Reports surfaced last week that the Dallas Cowboys are working out UFL defensive tackles Perrion Winfrey and DeVere Levelston — and some fans took it as a warning shot to Mazi Smith.
But if we dig a bit deeper, this isn’t a threat. It’s insurance.
Back on May 25, we outlined a critical truth: despite razor-thin depth at the 1-tech defensive tackle spot, the Cowboys showed no urgency to reinforce it. They didn’t go after key free agents. They didn’t trade for veteran help. They waited until the seventh round to draft Jay Toia — and that was it.
That tells us something: they still believe in Mazi.
Smith, now entering Year 3, played a lot of snaps last season. And while his stat sheet didn’t explode, context matters — he spent his rookie year being asked to drop 30 pounds and transition into a role that didn’t fully match his Michigan identity. Year 2 was about re-acclimating and re-learning how to impact the game at one of football’s hardest positions.
Behind him? Toia. Maybe Justin Rogers. That’s the full 1-tech depth chart. Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas are disruptive 3-techs — not A-gap anchors.
So why bring in Winfrey and Levelston? Competition. Pure and simple. These are floor-raising additions — a way to ensure that if Rogers, Toia, or Mazi Smith aren’t holding the line, Dallas has fallback options. It’s due diligence at one of the league’s toughest positions to find real difference-makers.
And The fact that Winfrey has a connection with defensive line coach, Aaron Whitecotton is worth paying attention to. He was a sought after 4th round draft prospect who dominated the college ranks at OU. He just had an unfortunate bout with some off the field stuff that derailed his career.
Now contrast that with how Dallas approached offensive line. Flooding the position all off-season with the additions of Robert Jones, Saahdiq Charles, and Hakeem Adeniji on top of having T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman. Then selecting Tyler Booker at 12 overall.
They made it clear: right guard was a problem, and they were aggressive in solving it.
That contrast is telling.
The same urgency at defensive tackle wasn't shown. Why? Because they believe Mazi Smith can make the leap. And if he does, it could answer the biggest remaining question on the roster:
Can they stop the run?
If the answer is yes, Mazi will be a huge reason why.