Dallas Cowboys Draft: 7 Different Safeties in 7 Different Rounds

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 28: Xavier McKinney #DB52 of the Alabama Crimson Tide speaks to the media on day four of the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 28, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Xavier McKinney, SAF, Alabama

Round Grade: Late 1st

Value: Slight reach

This was a pretty easy decision. A lot has been made of LSU’s safety Grant Delpit tackling fairly recently and while the stock of Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr has surged, McKinney’s grasp on the SAF1 position continues to get stronger day-by-day.

McKinney was available for the Cowboys on 90 percent of my trials and he was the first safety off the board on all ten trials.

The Alabama safety is an extremely reliable chess piece for any defense. Not only was he asked to play deep as a rangy free safety, but also he was asked to play like a linebacker and as a nickel cornerback. Whether he needed to cover slot receivers one on one or rush the passer, McKinney was able to do just about any job.

However, for a man of many talents, he doesn’t stand out in one particular way. For a player that played near the line of scrimmage a lot, his tackling production was good but not great. For a player with generally good ball skills, he totaled five interceptions and 15 pass deflections in 28 games.

Overanalyzing stats leaves us missing out on good players, but I do have reservations as to whether drafting McKinney at pick 17 gives the team the most bang for their buck?

In an article from a few weeks back, I went over four defensive positions of need and the order priority each position should have for the Cowboys first-round selection. I very openly stated that I think the safety position should be the lowest priority for the team, and given what we know safety would probably be the last direction the team would go at seventeen.

This is why drafting a safety in the first round is a reach for the Cowboys no matter the player. The team has other more pressing issues and drafting someone who wasn’t a bonafide star in college at a position of low priority screams reach.

Of course, if McKinney has a rookie season comparable to Derwin James’s I’m going to look like a fool for writing this and there is a high probability of that happening. I don’t have an issue with McKinney being a Cowboys, it’s just a matter of at what price point.

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