If the season started today, here is what the Dallas Cowboys’ starting lineup would look like on defense.
Tjhe NFL free agency has already given us some potential starters for the Dallas Cowboys first unit on this Micah Parsons-led defense to go along with the guys we know are back.
To begin the 2025 league year, here is our projected starting lineup for the Cowboys on the defensive side of the ball (and on special teams), where we are betting Dallas just acquired three new starters .
DEFENSE
DE: Micah Parsons
DT: Osa Odighizuwa (re-signed 4-year, $80 million)
DT: Mazi Smith
DE: Sam Williams
LB: Kenneth Murray Jr. (via trade with Tennessee Titans)
LB: Jack Sanborn (signed one-year deal)
CB: DaRon Bland
CB: Caelen Carson
CB: Kaiir Elam (via trade with Buffalo Bills)
S: Malik Hooker
S: Donovan Wilson
Then Dallas gets linebacker help by signing Jack Sanborn of the Chicago Bears, and trading for Kenneth Murray Jr. from the Tennessee Titans.
Sanborn played under new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus in Chicago. He will be a key (and cheap) contributor to another injury-ridden position group. I really like the move.
It will be sad to see DeMarcus Lawrence go (signed with Seattle), but it opens up a starting spot for Sam Williams opposite of Micah Parsons. This is a big opportunity for him to prove himself and earn the job, rather than it open up for him.
Micah and Osa will be fine on the D-line. The other defensive tackle, Mazi Smith, has the intangibles to turn into a solid force, but Cowboys Nation may need to be a bit more patient.
Free agency signings Solomon Thomas (two-year, $8 million) and Payton Turner (one-year, $3 million) are decent grabs for added depth here as well.
The safety position will be good enough, but cornerback (especially in the slot) is still a patch that needs fixing in the secondary. Trevon Diggs will be back eventually, but not soon.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Brandon Aubrey
P: Bryan Anger (re-signed two-year deal)
LS: Trent Sieg (re-signed three-year deal)
KR/PR: KaVontae Turpin
One of the NFL’s best special teams groups remain intact. Love it.
It has been an eventful start to free agency for the Cowboys, and if Wednesday was any indication, expect the front office to continue being “selectively aggressive”.
This is how the starting lineup looks right now but is likely to see a few tweaks.
The countdown to Week 1 begins. … with our projected offensive lineup below …