Security often is the most mysterious of all of the Cowboys’ offseason wants. They’ve two key gamers getting into free company, so work have to be completed. However given all the different roster issues, and the way the entrance workplace has traditionally undervalued the place, how a lot consideration and funding will Dallas truly put into including new expertise?
Malik Hooker – With almost $7 million in potential cap financial savings if he’s launched, and turning 30 in April, Hooker has the makings of a cap casualty. However he’s additionally the one security with ample expertise, as extra of Markquese Bell’s defensive snaps have been at linebacker than within the secondary. Hooker is a revered veteran with the talents to suit most schemes, so that they gained’t half with him frivolously even for the reduction. It’s possible that he returns, maybe with a reworked deal to decrease the cap hit.
Markquese Bell – Whereas he doesn’t have sufficient of a résumé to inherit a beginning job, Bell might at the very least compete for it. The Cowboys thought sufficient of Bell to provide him a three-year deal final offseason, and his versatility between LB and S helps him keep beneficial regardless of scheme adjustments. On the very least, he ought to stick round for depth and particular groups, particularly since there’s no cap profit to chopping him.
Alijah Clark – As an undrafted rookie, Clark appeared in 11 video games principally as a particular teamer. He had among the finest highlights of 2025 along with his compelled fumble in opposition to the Eagles in Dallas’ dramatic comeback win, preventing via blocks and knockdowns to nonetheless get to the ball. He needs to be aggressive for a depth spot.
Julius Wooden – Initially a Cowboys UDFA in 2024, Wooden received claimed by the Titans at last cuts however then missed most of his rookie yr with a PED suspension. Dallas added him again to the apply squad final October and signed him to a futures deal for this yr. Now in his third NFL offseason, Wooden will want a really sturdy summer time to stay round.
Donovan Wilson – It’s been a surprisingly stable run for the previous sixth-round decide, nevertheless it seems like Wilson’s time in Dallas is at an finish. He simply turned 31 and has by no means actually developed the protection instincts to make up for bodily decline. If the Cowboys are going to hold on to Malik Hooker for the veteran presence, Wilson is probably going to get replaced by a youthful prospect.
Juanyeh Thomas (RFA) – Thomas is one candidate to doubtlessly change Wilson. Undrafted in 2022, he’s flashed play-making capacity all through his time in Dallas, however well being points restricted him to only seven video games final season. When Markquese Bell grew to become a RFA final yr, the Cowboys didn’t tender him however as an alternative lowered the cap hit with a multi-year deal. They may simply do the identical right here.
As you already effectively know, Dallas has lots of defensive wants. And except Brian Schottenheimer and Christian Parker trigger a philosophical shift, which we don’t even know that they’d, it’s exhausting to think about this entrance workplace prioritizing security over the Cowboys’ different issues at edge rusher, linebacker, and cornerback. So whereas Dallas might positively use extra expertise at security, it’s in all probability not the place they’ll make their greatest strikes.
One exception might be if Caleb Downs, who some think about the perfect participant in your complete 2026 draft class, one way or the other falls into the Cowboys’ vary. The final time Dallas drafted any defensive again within the first spherical was Byron Jones in 2015, and an enormous a part of his worth was place flex between CB and S. Whereas Downs affords a number of the identical, he’s extra of a conventional security with slot nook capacity. Dallas hasn’t drafted a real security within the first spherical since Roy Williams in 2002.
Touchdown Downs in April could be unbelievable, boosting a number of DB positions and giving Parker one of many bluest, chippiest prospects potential to work with. But when Dallas doesn’t get Downs, the subsequent greatest security prospects like Dillon Thieneman and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren could be huge reaches on Thursday evening. And except the Cowboys add some Day 2 picks in trades, anybody they’d in all probability land within the fourth spherical or later couldn’t be counted on for quick assist.
As for veteran free brokers, some have naturally linked Philadelphia’s Reed Blankenship to Dallas given Parker’s arrival. However 2025 was an terrible season for him, grading out as one of many worst beginning safeties within the league. That ought to restrict his market, which the Cowboys could like for monetary causes, however will then make Parker the important thing vote as as to if or not he thinks it was an anomaly.
In the event that they move on Blankenship, the Cowboys aren’t prone to spend what high choices like Seattle’s Coby Bryant or the Chiefs’ Bryan Cook dinner might be on the lookout for. They could be prepared to return all the way down to the subsequent tier, however once more, that will depend on how a lot cap area they’ve after caring for different roster wants.
Whereas security might not be a high offseason precedence, it’s exhausting to think about Dallas being content material with some mixture of Malik Hooker, Markquese Bell, and possibly Juanyeh Thomas as their beginning duo subsequent yr. We’d count on at the very least one addition with official beginning potential to be added. Playing on Blankenship’s bounce-back feels extra like how this entrance workplace operates, however there are new voices within the combine. Maybe greater than every other defensive place, security could inform us essentially the most about how the coaches are influencing the Jones household by the way it’s dealt with this offseason.
