Dallas Cowboys Draft: 7 different cornerbacks in 7 different rounds

Paulson Adebo, Stanford

Value: Fair with caution

Entering the 2019 season, Paulson Adebo was one of the top cornerbacks in college football. As a redshirt freshman, he displays good ball skills and athletic ability that translated into four interceptions and 17 pass deflections. His instincts in zone coverage were seemingly elite and the ball production spoke for itself.

The 2019 season transpired and even though Adebo almost had a similar season statistically, a game against UCF seemingly opened a can of worms about his ability to cover in man coverage after Gabriel Davis had a terrific game against the redshirt sophomore. The season came to a close and the hype around Adebo was dying. A return to college was on the table until, well…

Adebo opted out of the 2020 college football season. Unfortunately for fans who wanted to see a potential resurgence, the Dallas, TX native decided to focus on draft preparation. For evaluators, they have to ask the tough question: how confident can a team be drafting a cornerback who hasn’t played in a season and whose best season was three seasons ago?

Dallas might value Adebo’s skill set than other teams, which could be nice as the team can let him fall the third round and scoop him accordingly. What would Dallas value that makes them pull the trigger?

At the line of scrimmage, he displays solid competitive and physical toughness and good play strength to jam receivers of all sizes. He displays solid jam technique and punch location which can disrupt adequate-sized receivers. In press coverage he is good at matching the footwork of opposing receivers at the line of scrimmage; unfortunately, that doesn’t always hold up in the route stem as he incorrectly doesn’t pay attention to the opposing receivers’ hips on double moves causing him to get beat. (Doesn’t happen often but it’s a bad habit to pay attention to)

Adebo displays solid explosiveness which can negatively impact in off-man coverage as he doesn’t have the instincts and explosiveness to jump out of his break to transition and close the passing window. However, he does display some ability to play off zone displaying good instincts to read the QBs eyes and solid route recognition to match the receiver in his zone.

With eight interceptions and 27 pass deflection to his name in college, there really aren’t too many questions regarding his ball skills. While this likely plays to the Cowboys tune, he isn’t the most consistent at turning his head and tracking the ball in man coverage especially if he gets beat in the receiver’s route stem.

In all, Adebo is a solid zone coverage cornerback who displays ample athletic ability and play strength, but not enough to play in off coverage consistently. You can see why the Cowboys MAY be interested in bringing him back to his hometown?