strickland, Zach Thomas, Rolando McClain and Leighton Vander Esch. Those 5-5s wear intimidatingly across his back.
We'll soon find out how well he can really play the part.
When asked about what his best linebacker traits are, with dead serious eyes, his no-nonsense answer left little wiggle room when he said, "My ability to run, run sideline to sideline. My ability to hit, take on blocks, get off blocks. Being able to cover tight ends, running backs, whatever. I'm a football player, whether it's defensive end or linebacker.
"I play football."
Somehow, I can picture the late Lee Roy in No. 55 saying the exact same thing 63 years ago, the Cowboys' 1963 first-round draft choice out of Alabama who had those same piercing eyes.
Can't wait, and will have to, until that last week in July when the pads come on at the end of that week in Oxnard, Calif., since there is little to no contact in the upcoming OTA and minicamp workouts beginning during the first week of June.
And as if that were not enough linebacker work on Day 2 of the NFL Draft, including the trade for Winters – the former TCU linebacker finishing with 101 tackles this past season, eight for losses, while playing 92 percent of the Niners defensive snaps – the Cowboys made another linebacker move the next week, signing San Fran unrestricted free agent Curtis Robinson.
The 2021 Denver undrafted rookie out of Stanford spent his first five seasons basically on practice squads, playing no more than three games with the Broncos that rookie year before getting released, and then no more than three games with the Niners thereafter. He was on and off the practice squad but missed the majority of the 2024 season after suffering a torn ACL. Robinson in 2025 finally earned an opportunity to play on a regular basis with the 49ers, starting three of the 14 games played, also playing extensively on special teams.
Even though playing in just 26 of his 29 NFL games over six seasons with San Francisco, the Niners nominated Robinson in 2024 and 2025 as their Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year candidate for his educational endeavors serving underserved youth.
So there you go, potential linebacker starters and depth in a room that as COO Stephen Jones said, quoting new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, "I think we only had two chairs in the room before the draft," emphasizing the need to restock that room.
Oh, and remember, the Cowboys are into roster building 364 days a year, thinking they likely would do little work on Christmas Day for the proverbial 365, so the inside linebacker room might not yet be complete. Teams might find a roster with linebacker excess come June 1, when they can seek trades and then spread any guaranteed cap money over two seasons or actually release players after June for the same cap saving reasons.
"So yeah, I think it's a work in progress," Jones said after Day 2 of the draft of potentially adding more to the linebacker room. "We're certainly not going to stand pat."
But at least now at the inside linebacker position, the Cowboys finally stand somewhat "at ease."
