FRISCO, Texas – With a week to go before the NFL Draft, the Cowboys are continuing to make additions on the offensive line, agreeing to terms with former Browns offensive lineman and Garland native Hakeem Adeniji.
Adeniji, 27, has been in the NFL for five seasons with three different teams. He most recently signed with Cleveland in March of 2024 before being placed on injured reserve in August for a knee injury, where he'd spend the entire season.
His career began in Cincinnati back in 2020, when the Bengals picked him with the first pick in the sixth round of the draft out of Kansas. He'd play at tackle and guard for the Bengals in three seasons there, starting 15 games, including starting at guard in the Bengals' Super Bowl LVI appearance.
After Cincinnati waived Adeniji in August of 2023, the Minnesota Vikings signed him to their practice squad two days later, and later to the active roster in October. He appeared in just four games in the 2023 season, all on the field goal/extra point special teams unit.
Adeniji was an ironman during his collegiate career in Kansas, immediately becoming the starting left tackle when he got to campus and going on to start in all 48 games played in four years. He was a member of the All-Big 12 second team in 2018 and bumped up to the All-Big 12 first team in 2019.
The Cowboys have now signed three external free agents on the offensive line with the addition of Adeniji, joining Saahdiq Charles and Robert Jones from earlier points in the offseason.
The right guard position is still up for grabs, with Adeniji possessing the ability to play at both tackle and guard for Dallas. He'll likely be battling Charles, Jones, Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass for the vacancy left by Zack Martin, as well as backup jobs across the entire line.
With three new additions on the offensive line, something to keep an eye on in the draft is when and if the Cowboys will still decide to use a pick on an offensive lineman. They have in the last seven draft cycles, and very well could look that direction at any point when they go on the clock in a week's time.
