Blogging The Boys
How do you feel about the state of the Cowboys defensive tackles?
The defensive tackle position abounds with questions for the 2025 Dallas Cowboys. For some, it’s how big a role they’ll have in this year’s rotation. For others, it’s whether or not they’ll even be part of it. From almost the top down, there’s a lot of room for competition in this year’s training camp.
We say “almost the top” because one guy, Osa Odighizuwa, has a pretty clear claim to the catbird seat. He just got a four-year, $80 million deal to return to Dallas, and many think he’ll be better than ever in Matt Eberflus’ scheme. That remains to be seen, of course, but it leaves no doubt as to Odighizuwa’s lead role with the team in 2025.
By our estimation, Odighizuwa is the only guaranteed DT on this season’s roster. Some are certainly more likely than others, and a couple would be shocking if they didn’t make it. But with a new coaching staff in town, carryovers from the last regime may not have the same security they would have otherwise. It makes for a far bigger roster bubble than you might think.
Now entering his third season, Smith is still looking to justify his significant draft investment. But even if he never becomes the long-term starter you’d have hoped for from a Thursday night pick, Smith should still make he team as one of the only big-bodied tackles and a rotation piece. But we’re not that far removed from Taco Charlton being let go a few weeks into his third year. If Smith is a complete flop this summer, you never know what could happen. But he’d have to be utterly dead weight to push the Cowboys that far, especially since they’re still underwater on his rookie contract.
Turning 30 in August, Thomas was a free agent addition this spring. While he’s never lived up to being the third-overall pick in the 2017 draft, Thomas has been a role player on strong defenses for the 49ers and Jets through the years. He followed Dallas’ new D-line coach, Andrew Whitecotton, from New York to Dallas and is expected to have a role both on the field and as a veteran leader. But with only $3 million in guaranteed money, Thomas still has to earn his roster spot over his much younger competitors.
The seventh-round rookie has a fairly clear path to the roster as the only other pure nose tackle prospect besides Mazi Smith. Some argue he’s already the lead candidate for that role, with Smith still needing to prove he can be consistently effective as a space-eater. Even if Smith makes a third-year leap, Toia can easily make the team as his backup and rotation piece for short yardage. But as with any late-round pick, the future is far from certain.
A fourth-round pick in 2022 by the Browns, Winfrey got into legal...
