Dallas Cowboys Draft: What if Jerry Jeudy falls to Pick 17?
By Reid Hanson
The way it looks now, the Dallas Cowboys’ team needs may force the franchise to skip over the best players available in the upcoming NFL Draft, and pick a cornerback out of need.
With the presumed loss of Byron Jones, the Dallas Cowboys have effectively painted themselves into a corner. Since free agency offers zero cornerbacks the quality of Byron Jones, Dallas is going to have to rely on the 2020 NFL Draft to fill their CB1 post. And to get a CB1, they’re going to need to address cornerback on Day 1 (and even that doesn’t assure them a darn thing).
Based on the current roster and the importance of coverage in today’s NFL, if the Cowboys don’t find a top-end cornerback in the NFL Draft to replace Jones, they are going to be in deep trouble next season. This is not the situation you want to be in heading into the draft.
After a killer NFL Combine performance, C.J. Henderson is fast becoming a favorite pick of Cowboys Nation. The only problem is, he’s the favorite a few other teams as well, and those teams happen to pick before Dallas at 17.
And even if he is available, what if he’s not the best player available?
Henderson isn’t the only guy who moved around on the Big Board after the combine. There’s a handful of players who rocketed up draft boards as of late, and because of that, someone attractive is sure to slide.
One elite player who’s been falling a bit is WR Jerry Jeudy. The best route runner in the draft, the 6-foot-1 Jeudy is one of those rare receivers that can come in and be a No. 1 WR on Day 1. He realistically has the ceiling of Amari Cooper.
Playing primarily out of the slot at Alabama, Juedy would be an immediate starter inside on the Dallas Cowboys, regardless of what happens with Cobb. His stock took a slight hit at the Combine, but that’s only because it was so high to start with and fellow WR Henry Ruggs blew everyone away. What seemed unfathomable before is now a distinct possibility today.
So what happens if the Dallas Cowboys are on the clock and Jerry Jeudy is sitting there available? What happens if Dallas painted themselves into a corner (so to speak) and feel obligated to draft a CB for need, rather than pick the best player available? All because they made suspect decisions heading into the Draft.
I understand NFL teams draft BPA *according to need*, but the way CB looks for the Dallas Cowboys, it looks like they'll be picking by need and need alone. Can they afford to skip CB in the 1st round? What happens if no CBs are worthy in the 2nd? #CowboysNation #CowboysDraft
— Reid D Hanson (@ReidDHanson) March 10, 2020
It seems Dallas is intent in bringing Amari Cooper AND Randall Cobb back. Say they do that. What do they do if a Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs falls to them at 17? Do they do the smart thing and pick best player available still? Say Kinlaw falls and they draft him in the first. Now what happens if there’s a run on CBs in Round 2 and none are available then? Now they could be in REAL trouble.
That’s the problem when you go into the NFL Draft needing a No. 1 anything. You can’t afford to wait. You have to address the position first – draft board be damned. They can sign all the placeholders they want in free agency.
They’re still going to need a No. 1 CB before the season starts.
Related Story. Top-5 CBs the Cowboys should consider in free agency. light
It’ll be the same if Javon Kinlaw falls or K’Lavon Chaisson falls. They all look like better prospects than C.J. Henderson. They just play the wrong position.
Note: I’m actually a pretty big C.J. Henderson fan and I’d be happy to walk away with him. I just think the possibility is someone could pick him before Dallas goes on the clock. I also see great players like Kinlaw, Chaisson, and Jeudy fall every year, and teams pass them over because their specific needs trumped the quality of the player.
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It seems like Byron Jones is pretty much guaranteed to be playing elsewhere. I’ve made peace with that. But without a viable CB1 option in free agency to replace him, I fear Dallas is either going to be required to use a first round pick on the position, or just neglect the importance of coverage altogether (remember, coverage has been found to be more important than pass-rush in more than a few ways).
It’s possible the Cowboys’ coverage next season under Mike Nolan won’t rely on individual talent in the secondary as much as before, but it’s hard to envision this defense being successful without a decent CB1 to match up with the opponent’s best WR.
Dan Ruppert just looked into draft options this morning. He broke down the best CBs for the Cowboys in each round of the draft. It’s a must read.
Next. In a WR rich draft, why bring back Randall Cobb?. dark
What happens if Jerry Jeudy falls to the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 Draft? I’m not sure, but passing over a superior player in order to fill a self-imposed need is a great way to hurt the log-term health of a team.
- Published on 03/10/2020 at 12:01 PM
- Last updated at 03/11/2020 at 14:49 PM