FRISCO, Texas -- The makeover of the Dallas Cowboys’ defense is complete. Oh, they can still add a piece here or there, but with the culmination of the NFL draft, the heavy lifting is certainly done.
The Cowboys met with free agent cornerback Adoree’ Jackson last week as a sign that they are always going to look for help even if a deal does not get completed immediately.
But the offseason roster change is striking.
From the 2025 season finale to now, there could be seven new starters -- maybe an eighth -- and not just because of the scheme change to a 3-4 base defense under new coordinator Christian Parker, who was the passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024 and 2025.
If you use the 2025 season opener, there will be eight new starters. If you use the season finale, then there will be seven.
Gone are Jadeveon Clowney, last year’s sack leader, and linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr., who led the team in tackles. Their interception leader, safety Donovan Wilson, who had only two, is an unsigned free agent.
In the opener against the Eagles, Dante Fowler Jr., Osa Odighizuwa, Kenny Clark and Sam Williams started along the defensive line. At linebacker, it was Jack Sanborn, Murray and Damone Clark. In the secondary, DaRon Bland and Kaiir Elam were the corners with Malik Hooker and Wilson at safety.
Seventeen weeks later, in the finale against the New York Giants, the front four was completely different, except for Clark: Donovan Ezeiruaku, Quinnen Williams and Clowney. The Cowboys opened with their nickel defense, and the two linebackers were Shemar James and Murray. The five defensive backs were Reddy Steward, Trikweze Bridges, Caelen Carson, Hooker and Wilson.
The three cornerbacks from that game are not locks to make the roster this season.
A projected starting 11 (nickel defense) could look like this: Rashan Gary, Clark, Williams and Ezeiruaku up front with Dee Winters and DeMarvion Overshown at linebacker. The secondary would have Bland, Shavon Revel Jr., first-round pick Caleb Downs, Hooker and Jalen Thompson, who signed the richest free agent deal the Cowboys have handed out since 2012.
After a bad 2024, the defense was worse in 2025, allowing 377 yards per game (30th) and 30.1 points (32nd).
Offseason change was necessary -- just like in 2021.
In 2020, Mike McCarthy’s first year as coach, the Cowboys finished 28th in points allowed with Mike Nolan as the DC. In 2021, Dan Quinn was brought in as defensive coordinator and the Cowboys finished fifth in points allowed. They also had seven new starters on the defense from the previous season, including first-round rookie Micah Parsons, who changed everything with his ability to affect the quarterback.
Now, in Brian Schottenheimer’s second season as coach, the Cowboys believe they have found answers to their defensive woes.
They hope Downs can have a similar impact on the 2026 defense in a different manner than Parsons.
“I think a guy like Caleb is a natural football player,” Parker said. “He’s one of those first picks in the schoolyard, so he’s going to have natural versatility. It’s just a matter of what he can handle mentally and how we fit everything together.”
The biggest question entering the draft was at linebacker after the Cowboys were unable to land one in free agency. On the second day of the draft, they traded a fifth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for Winters, who had 101 tackles last season.
“No. 1 you feel his athleticism and you feel his intensity to the football,” Parker said. “He’s a really good space player. He can really evaporate space. When that ball is thrown in checkdowns or he’s running C-gap to C-gap or A-gap to C-gap, you just see this intensity and really good angles that he plays with, and he’s violent. We encourage that. We think he’s going to have a good transition.”
There is anticipation inside The Star about the ability of the defense in 2026, and not just because things can’t be worse than they were in 2025.
Some of it is tied to the new players but most of it is tied to Parker.
“I can’t get the guy to leave the building,” Schottenheimer said. “I kind of see myself as a grinder and ... I’m always out before he is. He just loves it, man.”
This week will be the first time Parker will be on the field with the full team as the Cowboys begin Phase 2 of the offseason program. It’s only on-field teaching sessions without any competitive periods, but it will be where Parker brings the defensive from the classroom to the field.
At the recent rookie minicamp, Parker walked between position groups, observing the other assistants teaching. At different times, he got involved in a hands-on way when it came to technique with Downs or where third-round linebacker Jaishawn Barham’s positioning was supposed to be in a certain drop. Schottenheimer has called Parker an “elite coach.”
“What helps him is his conviction,” Schottenheimer said. “He knows what he wants. He does a great job getting his staff together and painting that picture. But I will say he’s very, very comfortable walking around and observing his staff. I know when I became a coordinator at 32, I was probably a little bit more of a micromanager, and it was not a good thing. ... I think it shows some of his maturity.”
At the rookie minicamp, Parker acknowledged the excitement of being on the grass for the first time with the music blaring from the speakers, saying, “You’re one step closer to really kind of getting to it.”
This week provides another step. So will the upcoming organized team activities, mandatory minicamp in June and training camp in July.
By then, his vision should be clear.
“I don’t want this to be called the Eagles’ defense or [Eagles DC Vic Fangio’s] defense, it’s going to be ours,” Parker said. “We’ve been really intentional about going about that process with language that we use, the workflow we have and everything else. It’s been real fun.”
