Dallas Cowboys Complete Mock Draft (V 4.11): Overhaul the Secondary
By Reid Hanson
Round 4, Pick 133: FS Tedric Thompson, Colorado
Tedric Thompson is a player I’ve been tracking nearly all offseason. The 6’1” 205lbs safety from Colorado has been moving up draft boards despite his average combine/pro day numbers. Why? The film.
Tedric Thompson is a baller. Last season he broke up 16 passes while intercepting seven. As a ball-hawking centerfielder he would allow the Dallas Cowboys to comfortably move Byron Jones to man-cover some of the better tight ends, without feeling exposed on the backend.
His timed speed of 4.60 in the 40-yard dash is largely what’s keeping him from being a day 2 pick. Typically you’d like your deep safety to be faster than that when you play single high safety as much as Rod Marinelli does with the Dallas Cowboys.
But film doesn’t lie.
Tedric makes decisions so quickly he makes up for any lack of speed. Throw in his superior ball skills– ability to high point, box out, and track and you have a player who opponents will fear.
He fits in as a great cover 2 safety and solid single-high centerfielder. In other words, he’d be a great upgrade/replacement to the now-departed J.J. Wilcox (who played 574 snaps last season). Adding Thompson to Kevin King this season would give the Dallas Cowboys quite a defensive upgrade in the secondary, even with the loss of Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Barry Church, and Wilcox.
With Sidney Jones back in 2018, the 2017 overhaul has the potential for brilliance.