{"id":840793,"date":"2026-03-29T12:21:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T12:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/840793\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T12:21:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T12:21:55","slug":"cowboys-2026-defensive-identity-is-changing-inside-the-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/840793\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys 2026 Defensive Identity is Changing \u00bb Inside The Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wanted to see if the Cowboys\u2019 defensive rebuild actually changed the shape of the roster, not just the names on the transaction wire.<\/p>\n

So I went through the current Cowboys roster<\/a>, grouped the defense into defensive line, linebacker, and defensive back, and looked at the average height, weight, and age by position.<\/p>\n

I also compared the current group to last year\u2019s defense<\/a>, which included names like Jadeveon Clowney, Dante Fowler Jr., Kenneth Murrar Jr., Jack Sanborn, Payton Turner, and Donovan Wilson.<\/p>\n

One of the things that stood out to me was that the Cowboys look thicker up front.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Cowboys Defensive Averages Show Where the Roster Really Changed<\/p>\n

The defensive line group for the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> came out to roughly 6\u20193\u201d, 288 pounds, and 26 years old on average. Compared to last year\u2019s defensive line, which was about 6\u20193\u201d, 277 pounds, and 27 years old.<\/p>\n

The linebackers assembled to this point is not much of a change from last season. Currently, the linebackers are 6\u20192\u201d, 228 pounds, and 24 years old. Last season, the size was 6\u20191\u201d, 234 pounds, and 25 years old.<\/p>\n

The defensive backs room<\/a> as it stands is 6\u20190\u201d, 194 pounds, and 26 years old. Whereas last season the backs were 6\u20191\u201d, 198 pounds, and 27 years old.<\/p>\n

The defensive line got much bigger, the linebackers are about the same, but slightly younger. The defensive backs got shorter and light, but a year younger.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

The Defensive Front is the Clearest Change<\/p>\n

This is where I found the Cowboys look the most different to me.<\/p>\n

The defensive front is the same height, but nearly 11 pounds heavier and a year younger. That tracks with what Dallas has done this offseason.<\/p>\n

The current group mixes bigger interior bodies like Kenny Clark, Otito Ogbonnia, Jay Toia, Quinnen Williams, Jonathan Bullard<\/a>, and edge rushers size from Rashan Gary and Sam Williams.<\/p>\n

This is the biggest takeaway from my findings. Dallas wants a front that is bigger and harder to move.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Linebacker Went the Other Way<\/p>\n

This one was surprising, but when I really thought about it, the Cowboys are not finished with this position<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The linebacker room is taller, but it\u2019s also lighter and younger than the 2025 unit. The current group is built around Justin Barron, Shemar James, Isaiah Land, Marist Liufau, and DeMarvion Overshown.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s group was Liufau, Jack Sanborn, Kenneth Murray, Damone Clark, Shemar James, and Overshown.<\/p>\n

Dallas isn\u2019t trying to bulk up in this area, they are trying to make it longer, younger, and more mobile. This feels less like a linebacker makeover and more like a linebacker reset.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

The Secondary Got Smaller and Younger<\/p>\n

I found the defensive back room is where the size drop really showed.<\/p>\n

Compared to last year, the current secondary is about an inch shorter, about four pounds lighter, and a year younger.<\/p>\n

Last season, bigger veteran defensive backs<\/a> littered the secondary.<\/p>\n

That tells me Dallas is clearly chasing more movement on the back end. I don\u2019t think that is accidental at all.<\/p>\n

What I Think the Numbers are Saying<\/p>\n

When I put all three groups side by side, the message is pretty simple.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys have gotten bigger up front, leaner at linebacker, and smaller in the secondary.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not just a roster churn.<\/p>\n

It seems Dallas is putting more of the weight and power burden on the front, while asking the second and third level to play with more speed and range.<\/p>\n

To me, this seems like a defensive identity being built.<\/p>\n

Was this helpful?<\/p>\n

Thanks for your feedback!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I wanted to see if the Cowboys\u2019 defensive rebuild actually changed the shape of the roster, not just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":840794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[95650,100012,107770,230,229,257,2461,1156,7,25598,4135,6,108003,7303],"class_list":["post-840793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas-cowboys","tag-2025-defense","tag-2026-defense","tag-2026-free-agents","tag-cowboys","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallascowboys","tag-defensive-line","tag-football","tag-jonathan-bullard","tag-linebacker","tag-nfl","tag-players-cap","tag-secondary"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116312443330581294","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}