Dee Winters is positioned to become a Dallas Cowboys starter at linebacker in 2026

The Dallas Cowboys’ offseason emphasis on defense has a new anchor at linebacker: Dee Winters. Pro Football Rumors reports that Winters, acquired in a trade after his first three NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, is in line for a starting role with Dallas in 2026. The expectation is not just based on the move itself, but on what Winters did once his opportunities on the defensive side of the ball expanded in recent seasons.

Winters came into the league as a sixth-round pick, and Pro Football Rumors notes that he worked primarily on special teams in his early NFL stretch. His role shifted more heavily toward run-and-pass responsibilities in 2024, and the report frames 2025 as Winters’ most productive season. According to Pro Football Rumors, injuries at the second level played a part in expanding his defensive workload, and Winters handled a 92% snap share in that context. He recorded 101 tackles, added five pass deflections, and logged the first interception of his career.

Dallas’ interest in Winters also ties to a need that has been visible in the Cowboys’ internal conversations about the linebacker group. In a Cowboys official-site mailbag, writers discussed the team’s limited supply of experienced options at the position heading into this roster-building phase. The discussion pointed to younger players and emphasized that, especially for the linebacker unit, “experienced bodies” have been in shorter supply, which is part of why adding a player with extensive in-game reps matters.

Winters is not arriving in Dallas to fill a vacuum. Pro Football Rumors expects that he will join DeMarvion Overshown in the starting linebacker mix. Overshown’s availability has been a central storyline for Dallas because of the time missed after an ACL tear. Pro Football Rumors reports that Overshown has played only 19 games since then, and that the 25-year-old enters the final year of his rookie deal. The combined takeaway is that Dallas is trying to stabilize its second level by pairing Winters’ snap workload with Overshown’s higher-upside, when healthy.

The Cowboys’ defensive environment is also changing. Pro Football Rumors ties Winters’ role to first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker, stating that Parker is tasked with overseeing improvement and that linebacker play will be a key piece of that plan. That matters because the Cowboys’ ability to run effective pressures, defend intermediate routes, and coordinate coverage responsibilities often depends on the linebacker group functioning as a coherent unit, particularly in a season where Dallas has leaned into defensive additions early.

There is also a personal and practical dimension to the trade. Pro Football Rumors describes Winters as a Texas native and a TCU product, and it notes that he will spend at least one season in his home state. That detail matters less for projection than for team dynamics, but it underscores why the Cowboys may see the move as both a football fit and an environment that can support performance and development.

Looking ahead, the most important thing to watch is whether Winters can translate his recent defensive workload into consistent starting production in Dallas’ system. Because Pro Football Rumors frames 2025’s snap share as influenced by second-level injuries, the baseline question is how much of Winters’ output is repeatable when the defensive rotation is fully healthy and when his role is defined primarily by scheme rather than necessity. For Dallas, success would mean a more dependable linebacker core that can carry its share of coverage and run defense while Parker settles into his coordinator responsibilities.