The Dallas Cowboys hit a homerun with the No. 51 pick in the 2020 NFL draft when they selected cornerback Trevon Diggs out of Alabama. He missed four weeks with a broken foot, but made 11 starts and became the first Cowboys rookie defender to lead the team outright in pass breakups (14) and interceptions (3).
The Cowboys have some decisions to make in the secondary this offseason, though. Two of their top cornerbacks, Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis, are set to be unrestricted free agents next month, potentially leaving a big hole to fill on the third level of the Cowboys defense. Dane Brugler of The Athletic released his latest mock draft, and he has America’s Team getting more cornerback help in the first-round in the form of Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II.
Brugler sees Surtain as a fit for new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s scheme and a plug-in starter.
“The Cowboys could go Rashawn Slater here or possibly a front-seven defender, but cornerback is currently a weak spot on the roster and Surtain would be a natural fit in Dan Quinn’s scheme. With a Pro Bowl father, he was groomed to play the position at a high level would be an immediate starter in Dallas playing alongside his former Alabama teammate Trevon Diggs.”
Diggs and Surtain were teammates for two seasons (2018, 2019) in Tuscaloosa. The former won a national title in 2017, while the latter was a member of the Crimson Tides undefeated title team of 2020.
The Cowboys second-round pick from a year ago had nothing but glowing praise for his former teammate back in December.
“That’s my little brother,” Diggs said. “He’s a great person, great player, competitive. He has everything that you look for in a corner. I’m really excited for him and what his journey is, and hopefully, I don’t know, we’ll see. But I’m really excited for him and wherever he ends up and wherever his journey takes him. He’s a real good person, a real good player, so whoever gets him is really lucky.”
Diggs and Surtain showed in 2019 how well they can play opposite each other. While Diggs received First-Team All-SEC and Third-Team All-American honors, Surtain had arguably his best collegiate campaign. He registered 42 tackles, eight pass breakups, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. This put his name at the top of the list of the best cornerbacks in the nation for 2020 and made him an early favorite to be selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Surtain had his struggles this season but still set career-highs in tackles for loss (3.5) and pass breakups (9). Also, he was a Unanimous All-American, selected First-Team All-SEC, and won the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award as a player who was rarely tested by opposing quarterbacks.
This isn’t the first time Surtain’s name has been linked to Dallas by a dratnik. Last month, he was named as the Cowboy’s first-round pick by ESPN’s Todd McShay in his first official mock draft.
The Cowboys could go in several directions with their pick in April, including offensive line, defensive tackle, or linebacker. However, if cornerback is the focus, and Surtain is on the board, it may be hard to choose another option.
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