The NFL draft is a month away, and for the Dallas Cowboys this means plenty of decisions loom ahead. One area the team must focus on is the cornerback position. Last season the Cowboys struggled to contain anyone down field, allowing 34 passing touchdowns and converting just 10 interceptions. This is an issue that no doubt must be resolved.
Many analysts believe the team will fix their defensive woes in the draft, but others have a different mindset. Trading their first-round pick? John Owning of the Dallas Morning News believe one North Texas native may be just the solution.
One trade that might make sense would be bringing in Detroit Lions corner Jeff Okudah. His collegiate success at Ohio State could translate into on-field production for Dallas. According to Owning, the same scheme he ran with the Buckeyes resembles that of Dallas’ new coordinator Dan Quinn.
“Okudah was a lockdown cornerback in 2019, allowing just a 43% completion percentage and a 42.5 passer rating when targeted to go with three interceptions and nine pass breakups despite facing myriad future NFL receivers throughout the season”
“Okudah was electric in the top-down zone coverage in the Buckeye’s Cover 3 base defense, as he took away route concepts he was going to face.”
In 2020, Okudah started just six games and managed just one interception to go with 38 allowed receptions. While the current Lion failed to impress his rookie season, the belief is that he was not fit for his team’s defensive system. With Detroit moving on to a new head coach in Dan Campbell, perhaps they’d be interested in giving him an additional shot at building his core roster in his image.
With the Cowboys, Quinn is projected to run a majority of Cover 3, something that should assist the current Lion to see the ball from diverse spots on the field.
Okudah has shown the ability to excel defending the run. This season he finished in top ten of tackles by cornerbacks and was at the top of the league in run stops.
Okudah could be looked at as a better prospect than any of the draft’s group of corners and if so, Dallas may be wise to kick the tires on the idea of swapping this year’s first rounder for last year’s star prospect at the position.
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