Dallas Cowboys 7-Round Mock Draft: Dan Final Edition

Round 2 – Juan Thornhill – Safety – Virginia

I know everyone wants the name to be Johnathan Abram, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, or Taylor Rapp but they kept going off the board to the Browns, Packers, San Francisco, or the Colts. Although Gardner-Johnson was the second most name picked. I believe a safety will be picked here, and Thornhill just kept being the name available and the best player available at the time.

Thornhill has ball skills that this defense simply does not have. His best ability is to track the ball, highpoint the ball, and play the ball. Simply put, he creates turnovers. While I think the Cowboys will want a strong safety, the ability of Xavier Woods to play either position allows for this pick to work. He is smart, takes good angles, and is a willing tackler, but not a big hitter by any stretch.

What Thornhill will need to work on his is tackling and playing in a press coverage when the time is called. However, his ability to play the ball and football intelligence could allow him to switch with Woods to create favorable matchups. In this pass happy NFL of today, Thornhill is a playmaker, something the Dallas Cowboys need in their secondary.

As John Owning said in his recent article about Thornhill (found here), “Thornhill will be an asset in coverage from a variety of alignments, including in the box to defend shallow zones, in the slot to provide off-man coverage, single-high to defend the deep middle and as a split safety to defend a deep half.” Thornhill is versatile in pass coverage, and that is something the Cowboys have not had at the safety position for a while.