Way-too-early 2026 Cowboys 53-man roster prediction

With the Seattle Seahawks victory over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, we now find ourselves in the dead zone of the offseason. While the season officially just recently came to an end, the Dallas Cowboys have been hard at work filling out their coaching staff and hopefully preparing themselves as to how they want to go about upgrading their roster.

While it’s still a mystery what changes new defensive coordinator Christian Parker will make, the offensive side of the ball should look much the same as it did last year. That of course hinges on what the Cowboys decide to do with George Pickens and Javonte Williams. With those decisions still hanging in the balance, and all of the “needs” to be addressed on defense, we decided to predict a way-too-early 53-man roster for the Cowboys.

Free agent additions

*Contract predictions via Spotrac

• EDGE Jadeveon Clowney (1-yr, $5.7m)
• RB Javonte Williams (3 yrs, $22m)
• OL TJ Bass (right to first refusal tender, $3.4m)
• S Reed Blankenship (2 yrs, $14.3m)
• OT Braxton Jones (2 yrs, $9.5m)
• EDGE Haason Reddick (1-yr, $4.9m)
• LB Alex Singleton (1-yr, $4.6m)

Mock draft prediction

*Cowboys trade 1.20 to Bills for 1.26, 3.91, 5.166

• 1.12: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
• 1.26: LB CJ Allen, Georgia
• 3.91: CB Chandler Rivers, Duke
• 4.112: EDGE Keyron Crawford, Auburn
• 5.150: OL Trey Zuhn, Texas A&M
• 5.166: WR Eric McAlister, TCU
• 5.177: TE Dillon Bentley, Utah
• 6.215: S VJ Payne, Kansas State
• 6.221: DL Kaleb Proctor, SE Louisiana
• 6.225: LB Shad Banks, UTSA

Offensive depth chart

QB (2)

Dak Prescott, Joe Milton

No changes here from a season ago. Prescott is the unquestioned QB1 with Milton still serving as his backup.

RB (4)

Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah, Hunter Luepke

By re-signing Williams the Cowboys retain their RB1 from a season ago. Blue finished the season strong and is penciled in as the RB2 right now with Mafah providing depth.

WR (5)

CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin, Eric McAlister (R)

Franchise tag or long-term extension, Pickens will be back to form a powerful duo with CeeDee Lamb. McAlister is the only new addition we predict and he’s talented enough to push Flournoy for the WR3 job.

TE (3)

Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Dillon Bentley (R)

Ferguson is the unquestioned TE1 and Spann-Ford will back him up again in 2026. Bentley comes in to replace Luke Schoonmaker, who has sadly never lived up to his second-round draft status.

OL (10)

Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, Terence Steele, Nate Thomas, Ajani Cornelius, TJ Bass, Braxton Jones (FA), Trey Zuhn (R)

Dallas’ starting five likely remains the same, however, there may be an open competition in both OT positions. Bass is retained, Braxton Jones is signed to compete for a starting OT job and add depth, and Zuhn potentially has the position flex to play anywhere on the OL. The rookie was a college LT expected to kick inside to G/C.

Defensive depth chart

EDGE (6)

Donovan Ezeiruaku, James Houston, Jadeveon Clowney, Haason Riddick (FA), Keyron Crawford (R), Kaleb Proctor (R)

Re-signing Clowney and bringing in FA Reddick add much-needed depth and help solidify the position. Crawford could push for starting job as a rookie and Proctor is a bit of a DE/DT tweener who adds more depth.

DT (5)

Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa, Solomon Thomas, Jay Toia

This position looks much the same as a season ago after acquiring both Williams and Clark via trade. Toia makes the cut with the thought of Dallas incorporating more 3-4 principles in 2026.

LB (5)

DeMarvion Overshown, Marist Liufau, Shemar James, Alex Singleton (FA), CJ Allen (R)

Singleton is a savvy vet who upgrades the position. Allen should compete with them for the starting MLB job as a rookie. Overshown will be the starting WILL with Liufau and James providing depth.

CB (6)

DaRon Bland, Shavon Revel, Caelen Carson, Reddy Steward, Jermod McCoy (R), Chandler Rivers (R)

Due to Bland’s foot surgery unknown starting quality of Revel and Carson, rebuilding the CB position is a top offseason priority. In McCoy and Rivers, we added another starter on the outside and in the nickel.

S (4)

Reed Blankenship (FA), Markquese Bell, Alijah Clark, VJ Payne (R)

By releasing Malik Hooker ($7m) Dallas can put that towards signing Blankenship, an upgrade and another coach to help install Parker’s defense. Payne has started potential and both Bell and Clark add depth.

ST (3)

Brandon Aubrey, Bryan Anger, Trent Sieg

We expect no changes here. Aubrey will likely be retained either on a RFA tenders or long-term extension. Anger and Sieg should retain their jobs as Dallas’ punter and long snapper.

What’s your take on a way-to-early 53?