How Brian Schottenheimer, Christian Parker’s staff drew Cobie Durant to Cowboys – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
The Dallas Cowboys newest cornerback says he sees a lot of Sean McVay in his new coach.
As the Cowboys look to rebuild their defense going into 2026, a free agent signing that is promising to bring swagger to their secondary is CB Cobie Durant.
Durant, who signed with Dallas on March 13, was drawn to come and help the defense turn things around because of the new defensive coaching staff led by defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
“The guys on defense, on both sides of the ball, all phases. Coaching
staff, coach Schotty as a head coach reminds me a lot of Sean McCay,” Durant said. “Corners coaches, [Parker] as DC, [Derrick Ansley] as corners coach and [Ryan Smith], I felt like it was a great situation I was coming into to help me thrive and allow me to come in and be my best self to help this team win games.”
The process to getting to this point was a long one for Durant, who spent the last four seasons with McVay and the Los Angeles Rams.
“It was actually more stressful than the draft in my opinion…” Durant said of his first time being a free agent. “I looked at the [Cowboys’] coaching staff and I remembered some of the coaches in the secondary and the DC, just talking to them in previous times early in my years of playing. It wasn’t even a hard decision for real, I just want to be where I could contribute the best and help the team win.”
Dallas Cowboys retain much-needed insurance with deals for OL T.J. Bass, CB Reddy Steward – Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News
The Cowboys are keeping some much-needed insurance on the roster ahead of 2026.
Cowboys cornerback Reddy Steward, an exclusive rights free agent, also signed his tender on Tuesday, worth the league minimum.
It’s a nice pay raise for Bass, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon in 2023. It was well worth it, too, considering how reliable Bass has been in a reserve role. Bass has appeared in 49 games the past three seasons and started 10. He’s started games at both right and left guard. He’s allowed 16 career pressures and two sacks over the course of three seasons, according to Pro Football Focus.
Paying Bass is a good insurance option for the Cowboys. It could also be a great value if Bass is forced to start next season.
It’s not the preferred plan by the Cowboys, but Bass does give them a starting guard option if they’re forced to move three-time Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith to left tackle. The Cowboys prefer to keep Smith at left guard. They believe he has Hall-of-Fame potential if he does, akin to some other great guards the Cowboys have had in their franchise history. The Cowboys also know that he can play tackle if needed, as he did as a rookie after he was selected in the first round out of Tulsa.
Whether Smith moves to left tackle likely depends on whether the Cowboys can count on former first-round pick Tyler Guyton or Nate Thomas. Guyton has played in 25 games and started in 21 during his two years in the NFL.
Bass has proved to be more than capable when he’s played. He was ranked as the 30th-best guard in the NFL last year, according to Pro Football Focus, among guard with at least 300 offensive snaps.
Cowboys begin Pro Day visits with position coaches stopping by USC, Clemson – Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Cowboys could have a few Clemson players they are looking at in the first-round of the draft.
Pro Day events have kicked off around the country, and the Dallas Cowboys have been on the road seeing prospects from the upcoming draft class in preparation to make their eight scheduled selections in April.
Focuses can be drawn from Pro Day visits, especially when the head coach or a coordinator is in attendance. And while Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer hasn’t quite made his rounds just yet (he is scheduled to attend Texas Tech on March 26), some position coaches have already hit the road.
On March 6, the Cowboys were on-hand to see Wisconsin’s Pro Day, headlined by a couple of day-three prospects in defensive end Mason Reiger and wide receiver Vinny Anthony II.
On March 9, the Cowboys were one of six teams attending Georgia Southern’s Pro Day. While the Eagles are not expected to have anyone drafted, they did have 10 players participate that could be special teams players at the next level.
The cornerback class continues to shine as the draft process goes on, and San Diego State’s Chris Johnson is one that is expected to be taken in the second round. Thirty teams were on-hand to see his agility and positional workout, including the Cowboys.
On March 13, the Cowboys had representatives present for the Arkansas and Georgia Tech Pro Days. At Arkansas, the draft-worthy prospects include quarterback Taylen Green, running back Mike Washington Jr., guard Fernando Carmona, cornerback Julian Neal, linebacker Xavian Sorey and defensive tackle Cam Ball. At Georgia Tech, the draft-worthy prospects include quarterback Haynes King, defensive back Ahmari Harvey, wide receiver Eric Rivers and offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge.
