Dallas Cowboys: Re-grading the 2018 draft class (round by round)

The Dallas Cowboys went back to the well at linebacker in the sixth round by selecting Chris Covington out of Indiana. Covington was seen as a depth piece for the linebacking corps with the hopes that his flashes at Indiana would develop into a key piece as a backup. What ended up happening was that Covington was out of the league in two years and only played in eight games, notching only three total tackles. There was some concern about him adjusting the NFL game, and in the end, the concerns proved true.

Covington was supposed to be a solid rotational piece for the Cowboys behind Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch. That did not happen and when the Cowboys switched staff, Covington was seen as replaceable. This was not a great pick by the Cowboys and probably fell into a category of them thinking highly of off-ball linebackers and a poor defensive scheme. When you add both of those things into a player who just couldn’t develop we see the result.

While the Cowboys have changed some of their thoughts about the position, I am not sure Covington would have a role in this version of the defense. Covington did end up on the Colts’ practice squad but was cut shortly afterward and has not been on a roster since 2020. There were better players on the board, and this was just a miss.

Individual Grade: F