Otito Ogbonnia may be a key part of Cowboys new look defense

I know the weather is finally nice outside, and maybe you just haven’t checked into much of the Dallas Cowboys roster or stayed on top of things since the NFL draft back in April.

One name that I think people should pay attention to this year that signed a one-year deal with Dallas is Otito Ogbonnia. He is not the biggest name in the book, but I am here to tell you he might be helpful to the Dallas Cowboys defensive line this season.

I am here to tell you that his numbers as a Charger don’t look great, but he also was not a full-time starter, something that he is going to have the chance to be with Dallas this year.

He is projected to be the starting nose tackle on a defensive line that is probably the best it has been in years, and I can’t believe I am saying that after the team traded Micah Parsons a year ago, but they actually have an entire unit there that is solid as can be.

Dallas Cowboys defensive roster: Plenty of work still needed to be done at edge rusher, inside linebacker and cornerback

Defensive line: Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Otito Ogbonnia, Jay Toia

Edge rusher/OLB: Donovan Ezeiruaku, Rashan Gary, Sam Williams, Marist Liufau, James…

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) March 12, 2026

Who Is Otito?

Ogbonnia appeared in 41 games for the Chargers from 2022-25. He recorded 82 total tackles, six quarterback hits, four tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks with the franchise.

The Chargers originally selected the nose tackle with the 160th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Dallas notably selected cornerback DaRon Bland seven picks after Ogbonnia went off the board.

I remember last year talking a lot about Jay Toia, the other nose tackle who Dallas drafted out of UCLA, and I honestly thought he had a chance to be the starter this year, but clearly they do not think he is ready yet, which explains the signing of Ogbonnia.

The best thing about him in the film that I have watched is his run defense. He has very good upper body strength and that is key when you are a nose tackle on defense. The issue though, is his lack of athleticism, which is why he struggles as a pass defender.

He will never be a guy that you expect to get in for a sack or chase down a QB if he leaves the pocket, he just isn’t that type of player which is sometimes normal for a guy playing NT.

He comes from a 3-4 with the Chargers, so that is my guess is to why he was signed. They just needed another body without spending a lot of money and hoping Toia could be the answer.

With all that said, I still think he is going to be a guy that Dallas will need constant play from this year, and they have a lot of other great defensive linemen to make his job a bit easier, so he will play a key role with them.

Dallas finally has a defensive coordinator that I trust and won’t question anything that he does.

Otito Ogbonnia
One year, $2.75 million, $3 million max

Bonus: $500k

2026: $1.5m, plus $750k in active roster bonus.

He can earn $250k in playtime incentives tied to Cowboys making playoffs.

— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) March 16, 2026

He is a young mind and has proven with both the Broncos and the Eagles that he can develop players, especially in the secondary, so until Christian Parker gives me a reason to not buy into what he is building on that side of the ball, I won’t worry about it.

We will see how the rest of the summer goes, but we are fighting for things to talk about right now that we haven’t touched on four or five times until mandatory OTAs start next week and trust me, I am so ready for those to start, so I can start writing about more interesting things and topics that are happening every single day rather than stuff like this, but we are in that time of the year currently so it is okay.