Cowboys acquire LB Dee Winters in a trade that nets the 49ers a 5th-round pick in the NFL draft

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys acquired linebacker Dee Winters in a trade with San Francisco on Friday night, sending the 49ers a fifth-round pick in this weekend’s NFL draft.

The Cowboys acknowledged linebacker remained a glaring need after taking Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence with their two first-round picks on the opening night of the draft.

Executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said acquiring a veteran would be among the options Dallas considered as it revamps one of the league’s worst defenses from 2025.

Winters, a 2023 sixth-round pick going into his fourth season, became expendable after the 49ers brought back Dre Greenlaw in free agency.

The 49ers add the 152nd overall pick, which leaves the Cowboys without a fifth-round choice. Dallas traded its other two fifth-rounders to Miami to move up one spot in the first round and draft Downs at No. 11. The Cowboys added two fourth-round choices while moving three spots down to 23 and selecting Lawrence.

It’s the second trade of the offseason between the longtime rivals, both deals involving expendable defensive players.

The Cowboys sent defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to San Francisco for a third-round pick in March. Odighizuwa was part of a logjam with Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark in the interior of the Dallas defensive front.

The pick Dallas acquired in the Odighizuwa trade, at 92nd overall, was the only one the Cowboys had on the second day of the draft Friday night. After the latest deal with the 49ers, Dallas had three fourth-round picks and a seventh-rounder on the final day Saturday.

The 49ers opened the second day of the draft by selecting Ole Miss receiver De’Zhaun Stribling at 33rd overall to start the second round. It was San Francisco’s first pick of this draft and one of eight the 49ers were set to have over the final two days.

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