The Dallas Cowboys finished 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs in the 2025 season, despite acquiring players like George Pickens and Quinnen Williams.
Despite having one of the best offenses in the league, the team ranked among the worst defenses. They’re predicted to fix that by signing one of the best edge rushers in the 2026 free agent class, who has racked up 81 career sacks.
Dallas Cowboys Predicted To Add Veteran Edge Rusher to Weak Defense
PFSN’s Ryan Guthrie predicted the landing spots of some of the league’s best free agents in this coming 2026 offseason. Guthrie predicts that the Cowboys will add to their defensive line by signing former Cincinnati Bengal Trey Hendrickson.
He included the following as an explanation for the signing:
“Dallas already added Quinnen Williams, but balance is still needed. Instead of paying top dollar for a receiver, they invest in pass rush.
Hendrickson made four straight Pro Bowls in Cincinnati and recorded 17+ sacks in back-to-back seasons earlier in his career. Even in a down year statistically (4 sacks), he posted an elite 86.4Â score, ranking 12th on the PFSN NFL EDGE Impact metrics. The Cowboys need that consistency.”
In PFSN’s NFL Defensive Impact Metric (DEFi), the Cowboys ranked dead last in the league with an impact score of 62.1 and a letter grade of D-. Matt Eberflus was the defensive coordinator of the horrendous unit, and he was fired at the end of the season. The unit was allowing the most points per game (30.1), the most passing yards per game (251.5), and was among the worst at sacking the quarterback, with only 35 sacks. Hendrickson would be a considerable upgrade for the struggling defense.
As Guthrie mentioned, Hendrickson ranked 12th in PFSN’s NFL Edge Rusher Impact Metric (EDGEi). He finished the season with an impact score of 86.4 and a letter grade of B. Unfortunately, he played only 7 games this season due to an injury, but he recorded 4 sacks, 1 pass defended, and 1 forced fumble.
In 117 career games, he has 81 sacks, 16 passes defended, 15 forced fumbles, 16 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hits.
Here’s how the rest of Dallas’ edge rushers compared to Hendrickson in PFSN’s EDGEi: Jadeveon Clowney finished first with an impact score of 81.8, then Donovan Ezeiruaku with an impact score of 72.2, and next was Sam Williams with an impact score of 69.5, followed by James Houston with an impact score of 65.5, and lastly Dante Fowler Jr. with an impact score of 65.0.
Hendrickson has the potential to be a disruptor and difference-maker on the Cowboys’ defensive line, especially when paired with another All-Pro player like Williams.
