Dallas Cowboys Draft: 7 different cornerbacks in 7 different rounds
Deommodore Lenior, Oregon
Value: Excellent
The senior from Los Angeles, California finds himself as the top cornerback to start the sixth. On his name alone he should go earlier but can you really fault AI for not recognizing a superior name?
The three-year starter has had a productive career helping anchor a talented defense to back-to-back Pac-12 championships in Eugene. In his career, Lenoir has six interceptions and 21 pass deflections to his name in addition to his 158 total tackles and four tackles for loss.
At 5-foot-11, 195 pounds Lenoir definitely doesn’t fit the height and length parameters of the Seattle 4-3 Under Cover 3 scheme, but in the sixth round it doesn’t take much production and general skill to sacrifice a coveted measurement.
Lenoir, coming from a zone heavy scheme, displays solid instincts when covering his third of the field displaying solid range and transition quickness as a result of his good lateral quickness and mental processing. He displays the ability to read and react to the opposing QBs eyes especially in off coverage which allow him to match routes and contest the ball at the catch point. (Not necessarily in the air, just in general)
Lenoir displays solid press coverage ability using his good change of direction to mirror the footwork of opposing wide receivers at the line of scrimmage and displays some ability to force the wide receiver in the opposite direction.
Much like his teammate Jevon Holland, the reason for their relative falls in the draft are due to their athletic ability. Lenoir can match the receiver at the beginning of the route in man coverage pretty well, but if a receiver is able to stack him, he doesn’t display the athletic ability to win in a trailing position as a result of his adequate acceleration.
Lenoir is a solid player that will likely be highly coveted in late rounds for his solid ball skills and zone instincts. With the increase in zone coverage across the league, it has allowed slower cornerbacks to win more frequently. Surely the Cowboys could recognize this as their defensive coordinator coached one of the best cornerbacks in history; that cornerback ran in the low 4.5s.