The Dallas Cowboys acquired linebacker Dee Winters from the San Francisco 49ers during Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Dallas sent its No. 152 overall pick in the fifth round in exchange for the 25-year-old defender. Winters addresses a key need at middle linebacker for the Cowboys.
FRISCO, Texas — On Friday night in the middle of the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick, No. 152 overall, to the San Francisco 49ers for linebacker Dee Winters. The move fills a vacancy at middle inside linebacker next to DeMarvion Overshown, following the departure of Kenneth Murray. The Cowboys had allowed 30.1 points per game in 2025, the most in the NFL and the second-most in franchise history, highlighting defensive struggles at the position previously manned by Murray, Jack Sanborn, and Logan Wilson. Winters, a 2023 sixth-round pick out of TCU, returns to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, his college stomping grounds and near his hometown of Brenham, Texas. He started all 17 games for San Francisco in 2025, leading the team with 101 tackles, along with one interception—a pick-six of Philip Rivers—five passes defensed, and eight tackles for loss. Across the last two seasons, he started 27 games. Entering the final year of his rookie contract with a $3.71 million cap hit, Winters offers a low-risk addition and a chance to start as the Cowboys' green dot middle linebacker. For the 49ers, the trade provides a pick one round higher than Winters' draft position and clears a path for 2025 third-round pick Nick Martin to start in 2026. Martin recorded 11 tackles in seven games as a rookie out of Oklahoma State. This marks the Cowboys' second trade with San Francisco in recent weeks, after sending defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa for a third-round pick. Dallas also added safety Caleb Downs and pass rusher Malachi Lawrence on Day 1.