Position coaches visit trio of power programs
Cowboys offensive line coach Conor Riley made his first stop of Pro Day season at Kentucky on March 11 to see guard prospect Joshua Braun. As a senior, Braun allowed three sacks and 15 quarterback pressures across 458 pass blocking snaps. He is expected to be a late day-three draft selection. Day-three running back Seth McGowan was also among the Pro Day participants.
Across the next two days, the Cowboys had representatives on-hand for five Pro Day events: Rutgers, Illinois, Oklahoma, USC and Clemson. The draft pick-worthy prospects include Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers defensive end Eric O’Neill, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer, Illinois offensive tackle J.C. Davis, Illinois defensive end Gabe Jacas, Illinois cornerback Xavier Scott, Illinois defensive tackle James Thompson Jr., Oklahoma defensive end R. Mason Thomas, Oklahoma running back Jadyn Ott, Oklahoma wide receiver Deion Burks, Oklahoma tight end Jaren Kanak, Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton and Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings.
Jerry Jones says the Cowboys would’ve made a playoff run with ‘a lick of defense.’ Here are five bargain fixes – Garrett Podell, CBS Sports
If the Cowboys are afraid to bust the budget, here are some bargain bin items left they could grab in free agency.
“I’ll tell you, when you have the challenges we had last year, there’s no place to go but up on the defensive side of the ball. Had we played a lick of defense last year, we would’ve had ourselves, I think, a real playoff run,” Jones said at the Grand Prix of Arlington on Sunday.
“What we have set up for the draft, plus what we really have coming back from our veteran defensive players that really didn’t play that much last year — injury issues, things like that — gives us a lot of promise.”
The Cowboys were more active in this initial wave of NFL free agency than they were in each of the past two seasons, with most of their moves targeting defensive improvement. They still took a quantity-over-quality approach. There weren’t any “bust the budget” deals, but they acquired necessary depth in the spring instead of the summer like they have in recent years, which is an improvement.
The Cowboys addressed the defense by trading for edge rusher Rashan Gary; signing safety Jalen Thompson, cornerback Cobie Durant, safety P.J. Locke, defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia and edge rusher Tyrus Wheat; and bringing back edge rusher Sam Williams. Meanwhile, they traded two defensive tackles — Osa Odighizuwa to the 49ers and Solomon Thomas to the Titans — for 2026 draft picks.
With new defensive coordinator Christian Parker tasked with reshaping a unit that allowed an NFL-most 30.1 points per game in 2025 — the second-most in a season in Dallas’ 66-year history — the Cowboys could still use more depth on defense. With that in mind, here’s a look at five defensive free agents Dallas could target from the bargain bin as it continues building out its roster ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft:
EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
- Age: 32
- Pro Bowls: 3 (2016-2018)
- First-team All-Pro teams: 0
Jadeveon Clowney wrapped up his 2025 season with a bang, recording a single-game career-high three sacks in Week 18 against Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart. Even though he didn’t play for Dallas until Week 4 last season, he produced 8.5 sacks, his most in a season since totaling 9.5 in 2023 with the Ravens. His 8.5 sacks led the Cowboys in 2025. There’s a chance he could play even better in 2026 after going through a full offseason with Dallas. It will depend on whether Parker believes he’s a fit for the Cowboys’ new 3-4 multiple-front scheme with 4-3 spacing.
LB Bobby Wagner
- Age: 35
- Pro Bowls: 10 (2014-2021, 2023-2024)
- First-team All-Pro teams: 6 (2014, 2016-2020)
Bobby Wagner is one of the best defenders of his era, as his 2010s All-Decade Team selection indicates. He’s still chugging along at 35 years old. Pro Football Focus graded Wagner as the ninth-best linebacker in 2025 with a 78.6 defensive grade. His 92.4 pass-rush grade ranked third among linebackers last season as Dan Quinn used him more as a blitzer in a lost campaign. Wagner’s coverage abilities have slipped with age, but he could be a nice mentor to whatever linebacker the Cowboys plan on drafting in April.
