The 49ers have focused on the offensive side of the ball so far in free agency, with each of their three additions bolstering their attack, but they are reported to have made enquiries about a trade that would substantially boost their defensive front.
Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on Tuesday that the 49ers have called the Dallas Cowboys about a potential trade for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.
San Francisco needs to improve its interior pass rush this offseason. For all the progress made by Alfred Collins and CJ West in their rookie year, the 49ers’ interior pass rush was sorely lacking in 2025, exacerbating the troubles San Francisco had creating pressure off the edge following the loss of Nick Bosa to a torn ACL.
Odighizuwa would significantly improve San Francisco’s ability to disrupt the quarterback with interior rush.
Indeed, Odighizuwa made a huge impact for the Cowboys last year in that regard. Despite only registering 3.5 sacks, he ranked sixth among interior defensive linemen with at least 100 pass rush snaps with 52 pressures and finished the year 10th with a pass rush win rate of 13.6%, per Pro Football Focus.
In other words, the 49ers would be adding a defensive tackle who, by those measures, was a top-10 interior pass rusher last season.
Odighizuwa is heading into the second year of a four-year, $80 million contract he signed with the Cowboys last offseason.
Dallas, per Harris, met with Odighizuwa’s representation at the Scouting Combine to discuss a contract restructure. His salary cap number for 2026 is $20.75 million.
A restructure has yet to come to pass and, with Dallas adding Otito Ogbonnia to a defensive tackle room that also features Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, the 49ers may be able to offer Odighizuwa more playing time than he would be set to receive in Dallas.
San Francisco’s decision to hire Matt Eberflus as its new assistant head coach/defense also lends credence to the 49ers as a potential landing spot for Odighizuwa. Eberflus was the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys last season.
One possible issue is that Odighizuwa is coming from a defense in Dallas that deployed a three-man front.
Yet, with Raheem Morris as defensive coordinator, the 49ers might become a little more varied in their approach up front, with John Lynch indicating as such at the Combine, per David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard.
Said Lynch:
“We’re a four-man front team, but we dabbled in a lot of five-man fronts last year. Raheem’s done a lot more of that because he’s done some 3-4 stuff, so there’ll be some different body types and things, but just small tweaks. The positive thing for me is that it widens the sample size [of prospective players]. The guy that wasn’t there because we thought he was more of a 3-4 outside ‘backer, maybe there’s a spot for him now.”
Yet Odighizuwa has also played as part of a four-man front, and there is nothing about the play of a defender who blends violent hands with explosiveness off the snap to suggest he would not be able to make the transition to San Francisco’s defense.
The 49ers’ depth chart at defensive tackle is sparse. Outside of Collins and West, the only other players they have under contract at that position are Sebastian Valdez and Evan Anderson, both of whom are on futures deals. They elected not to tender Kalia Davis and have not yet brought back Kevin Givens, while Jordan Elliott signed with the Tennessee Titans.
Simply put, the 49ers are wiping the slate clean on the defensive interior, and the addition of Odighizuwa would put them in a much better spot on pass rush downs, with the prospect of him lining up next to Mykel Williams as part of the 49ers’ NASCAR package a very tantalising one.
Of course, the Niners won’t be keen to give up too many picks this year, with all seven of their selections inside the top 150, and Odighizuwa is slated to get more expensive. He is due a base salary of $20 million in 2027 and 2028. However, with none of that money guaranteed, the downsides of a potential deal are limited, given the much-needed pass-rush upside Odighizuwa would bring.
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