I think by now we all understand that the Dallas Cowboys linebackers were a disaster a year ago, and if they want to compete as a defense in 2026 under Christian Parker, they need better play or better players.
The best news for the Cowboys heading into 2026 is that their one star at the position, DeMarvion Overshown is healthy heading into the offseason and will have the first chance in his pro career to go through the entire offseason program that way.
After him though, the play is not good and either they will have to figure that out or find some new faces.
What’s Next?
I am not sold on fifth-round pick Shemar James. Did you know that he was the team’s leading tackler last year? He only played 14 games, and had 91 total tackles.
Kenneth Murray was next with 81, but I never want to see that man in a Cowboys uniform ever again. Murray was so bad that you can justify even thinking about bringing him back.
The other good news is Murray and Jake Sanborn will be free agents this offseason, and I think that Dallas will try to roll with Overshown, James and Marist Liufau.
With Eberflus’ now gone, Sanborn should also be gone as he too will be an unrestricted free agent in a few weeks. Sanborn finished with just 34 tackles in six games.
Wilson might be the only one of the three that remains. He would be a $0 cap hit if Dallas were to cut him before camp.
However, his contract hit will be around $6.5 million this year and a little over seven million in 2027. So do you want them to take the chance on him? I think his time has run out with his poor play on the two worst defenses in football.
I still think it is a bit too young, but keep an eye on Nakobe Dean. With new defensive coordinator Christian Parker coming from the Eagles, Dean is a free agent and that is the type of guy I would try to get signed and let lead the linebacker room.
He was not good on a poor Bengals defense and was even worse when given the chance on his Cowboys defense, which was the worst in football.
If they do that, then you can turn your attention to nothing but the secondary for the NFL draft in April.
I have said this many times over the last few weeks, but with this new defensive staff that Parker is putting together, it matters more than you think.
Of course, having good personnel is important, but coaching is a big reason why different things happen.
Take a look at the Bears, they have the same exact team this season as they had in the final year before Eberflus got fired, and they made the NFC divisional round.
The increase in salary cap will only help the Cowboys as well. The cap is projected to take a significant leap in 2026, rising from $279.2 million in 2025 to a range between $301 million and $305 million.
The extra $22-26 million projected for 2026 likely won’t be used to overhaul the roster in free agency.
We will see what the next few months hold, but they have to be better at linebacker and in the secondary if this team wants to be able to compete next season.
They are off to a good start with the hiring of Parker, so they finally did the first part right by getting the correct coaches in the building. Now it is time to spend some money and get these draft picks right to fix the defensive issues.
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