Rookie contracts are cheap; veteran contracts are expensive. A healthy NFL front office has to find a way to balance them both in order to construct a tenable roster. Flying below the radar in the whole thing and acting as the glue that binds it all together, is the NFL middle class.
Over the years, the Dallas Cowboys have done relatively well in finding middle-class solutions to their problems on defense. Reclamation projects, prove-it deals, and shots in the dark have produced some savory results. These low-risk, high-reward deals don’t always work out, but when they do, the entire roster tends to fall into place.
Over the offseason, the Cowboys added a few new faces on low-cost and low-commitment deals. If a few of them work out, they could a pivotal role in the defense’s ability to rebound this year. Based on early returns from training camp, here are the three biggest bargains in 2026
Otito Ogbonnia, DT
Added as a free agent in March, Ogbonnia came to Dallas with an uncertain role. At 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, Ogbonnia is large enough to play across the line. Despite obsessive pleas to force him in as nose tackle, the Cowboys have pegged him as an outside lineman in their 3-4. So far, it’s worked out, with Ogbonnia and Quinnen Williams flanking Kenny Clark as the down linemen.
At a cap charge of just $2,937,059, Ogbonnia is a fraction of the cost of the other two starters. He’s slated to fill an important starting role and will have the chance to earn a lot of money in free agency next year if he performs.
Cost: $2,750,000 APY
Otito Ogbonnia is impressing out here in Oxnard, and here he is blowing up a run play against the first team. #Cowboyspic.twitter.com/DJpPVOSARP
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) August 6, 2026
Dee Winters, ILB
Acquired in a late April trade with the San Francisco 49ers, Winters heads up a revamped linebacker unit in Dallas. Slated as a starter in the Cowboys’ first unofficial depth chart, Winters is just the seventh-highest paid linebacker (in APY) on the team. Even including the cost of the fifth-round pick used to add him, Winters is a massive bargain heading into 2026.
Cost: $933,333 APY plus pick No. 152 in the 2026 NFL draft
Cowboys’ first unofficial depth chart pic.twitter.com/4q9ZfMSjH4
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 11, 2026
Cobie Durant, CB
The Cowboys had a massive void on their defense when Jourdon Lewis unexpectedly left in free agency last offseason. Lewis brought skill and tenacity to a secondary that desperately needed it, and without him, things were never the same in Dallas.
Early impressions from Cobie Durant indicate he might do all that and more in 2026. Durant has been a leader and top performer since spring practices and even with the emergence of Shavon Revel and DaRon Bland in camp, Durant has been a star player in the secondary. With inside-outside ability and man-zone flexibility, Durant is the glue of this Cowboys’ secondary.
Cost: $4M APY
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: 3 cost-conscious Cowboys bargains on defense (Training Camp edition)