Dee Winters to Start for Dallas?

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Fri, Apr 24 2026 11:59 PM UTC

The Cowboys are trading a fifth-round pick to the 49ers for LB Dee Winters. He spent the past three years in San Francisco after arriving in Round 6 of the 2023 draft. Winters got starter duty last year thanks to Dre Greenlaw's departure in free agency.

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

Winters lands in a Dallas LB corps that struggled to find worthwhile starters last season.

The Cowboys should get a healthier DeMarvion Overshown this season. Overshown came off a devastating knee injury the previous November to play limited snaps in 2025. Otherwise, veterans Kenneth Murray and Logan Wilson disappointed. Shemar James posted decent numbers when pressed into duty but looks more like a backup.

Winters should be headed for a starting gig, barring a poor training camp. Whether he can deliver meaningful fantasy output for a typical IDP league, we'll see.

There's opportunity, but I'm not heading toward 2026 excited about Winters.

Dynasty Impact

Winters heads into the final year of his rookie contract. Whether the Cowboys try to extend him ahead of the season should tell us more about how much they like the LB.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.