Dallas Cowboys: Addressing the situation at cornerback (Draft and FA)
The Dallas Cowboys lost Chidobe Awuzie and with him, lost one of their starting outside corners. With Adoree Jackson signing with the Giants, the free agency market is starting to look a little thin in top talent. There are still some names out there the Dallas Cowboys could go after, but they could also turn toward the draft for more.
Richard Sherman is probably not an option because a year ago he called Jerry Jones out about his stance on the anthem and the protests. But, there are still some names that could be a stop-gap.
Before we get into some of the options, let’s acknowledge the Cowboys will probably need both an outside and inside corner. Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis are both on the roster, however, the depth behind them is paltry. The Cowboys re-signed Lewis, however, his coverage stats are fairly average and both he and Brown could be upgraded. Let’s go into some options both at outside and inside.
The Dallas Cowboys have a glaring need at cornerback so let’s look at some options…
In the first two rounds are some talented outside corners that offer various skillsets for the Dallas Cowboys. With a back injury seemingly dropping Caleb Farley, the top three corners are now Jaycee Horn, Patrick Surtain II, and Greg Newsome.
Surtain is the most NFL ready of the bunch and while he may have the lowest ceiling, he probably has the highest floor. He is a steady corner who doesn’t really flash or looks to have long speed but is technically sound and has a high football IQ.
Horn looks like he has better ball skills than Surtain and flashes physicality against bigger receivers. He will sometimes miss tackles and has been guilty of trying to guess instead of just playing his position. His ceiling looks to be higher but needs some work to get there.
Newsome is a name climbing boards. He is a player that will flash ball skills and in short spaces is very good. However, his long speed and durability are questions as is his overall physicality due to his size. Newsome might need the most work and teams will have to look at his medicals as he has never played a full season.
Other names are Eric Stokes who also has some questions at the top of routes in speed and closing, but looks to be technically sound in press coverage. Kelvin Joseph will need work as his inexperience shows up, but when he is on his game is really good. Asante Samuel Jr. can play both positions but will struggle to find the ball, however, is good in press coverage as well. Ifeatu Melifonwu is another name rising boards and if he can get his feel for spacing has the tools to be a steal in the first two to three rounds.