Cowboys News: The Free Agent To Replace Osa Odighizuwa

40-year old unicorn last sensible FA to replace Cowboys’ Odighizuwa? – K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire

With the trade of Osa Odighizuwa, the Cowboys could to look the fill the void with a decorated veteran who has seemed to not aged a bit.

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t have a need at defensive tackle when the offseason began, but they do now. Following moves made throughout the 2025 off-and-regular seasons, Dallas acquired what most considered to be the most complete interior defender rotation in the NFL. But now, as the free agency window creeps shut, not only do the Cowboys have a need, there may be only one player remaining on the free agency heap who could actually come in and fill the void; and he’s almost 40 years old.

Last March, the club signed Osa Odighizuwa to a four-year, $80 million deal a few days before the start of the new league year. In August, they acquired DT Kenny Clark from the Green Bay Packers and in October they traded with the New York Jets for Quinnen Williams. All three were making over $20 million a season and if they weren’t the best rotation, they certainly were the most expensive. A year later, amidst a switch to a 3-4 defense some hoped would see a continuation of 5-man fronts that focused on this strength, and the Cowboys are suddenly in the market for a starting caliber DT.

That’s because the Cowboys have traded Odighizuwa, who was seen as the odd-man out in Christian Parker’s new scheme that would ask him to play 4i, to the San Francisco 49ers. The club will now need to find a starter at a position most thought they needed nothing but depth. When this article was planned, it was intended to be a Top-5 targets, but four of the five possibilities were all scooped up with new deals on Friday. Da’Shawn Hand, Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave and Sebastian Joseph-Day all agreed to join other clubs. Only 39-year old Calais Campbell remains.

Hopefully fortunately, Campbell is the best of the bunch should Dallas pull the trigger. From Pro Football Focus: “Retirement seems to be afraid of Campbell, who has yet to show signs of slowing down through 18 NFL seasons. He has logged 30-plus quarterback pressures in all but two of those years, and his 72.2 PFF overall grade in 2025 made it 15 straight years of topping 70.0.”

Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft: Tennessee CB Colton Hood Scouting Report – Marcus Mosher, The Landry Hat

After a strong opening to beginning of free agency, the Cowboys could turn this player to fortify their secondary.

The Dallas Cowboys are in the cornerback market, and the expectation is that it will be high on their list of needs in the NFL Draft.  Mansoor Delane has become a frequent target for mock drafters at No. 12, but what if he’s not available or if the Cowboys decide to go elsewhere with their first pick? Are there any other cornerbacks worth considering in Round 1? One player who has gained a lot of steam in the pre-draft process is Colton Hood, the “other” Tennessee cornerback in this class.

Hood was the No. 1 cornerback this year for the Volunteers with Jermod McCoy out for the season due to an ACL tear. He had a monster season and is now firmly in the discussion to be a first-round pick. But how might he fit the Dallas Cowboys? Here is our scouting report on the former SEC star. 

Colton Hood Jr. 2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Height: 5115

Weight: 193 pounds

40 Yard Dash Time: 4.44

Recruiting: 4-star recruit, No. 374 ranked prospect nationally, No. 37 ranked cornerback

College Production: 29 games, 77 total tackles, 14 pass deflections, 5.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions.

Positives:

Very physical at the line of scrimmage. Most receivers don’t handle his punch well.

Willing tackler. Isn’t afraid to take on much bigger plays in the run game. Really improved as a tackler from 2024 to 2025.

Has enough long speed to match explosive receivers on the outside. 

Does a good job of battling on contested catches and will dig at the football, when needed. 

Very patient at the line of scrimmage. Doesn’t get thrown off by jab steps or fake releases.

Hood has average size and length, but he is an explosive athlete who excels in press coverage. He has violent hands and can stun receivers on the line of scrimmage with his jab. His improvement as a tackler in 2025 was key to rounding out his game, and there is a lot of hope that he can be even better at the next level. There aren’t many cornerbacks with his physical style left, and teams searching for a man-to-man, bump-and-run cover will covet him early in the draft.

Could the Cowboys consider offense in the 1st round – Mark Heaney, Inside the Star

For as bad as the Cowboys defense was, could they surprise everyone and take offense early in the draft?

From the moment the Dallas Cowboys traded Micah Parsons away for a pair of first-round picks, the assumption was a “double-dip” on defense in the 2026 NFL Draft. Now, we’re just over a month away from the biggest event of the football offseason, and that assumption has stayed true. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a mock draft with Dallas going offense at either 12 or 20; my question is, should we start to rethink that?

Yes, the Cowboys’ offense is worlds ahead of its defense, and especially after failing to sign a notable linebacker or pass-rusher in free agency, they need some young, top-end help more than ever. There is a scenario, however, where Dallas’s board gets wiped out at either of their two first-round selections, and they could be faced with either reaching for defense or getting some elite value on offense. Would they consider the latter?

Could Dallas Consider Offense At 12 or 20?

I’ll spare you any long-winded, anticipation-building lead-up: the answer to this question is a resounding yes, even if fans don’t want to hear it. Picture everybody from Caleb Downs, to Sonny Styles, to Mansoor Delane off the board by the time Dallas is on the clock at 12. Guys like Makai Lemon, or perhaps Carnell Tate, or one of the draft’s top tackles have been pushed down due to a defensive run.

There will be a significant conversation in the war room to simply take one of those guys on the basis of crazy good value, potentially opening up a potential trade of George Pickens for defensive talent, and keeping the 20th pick as a fallback for a talented defender.

Cowboys needs are a bit different after free agency – Brian Martin, Blogging the Boys

The way the Cowboys have handled free ageny and making trades, the Cowboys now have new objectives during the draft.

years past, but still have some holes along the roster to fill. It’s not for lack of trying to fill them. They did try to pull off a blockbuster trade for Maxx Crosby, but was outbid. They also tried to sign Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, but the were unable to close the deal.

Despite missing on those players, the Cowboys had still quietly had a pretty successful free agency. They still have certain positions of “need” they need to address, but there’s still plenty of time to do just that. The moves they’ve made so far had them set up pretty well for the draft, for the most part.

After these free agent moves the Cowboys biggest remaining roster “needs” are linebacker, cornerback, edge and maybe even defensive tackle. Knowing that, we should have a better understanding of the player/positions they could be targeting in April when the draft gets underway. So with that in mind, that’s exactly what we’re going to attempt to do today. For this exercise we decided to stand pat with each pick and not make any trades.

3.92: WR Skyler Bell, UConn

Despite having arguably the best WR duo in the league in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the Cowboys could still stand to upgrade and add depth to the position. Skyler Bell is a crisp route runner who can play inside and out with legit deep speed. He could challenge for Ryan Flournoy for the WR3 job as a rookie.

4.112: OLB Key0n Crawford, Auburn

The Cowboys added a starter in Rashan Gary and depth via free agency, but none of them really provides much juice as pass rushers. Keyon Crawford is an underrated edge player in this year’s draft class. He’s an explosive/twitchy athlete who is just starting to scratch the surface of his talent. He’s a great fit in Dallas.