The Dallas Cowboys entered the offseason with an embarrassment of riches at the defensive tackle position, which is a wiild thing to say considering just how bad the defense was in 2025. After signing young pressure player and 2021 third-round pick Osa Odighizuwa to a four-year extension last spring, the team traded for Pro Bowlers Kenny Clark and then Quinnen Williams in August and October. The moves gave them three players all set to make over $20 million in salary for 2026, but with a bit of duplicity.
With new defensive coordinator Christian Parker implementing a 30 front and Odighizuwa checking off the same boxes as Williams but with less pedigree, the Cowboys traded the latter away in order to not monopolize the team’s salary cap. The move opened up a need for a someone who better fit the run-stopping role of the 4i/5-tech role in the team’s defense, one they hope to have found a long-term solution for in the drafting on Alabama’s LT Overton.
In politics, the Overton Window speaks to how changes in public opinion often sway discourse and ideologies. The same can be said for the manner in which Dallas has deployed defenses over the past few years. Overton hopes this recent one sticks for a while, so he can as well.
Rundown
Position: Defensive End
Age: 21
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 274 pounds
Hometown: College Station, TX (born)
High School: Milton (GA)
College: Texas A&M, Alabama (Film Study Video vs Missouri)
Draft: 2026 4th round (No. 137)
Acquired: 2026 NFL Draft
Contract: Four-year contract (2026), $5.17 million
2026 Base Salary: $885k, $1.08M cap hit (via Over The Cap)
Profile
Overton lacks Odighizuwa’s explosive twitch, but seems a better fit for the role of 4i in the gap-and-a-half scheme that Parker has implemented for his new-look defense. He’ll be ask to serve more of a run-stuffing role in either the 30 or 40 front, where he’ll play a 5-technique role, moving between the inside and outside shades of the offensive tackles. He’ll man the role along with veteran Jonathan Bullard, signed on a one-year deal, but Overton is seen as the long-term solution, at a much cheaper price tag than Agent OO97 as well as a better fit, even if not the same level of talent.
He’s an incredibly strong player who “might not be the most agile lineman, he shows a remarkable ability to shift his body laterally to effectively chase down and tackle the quarterback.” – Kenneth Bell’s Scouting Report
The Ringer’s Todd McShay pre-draft evaluation saw Overton’s fit for Parker almost perfectly, comparing his potential to a current Eagle.
Some teams view Overton as a 3-technique in a four-man front, while others view him as a 5-technique in a three-man front- and some may even see him as a power-based edge in their scheme. With so many multiple front in today’s NFL, that versatility is one of Overton’s greatest assets. If he lands in a DL room with veteran leadership that will hold him accountable and he commits to the process, he’s capable of developing into a Moro Ojomo-type versatile impact player in the NFL.
The Cowboys have been remarkably skilled with drafting players in the compensatory pick zone of the fourth round. QB Dak Prescott (4.135) is the poster child from 2016, but they’ve had other success stories in TE Dalton Schultz and center Tyler Biadasz. The Cowboys acquired this pick via a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, when Dallas moved back from No. 20 to No. 23 in exchange for picks No. 114 and No. 137.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: The next Prescott? Cowboys ’26 comp pick looks to excel as 4th-rd rook
Reporting by K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire | USA TODAY Network
