Donovan
Ezeiruaku
LB
#6
Donovan Ezeiruaku
#6LB
Dallas Cowboys
Height : 6' 2" · Weight : 255 lbs · Age : 23
NFL record
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | FF | FR | YDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Dallas Cowboys | 3 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Dallas Cowboys | 17 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Contract
Dallas Cowboys payroll →- 2026 cap number
- 2.31 M$
- Average per year
- 2.54 M$
- Total value
- 10.2 M$
- Seasons left
- 3 · through 2028
2026
2.31 M$
Guaranteed
2027
2.77 M$
Guaranteed
2028
3.23 M$
Partially guaranteed
Cap number: the season's salary plus the share of the signing bonus spread over the contract. Total value and average per year cover the whole contract, from its signing.
Advanced stats, 2026 Linebackers
NFL stats →2026 season, in progress (3 games played). The percentile ranks the player among regular linebackers: 90th means better than 90% of them.
Tackles
17
41th percentile
Tackles for loss
1
35th percentile
Sacks
0.5
58th percentile
Pressures
4
73th percentile
Interceptions
0
43th percentile
Passes defended
0
22th percentile
Yards allowed per target
10.0 yd
12th percentile
Passer rating allowed
108.3
22th percentile
Missed tackle rate
10.5 %
51th percentile
Defensive snaps
141
28th percentile
Regular season. Data: nflverse (play-by-play, snap counts), Next Gen Stats, Pro Football Reference. EPA: expected points added. CPOE: completion percentage over expected.
2026 end-of-season projection
NFL trends →Projected WAR
-0.2
Games
17
WAR 2026
-0.1
Games played
3
WAR already earned, plus his pace (WAR per game over the last three seasons, 60/25/15, pulled toward the group average) over his team's remaining games, given his availability so far.
Trend
→ Stable (-2)
- 2025-0.2 WAR · -0.012 per game
- 2026-0.1 WAR · -0.033 per game
The trend compares this season's WAR per game with last season's, weighted by games played.
Outlook, age included
+23 · 23 y.o. · usually still improving
It is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes.
Player ratings, 2026
All ratings →Ratings from 0 to 100, computed over four seasons from data, never by hand, against regulars in the same position group. 75 = established regular, 87 = 90th percentile, 95+ = elite.
OV · Overall
82
Very good
- TCK
- Tackling
- 69
- COV
- Coverage
- 76
- RDF
- Run defense
- 79
- PRS
- Pass rush
- 82
- DUR
- Durability
- 85
- EX
- Experience
- 25
Why these ratings?Hide details
- TCK — Tackling : Tackles made and missed tackles
- COV — Coverage : Yards and passer rating allowed per target
- RDF — Run defense : Run tackles and tackles for loss, per snap
- PRS — Pass rush : Pressures, sacks and QB hits, per snap
- DUR — Durability : Games played out of his team's, over several seasons
- EX — Experience : Seasons in the NFL
WAR and PAL Rating, 2026
How we rate →WAR: the EPA (expected points added) of every play, above replacement level, shared among those who made it, then converted to wins (35.3 points = one win). PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against regulars in the same group (50 = median).
WAR
-0.1
#60 of 87 regular linebackers
PAL Rating
56 / 100
#39 of 87 regular linebackers
Value Rating · 2025
57 / 100
2025 PAL (40) against 2026 salary: the contract's average per year (APY), $2.5M.PAL expected for this salary: 35Rookie-scale contract: a salary set by the draft, not the market.PAL: dimensions
Where WAR comes from (in wins)
Half the EPA of his sacks, interceptions, passes defended, forced fumbles, tackles for loss and QB hits, against his position's average per snap.
Yards allowed per target against his position's average, 0.12 points per yard (measured).
Replacement level: the share of defense the league spends on his position (by payroll), prorated by snaps.
How much better or worse than average his team's defense was (EPA allowed), minus what is already credited to players, prorated by snaps.
The individual part is splash plays and coverage. The rest is the position share and his team's defense, split by snaps played.
| Season | Team | G | WAR | PAL | OV | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | DAL | 3 | -0.1 | 56 | 82 | 17 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| 2025 | DAL | 17 | -0.2 | 40 | 83 | 39 | 9 | 2.0 | 0 |
Donovan Ezeiruaku in five questions
What are Donovan Ezeiruaku's stats in 2026?
Donovan Ezeiruaku has 0.5 sacks and 2 QB hits in 3 games in 2026.
How old and how tall is Donovan Ezeiruaku?
Donovan Ezeiruaku is 23 years old. He is 6'2" (188 cm) and weighs 256 lb (116 kg).
How good is Donovan Ezeiruaku?
Donovan Ezeiruaku produced -0.1 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2026 (season in progress), 67th of 87 players at his position in the NFL. His PAL rating is 56 out of 100: around average for his position.
What number does Donovan Ezeiruaku wear, and what team does he play for?
Donovan Ezeiruaku plays for Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, at LB, and wears number 6.
What is Donovan Ezeiruaku's projection for 2026?
Our projection has him at -0.2 WAR over the full 2026 season, based on his weighted recent seasons and age.
