After just one year of NFL service, Jay Toia is the Cowboys’ longest-tenured defensive tackle. There’s been a whirlwind of change at the position since Toia joined the team, and now the second-year DT is fighting to keep his job amidst this defensive roster overhaul.
Background
Years in NFL: 1
Acquired by: 2025 7th-round pick
After a long run at UCLA, Toia was taken by Dallas with the first pick of the seventh round of last year’s draft. He was one of three Cowboys seventh-rounders last year, the other two being
RB Phila Mafah and fellow DT Tommy Akingbesote. With his niche ability as a true nose tackle, necessary for specific formations, Toia was able to work his way onto the 53-man roster.
The DT changes around Toia started quickly. The Micah Parsons trade brought Kenny Clark to Dallas just before the season began. Then there was the midseason trade for Quinnen Williams, which also sent Mazi Smith out the door. Once Dallas had Clark and Williams to go with Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas, there weren’t many snaps left Toia. Tough he appeared in the first two games of the regular season, Toia would only be active for three more games the rest of the year.
Toia didn’t do much to impress in his limited playing time. Surprisingly, he graded out better as a pass rusher than run defender, but neither were high marks. Despite the slow career start, Dallas hung on to him for the occasional depth and development throughout the year and will let him compete again in 2026.
Contract Status
Years Left: 3
2026 Cap Hit: $1.04 million
As a drafted player, Toia still has three years left on his rookie deal. But as only a seventh-round pick, there’s relatively little guaranteed money to worry about. If Toia doesn’t make the cut this summer, there is only a $115k cap penalty for the Cowboys to eat.
2026 Projections
Role: Backup NT
Roster Chance: 25%
Things don’t look great for Toia right now. The Cowboys may have sent Odighizuwa and Thomas away in trades this offseason, but they also signed veterans Otito Ogbonnia and Jonathan Bullard as free agents. Rookie L.T. Overton, though talked about as an edge rusher during the draft process, will be played more as a defensive lineman in Dallas. There are also three UDFAs listed as DTs: Tommy Dunn, Kelvin Gilliam, and D.J. Withers, plus international pathway player Adedayo Odeleye. Those are a lot of bodies for Toia to fight through to a roster spot.
Still, Toia has a major advantage over all of those down-roster prospects: he is the only true NT prospect of the bunch. All of the UDFAs and Odeleye are listed with sub-300 weights, so they are more DE prospects for Dallas’ new 3-4 scheme. at 6’2” and 340 lbs., Toia could still provide unique value for the specific role he can fill.
Dallas already has nose tackles for the base scheme in Clark and Ogbonnia,. It’s quite possible that they’ll just keep five total defensive linemen with those two, Williams, Bullard, and Overton filling out the group. And even if they do keep a sixth DL, they may feel like NT is covered enough that they go with one of the DE prospects instead of Toia.
Whether it’s the change in defensive coaches, the abundance of new players, or just overall roster math, Jay Toia is not currently projected to make the roster. But it wouldn’t take much for that to change, especially if one of the veteran NT candidates were to get injured. This summer, Toia has to become more than just a big body and show he belongs in the big leagues.
Check out our previous player profiles from this series:
C Cooper Beebe
G Tyler Booker
S Alijah Clark
EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku
TE Jake Ferguson
S Malik Hooker
LB Shemar James
G Trevor Keegan
FB Hunter Luepke
RB Phil Mafah
WR Jonathan Mingo
CB Devin Moore
LS Trent Sieg
WR Anthony Smith
OT Terence Steele
CB Reddy Steward
EDGE Tyrus Wheat
EDGE Sam Williams
