The Dallas Cowboys have made it apparent that cornerback is the apple of their eye in next week’s 2020 NFL draft. Vice president Stephen Jones hinted as much in his radio appearance on Tuesday, when he commended the team’s efforts to fill holes at virtually every other need and then saying the team still has work to do.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that the team must use their first-round pick, No. 17 overall on corner. Not if one subscribes to the BPAPN theory that seems to explain the team’s draft philosophies over the last decade. Best player available at a position of need is a phrase I coined years ago that explains a team has a handful of positional needs they rank as Tier 1. They then select the best available player from that group. Corner is a need, but the team also needs a long-term safety, an edge rusher and one could consider wideout as well. ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr. took this approach in his recent mock draft, sending Dallas a safety in Round 1 and a corner in Round 2.
Kiper uses the Cowboys pick at No. 17 to select Alabama safety Xavier McKinney, then turns around at No. 51 to select TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney. McKinney solves the long-term issue at safety, as the Cowboys projected two starters (free-agent signing Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and incumbent Xavier Woods) are only on the books for one year. Gladney solves a similar issue as Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis are also in the final years of their deals.
Positional scarcity means taking a WR early in a loaded draft class may not be the wisest use of finite resources and the edge rusher position seems to be devoid of surefire successes, even in the uncertain world of draft projections.
17. Dallas Cowboys
Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama | Highlights
McKinney called me out last week because I didn’t rank him as my No. 1 safety. I have Antoine Winfield Jr. just a little bit higher because of his versatility to play slot corner. But McKinney is the best pure safety in this class, and he’d be a great fit in Dallas, which has some talent on defense but lost starters Byron Jones, Robert Quinn, Maliek Collins and Jeff Heath. The Cowboys brought in Ha Ha Clinton-Dix for short-term help, but McKinney could be the future.
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Full Film vs LSU (2019)
51. Dallas Cowboys
Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU | Highlights
This means I’m going all secondary for the Cowboys, for whom I grabbed safety Xavier McKinney in Round 1. With Byron Jones off to Miami in free agency, Gladney could challenge to start on the outside with Anthony Brown and Chidobe Awuzie. Gladney’s 26 pass breakups over the past two seasons were the most in the entire FBS.
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Full Film vs Texas (2019)
Some would feel this double-dip in the secondary would be a coup. After Jeff Okudah of Ohio State, there are a wide range of opinions on how the rest of the cornerback group shakes out, but many have Gladney as the second or third-best remaining corner, so it may be a stretch to project him at No. 51.
Kiper had five corners off the board in Round 1 (not including Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. going at No. 24 whom he classifies as a slot hybrid). He also had another two corners go off the board before Gladney in the second round.
3. Okudah
12. C.J. Henderson
24. AJ Terrell
25. Jaylon Johnson
31. Noah Igbinoghene
38. Kristin Fulton
46. Damon Arnette
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