Nakobe Dean #17 of the Philadelphia Eagles could leap tot he Cowboys in free agency.
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Nakobe Dean #17 of the Philadelphia Eagles could leap tot he Cowboys in free agency.
If there was any place that the Dallas Cowboys probably could not afford to see players fall off the depth chart here in the 2026 offseason, it was at linebacker, where the on-ball and off-ball group combined consisted of DeMarvion Overshown, 2025 fifth-round pick Shemar James, and 2024 third-rounder Marist Liufau.
But coach Brian Schottenheimer’s revelation on Thursday that the Cowboys will be moving Liufau to outside linebacker, where he probably will continue to struggle to find snaps, means that Dallas now has exactly two inside linebackers on the roster, Overshown and James. Considering the fact that James was obviously overwhelmed in his first season and that Overshown has not managed to stay healthy in any of his three NFL seasons, it’s clear that this is a position at which the Cowboys need considerable help.
There will be top-flight linebackers available in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft, and it is very possible the Cowboys add one that way. But they’ll need to hit the free-agent market, too, and there’s an obvious candidate at the top of market for the team: Nakobe Dean, the current Eagles starter who could be poached by new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Cowboys to ‘Pursue’ Nakobe Dean
That’s according to longtime veteran Cowboys beat reporter Clarence Hill of DLLS Cowboys, who wrote on Twitter/X: “Look for the Cowboys to pursue Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean in free agency. He knows Christian Parker’s scheme.”
Parker, of course, came to the Cowboys as the new defensive coordinator from Philadelphia, where he had been the defensive backs coach. Dallas has spent the past month filling out its defensive staff, which was important work, but not nearly as important as filling out the defensive roster for a team that was 32nd in the NFL in points allowed last season, and 30th in yardage allowed.
Dean could be ideal not only because of his talent, but because of his knowledge of the Vic Fangio system that Parker wants to install. He does have a red flag because of injuries–Dean played 17 games as a rookie but only 30 in the last three seasons as he dealt with injuries, especially a torn patellar tendon in the playoffs more than a year ago. But Dean was the green dot linebacker for Fangio this past season.
Linebackers Will Be ‘Physical’
The one positive the Cowboys have when it comes to needing a linebacker (or two) is that it’s a position that is relatively easy to fill without overspending in free agency. Dean will be a popular target around the league–and the Eagles could well push to keep him–but even with a bustling market for his services, Spotrac only projects his market value at $32 million over four years, or $7.9 million per year.
He is an active, high-motor player, which fits the mold of what new linebackers coach Scott Symons wants.
Said Symons: “No. 1, we’re gonna be physical and a group that’s not gonna turn it down. … The first thing we’re gonna bring is to be a physical group, be dominant against the run, get off blocks, and be productive all-the-way-around linebackers. … We’re not gonna compromise how hard we play, every single play.”