One of the Dallas Cowboys most underrated signings this offseason came along the defensive line. Former Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia signed a one-year, $3-million dollar deal with the Cowboys early in free agency.
Ogbonnia spent four seasons with the Chargers, before landing in Dallas this offseason. In those four years he started 20 games, spending a majority of his time bouncing around the defensive line playing multiple roles for Brandon Staley/Jesse Minter.
Recently, I
was able to sit down with Ogbonnia and really pick his brain about his play, and his fit in Christian Parker’s defense. It was hard to not get really excited about what we may see from this unit in 2026 after doing so.
When asked how he’s enjoying the DFW area so far:
“I trained in the DFW area in the past. I noticed a lot of D-lineman trained with BT Jordan, and I wanted to train around my peers.”
When asked about his relationship with the Cowboys new consultant BT Jordan:
“I mean, he’s great. I mean he’s really technical, obviously in the pass part of the game. I think his résumé speaks for itself. His work speaks for itself everywhere he’s been. He’s one of those people who just takes a lot of time to break things down at a minute level, that is easy for everyone to understand in a way that a lot of coaches overlook. During this time of year, we’re not banging anything. We don’t have helmets on, we don’t have pads on, so it’s really the time to teach and learn, so we can take these drills really slow, then take them on full speed towards the end of mini camp or training camp.”
The Cowboys defense is coming off a year where the coaching seemed to be a major issue. While we are all pumped about what some of these new coaches will bring to the table, it was exciting to hear just how excited and complimentary he was of Jordan’s work.
After discussing BT Jordan, we got into more coaching staff stuff. When asked to give insight on how he see’s himself fitting into Christian Parker’s scheme:
“Being in LA under Brandon Staley, who is obviously coming from the (Vic) Fangio tree, obviously you can expect to see similar things in the scheme, it’s actually a defense I know pretty well. Obviously, the terminology is different, but I think with CP (Christian Parker) and coach MD (Marcus Dixon), they see me just playing all around, all along the front.
That’s always been one of my biggest pros in the NFL. I’ve played every position. You go back on my tape, I’ve had success at every spot whether it be the 0 the 3, the 4i, 5, I’ve even played the 6, over the tight end. So they just see me playing all around and rotate wherever I’m needed.
Playing that big end and that 4i are my primary positions at least in the base front, and then obviously rotating in on the nickel downs at the 3 and the 2i.”
After talking for a while on the role he will play in Dallas, I asked him what position he enjoys playing the most that unlocks it skillset:
“Honestly the 4i for me plays really well into my skillset. You just need a longer, bigger guy. You get a lot of single blocks. You can set the edge from that position. It’s a position that more straight forward in the sense of – you’re going in there, you’re going to set the edge whether that be at the 4i or 5-tech, or the head up 4. And I think it’s just suited for my body type being a longer and taller person.”
We then moved on to how the defensive alignment could play out with himself, Quinnen Williams, and Kenny Clark. He gave a thoughtful answer.
“Yeah with how this defense is built, we have Kenny (Clark) who has a lot of experience at nose, obviously Quinnen (Williams) is a game-wrecker at 3-technique. Kenny’s been one of the best true nose tackles for a long time. I think going back to that true nose, true shade position, I think that’s where he actually feels most comfortable.”
After hearing him really break down his fit and how things could look along the defensive line, we discussed the way the defense was constructed this offseason compared to previous seasons. Previously, it felt like Dallas would sometimes try to fit square pegs into round holes along the defensive line.
“I think that’s the thing about these types of defenses, at least in my experience, I’ve always been in this kind of scheme. It definitely requires a certain body type for certain players. In my opinion, the way we look to play in this defense, the defensive line can be significantly different from other teams or other schemes. There’s a lot more pressure on you to hold your own in this scheme. Whether it be doubles, or there’s a lot of plays that need to be made with just two guys on the defensive line or even by yourself.”
When talking more on the Cowboys finding the right players this offseason to fit into their scheme, we touched briefly on the “fitting players in your scheme or fitting your scheme to the players” conversation we have had in Dallas often.
“It’s a two-way street. It’s not one or the other. Obviously, if you can get the complete player you get the complete player, but I think one thing you notice is some guys have a certain type of production in one scheme, but he may have much better production in another, and that’s how you can tell who’s made for what. A lot of it is like, how can somebody play into this? How does the scheme play into someone’s strengths? Some schemes are built for certain body types and vise-versa.”
We then moved on to address the run defense woes in Dallas over the last few years. I asked what he thought the key aspects are to a quality run defense and how the Cowboys run defense can improve in 2026. His response should really excite fans.
“My opinion is always going to surround a bunch of space and vertical seams. If you look at the Cowboys tape from last year, they got a ton of penetration, but it’s tough when you create a bunch of seams because the running back has a lot of options. Versus condensing space and being able to rally guys to the football. It’s tough when you have a lot of space, because you might have won your gap, one-gap, one-man type of stuff, you might have done your job, but those type of defenses really, really drag on that particular player who want to make that play.
But a lot of teams would scheme themselves to not run towards Kenny (Clark), their not running towards Quinnen (Williams), it’s all access to another vertical scheme that was created by someone else. It’s a high-risk-high-reward type of defense that Dallas used to play, but the defense we’re going to play is a lot more condensed space. We’re eating up blocks, we’re eating up space. We’re getting penetration of course – that’s how the Fangio defense has actually evolved, there’s a lot more penetration that’s happening. It’s getting penetration but reducing space.
Whether it be my body, someone else’s body, or an offensive lineman’s body, somebody’s going to take up those gaps, to where the ball has to bounce and our secondary run support will come in and be able to finish those plays.“
To close things out, we talked about what has impressed Ogbonnia so far about this 2026 Dallas Cowboys team.
“We haven’t spent a lot of time on the field yet, but I would say in meetings and just the overall vibe with the staff and players is just, they’re definitely building a sense of of camaraderie. Obviously, Schotty, you know is newer, one of the things he’s really been emphasizing is the brotherhood and competition, and being your brothers keeper – and you can feel it throughout the building.
You can tell with Schotty, with how he operates is very team first, team oriented. Very player led type of space for him, and the players react very well to that. We react very well to those types of coaches and you can feel it with everyone. You feel it from the special teams, you feel it from (Nick) Sorenson, you feel it from CP, you feel it from Schotty. It’s one of those things that makes you feel like you want to be apart of it. It makes you feel happy to be here.”
The information that came from this interview was top tier. Otito Ogbonnia is slated to play a big role for the Cowboys this season and after speaking with him it’s hard to not get excited about what’s to come.
