Potential Cowboys FA target Bobby Wagner makes the Top 100
Wagner was voted as the No. 81 best player overall by his peers. Every year, NFL players vote for the Top 100 players in an exercise marketed by the league. Though a highly subjective way of ranking players, it’s a fun way to celebrate the best players in the league.
“The timeless linebacker continues to rack up standout seasons at the tail end of his Hall of Fame career,” writes Bobby Kownack of NFL.com. “Wagner has never fallen short of triple-digit tackles in a season through 14 years in the league, and he now sits third all time — just 59 behind Ray Lewis’ record — with 2,000, per Pro Football Reference.”
Wagner is a free agent who could fill the Cowboys’ most glaring defensive hole. At 36 years old, the veteran linebacker continues to produce at an elite level, and Dallas would be wise to seriously consider adding him before the 2026 regular season. I know many of you reading this are asking: Wait, a 36 year old linebacker?
The truth is his age has done little to slow him down. Let’s break it down. But first, here
Wagner’s durability and production defy his age
Wagner earned All-Pro honors every single year from 2014 to 2024, a stretch that includes six First-Team selections and five Second-Team nods. Four of those Second Team honors came from 2021 to 2024, meaning he collected them in his 30s. If the age concerns scare you, those accolades should calm your nerves.
The durability numbers are equally staggering. Wagner has played 16 or more games every season since 2019. He played and started 17 games for the Washington Commanders in 2025, logging 99% of their defensive snaps. That is otherworldly for any linebacker, let alone one who turned 36 in late June. Wagner has played at least 98% of his team’s defensive snaps nine times in his career, per Next Gen Stats.
And then there’s the run defense. NextGenStats credited Wagner with 69 run stops in 2025, the second most in the NFL. He is as steady of a quarterback for the defense as there has been in his or any era.
Why the Cowboys need what Wagner brings
If you look at the Cowboys’ defensive roster, the one thing they’re missing is that prototypical, big-sized middle linebacker. Dallas has Dee Winters and Marvin Overshown, both of whom are coverage-type linebackers whose specialty is speed. They’re run-and-hit players, and both raise concerns when it comes to imagining them as a thumper at middle linebacker.
Overshown in particular profiles better as a sideline-to-sideline missile than as someone asked to be physical in the box at MIKE. Signing Wagner gives the Cowboys a certified run defender, which is exactly what this defense is missing.