Dallas Cowboys Complete 7-round Mock Draft: Fixing the trenches

Dallas Cowboys Mock Draft

Round 4, Pick 111

SAF Ar’Darius Washington

TCU

You may have noticed the Dallas Cowboys have yet to address their very questionable safety situation. Since the goal of this draft is rebuild the trenches, we’ll assume they used free agent energy at the safety position. But short-term free agent fixes don’t address the long-term health of the secondary. And Dallas has to invest in all layers of their defense in order for it to hold up.

Ar’Darius Washington is one of the top deep safeties in this draft class. The only reason he’s falling so far in prospect reports and mock drafts is because he’s 5-foot-8 and 179 lbs. That’s minuscule by NFL standards and falls well short (pun intended) of most NFL GM’s typical thresholds.

But it’s hard to deny this kid can play and he looks like someone who could offer an instant upgrade over Xavier Woods as the single high safety in Quinn’s Cover 1/3 defenses. He’s a willing tackler and competent in man coverage, but it’s the deep zone where he thrives.

He’s centerfield in Cover 1 and 3, and he’s a good fit deep alongside Donovan Wilson in Cover 2, 2-Man, and Quarters. This is an excellent football player who’s going to build momentum with personnel guys before the draft. Think about Darnell Savage’s rise two years ago.