The Dallas Cowboys entered the offseason determined to fill the team’s defensive holes, and one of the chief spots on the list that needed addressing was interior linebacker. The Cowboys have DeMarvion Overshown, the team’s 2023 third-round pick, but a series of injuries has limited him to 19 games in three seasons. Shemar James, a fifth-round pick in 2025, struggled as a rookie and was rated 84th out of 88 among linebackers by Pro Football Focus. Attempts to sign a top-quality linebacker in free agency came up short, but last week during the NFL draft, the Cowboys picked up fourth-year linebacker Dee Winters from the 49ers.
Winters is a good-not-great player, but the cost to acquire him–a fifth-round pick–was cheap, and so was the contract, just $3.7 million for this season, after which he will be a free agent.
In his third season last year, with the 49ers missing star linebacker Fred Warner because of an injury, Winters filled in and started 17 games, making 101 tackles. Now, with the Cowboys, Winters is expected to take on a significant role, as he did in 2025 in San Francisco.
Cowboys to Make Dee Winters ‘Green Dot’?
With scant other options–unless the Cowboys return to the drawing board on a linebacker trade or seek out a veteran free agent–it appears Winters is in line to start next to Overshown, and to be the “green dot” player in the middle. That means Winters will be responsible for lining up the defense and keeping it organized, something that team could hardly do in 2025.
That’s according to Jon Machota of The Athletic, who looked at several questions for the Cowboys heading into the workout portion of the offseason.
Writes Machota: “The Cowboys would like to have a linebacker who can quarterback the defense. Wearing the green dot means they have the radio in their helmet, getting the calls from new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. The favorite has to be Dee Winters. He’s a veteran who led the San Francisco 49ers in tackles last season.”
49ers Let Dee Winters Go for Light Return
The concerns about making Winters the fulcrum of the Cowboys defense are obvious–he is thin on experience, and the 49ers were willing to trade him for the thin price of a fifth-rounder, which the 49ers used to draft another linebacker.
But the Cowboys have expressed faith in his upside. COO Stephen Jones said last week that the Cowboys had been eyeing Winters as a fallback option going back to the opening of free agency, after the team missed out on its initial targets.
Said Jones: “We kinda had that on our radar, they kinda had it on theirs. It’s just taken some time for it to come around, sometimes you have to be patient on these things. I know they were working on their end being patient. But we had Dee on our radar for what, six weeks, eight weeks? He is one of the guys we had, especially when we missed out in free agency, that we had on our radar that could really step up and be that guy who could really jump in, fill in. It’s great.”
Cowboys Also Added Jaishawn Barham
And Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer was also feeling better about the linebacker room, not only with Winters being added, but with combo linebacker Jaishawn Barham also joining the mix as a third-rounder.
Said Schottenheimer: “(Dee Winters) has got 17 starts. Rare speed an athleticism. Adds a veteran in that room for us, which is great. And you look at what we got with Jaishawn, a piece that has played on and off the ball, at Michigan, at Maryland, and so we think versatility with him is something that causes major problems for people that we play.
“Dee’s athleticism jumps off the tape. Jaishawn’s physicality jumps off the tape.”
Cowboys Trade Addition Tabbed for Significant New Role