Later this month, the Dallas Cowboys will depart for training camp in Oxnard, California, as they officially start the 2026 campaign, looking to crack the postseason for the first time since 2023.

In the Cowboys Depth Chart series, we will take a look at each position group to determine which players are safe, on the bubble or have work to do in terms of making the 53-man roster coming out of training camp in late August.

In the span of one year, the defensive tackle group has gone from a glaring hole on the defensive side of the ball to now one of the team’s best position groups.

Here is a look at the defensive tackles heading into training camp.

⚡ Cowboys Depth Chart series:

→Quarterbacks: Fierce QB competition behind Dak Prescott

→Running backs: Big role on tap for winner of RB2 battle

→Tight ends: Emerging talent could crack top of group

→Inside linebackers: Little depth to be found

SAFE (5)

• Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Otito Ogbonnia, Jonathan Bullard, LT Overton

Is there a better defensive tackle group in the NFL than the Dallas Cowboys? A strong case could be made that the answer is no.

After failing to land Quinnen Williams when they were shopping Micah Parsons last August, the Cowboys finally landed their big fish before the trade deadline for a first- and second-round pick. Now, the four-time Pro Bowler will look to return to his dominant ways for a defensive interior with a lot of potential. In seven games with the Cowboys last season, Williams accounted for 1.5 sacks and 21 total tackles. But now that he is able to participate fully in the offseason with his new teammates, the expectations are much higher for one of the team’s most prized possessions.

A lot of the same things could be said for Kenny Clark, as he was uprooted from Green Bay less than a week before the start of the 2025 season when he was shipped to Dallas in the Parsons trade. While he did have some splash plays last season, the potential for Clark in 2026 is much higher with an actual runway to lead into the season with the offseason program and training camp.

The large reshuffling in the defensive tackle room over the last year also includes trading away Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas in the span of an hour in April. Part of the thinking behind those moves was the confidence in new additions Otito Ogbonnia and Jonathan Bullard.

Ogbonnia won’t be the pass rush world-beater that’s expected from others in the room (just a half-sack in four years in the NFL), but his run game value as a 3-tech makes him a useful rotational piece on early downs to allow the pass-rushing interior bodies to be fresher on passing downs.

Bullard has positional flex in the interior with the ability to play anywhere from a true nose-tackle spot to the 5-tech spot just inside the tackle. An under-the-radar offseason addition for the Cowboys, Bullard’s 10 years of experience will give the rotational group a high floor in the interior.

The positional versatility of rookie fourth-round pick LT Overton could fit him into multiple boxes, but we will place him into the defensive tackle mix for the sake of consistency. Expect Overton to be moved all around the defensive line, but the majority of his snaps should come as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end with a pass-rushing outside linebacker on his outside shoulder.

ON THE BUBBLE (1)

• Jay Toia

The questions around 2025 seventh-round pick Jay Toia will be if he’s taken any sort of step forward and if the Cowboys’ personnel decision-makers will make room for him on the roster. Taking six interior bodies could make sense in a 3-4 defense, but they won’t do it just to do it if Toia hasn’t shown any progression.

There was initially some light optimism in what Toia could offer as a rookie, but it never really manifested in 2025, as he appeared in just five games and combined for three tackles.

WORK TO DO (3)

• D.J. Withers, Tommy Dunn, Kelvin Gilliam

The three rookie undrafted free agent signings have a massive uphill battle to climb to make the 53-man roster, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be heated competition for a spot on the practice squad.

D.J. Withers has a bit more positional flex from his time at Kansas, as his 6-foot-4, 255-pound frame offers some intrigue at defensive end. His athleticism in multiple spots allowed him to combine for 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over his last two seasons with the Jayhawks.

Also a Kansas product, Tommy Dunn is a bigger versatile piece at 6-foot-3, 277 pounds who will be experimented with in different spots along the defensive front during training camp and preseason. Over the past two seasons, Dunn combined for seven tackles for loss and four sacks.

After spending three seasons at Oklahoma, Kelvin Gilliam transferred to Virginia Tech for his final two seasons, and he found more consistent production with the Hokies. His 69 tackles in 25 games in Blacksburg in different spots along the defensive line allow him to enter training camp with proven production under his belt.

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