The Cowboys came into the draft needing help on defense wherever they could find it. The priority was to upgrade the pass rush and then upgrade the secondary that lost four contributors in free agency.
Dallas addressed the pass rush in the opening round selecting Taco Charlton from Michigan. He projects best to be a plus strong side edge rusher capable of getting 8 sacks per season. I compared him to former Cowboy Greg Ellis.
You can find my article breaking down Charlton's game here. Where does Taco Charlton fit in Dallas.
They addressed their secondary in the second round selecting Chidobe Awuzie from Colorado.
Awuzie has a compact frame who is one of the most physical corners in the draft. He is not afraid of contact nor mixing it up with receivers. He is a good tackler which is rare for a corner, able to blitz when lined up in the slot and providing solid coverage. He is comfortable playing on the line of scrimmage attacking the receiving or off the line in man coverage. He will look to make a play on the ball but he is not a playmaker who gets turnovers though totaling just three INTs during his career.
I project Awuzie to be a starter at cornerback on the outside week one and could slide inside to play nickel on passing situations. He was a weapon in college blitzing from the slot and causing impact plays behind the line of scrimmage. Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli would be wise to use him the same way in the NFL.
The Cowboys added another corner in the third round selecting Jourdan Lewis from Michigan.
Lewis is a smaller corner than Awuzie measuring just 5'10" and 188 pounds at the combine. He has plenty of talent to be a starting corner in the NFL who is one of the best in the country knocking passes away from the receiver. However he needs to improve his technique and keep his hands off the receiving downfield.
Below are some examples of what I mean.
Lewis is matched up against fellow third round pick Chris Godwin from Penn State at the bottom of the screen. He is matched up right on the nose of Godwin, he tries to get his hands on him but Godwin just easily gets a clean release and open on a crossing route.
In the NFL, Lewis has got to become more physical and use better press technique when he needs to prevent a clean release for the receiver like that. Remember the NFC East is home to some of the biggest and most physical receivers in the league.
He is again lined up on the nose of the receiver but allows a clean release to the inside on a go route. The throw hangs in the air and allows him to recover to get his hand in there to prevent the catch. However if he prevents the clean release at the line, the QB doesn't even look his way. In the NFL, a receiver with a step is open for a QB and they can fit in the ball in that space.
I project Lewis to be the third corner on the depth chart able to line up on the inside and perhaps on the outside assuming he improves his technique.
Dallas went away from the defense and selected wide receiver from North Carolina Ryan Switzer in the fourth round.
Basically, Switzer is a Cole Beasley clone. He measured just 5'8" and 181 at the combine which is just 7 pounds more than Beasley.
On film, the two are almost identical. Switzer is that quick slot receiver type who runs good routes, able to beat any defender in man coverage and has excellent hands. I like Switzer's long speed better as he was able to beat defenses up the seam and downfield with regularity in school. However the reason he was drafted was his value as a punt returner with 7 career TDs in college.
Dak Prescott's ability to convert 3rd downs (10th best in the NFL) was partly due to Beasley being a consistent option in the middle of the field. Now they have another option that can beat any defender in man coverage underneath and return punts effectively.
Jerry Jones and Co. returned to the defensive side of the ball in the 6th round trading away their 2018 5th round pick to select Xavier Woods, safety from Louisiana Tech. Dallas brought in Woods prior to the draft and reportedly would of been their selection had Switzer not been available in the 4th round.
Woods is a versatile safety who lined up all over the place at Louisiana Tech. He has the size of a corner at 5'11" and 197 pounds but he was used in a variety roles. He played down in the box as an extra run defender on early downs and then moving out to cover slot receivers on passing downs or trusted to man the middle of the field in obvious passing situations.
Bottom line, Xavier Woods is a playmaker at safety. He caused fumbles (6), caught INTs (14) and returned 2 of them for scores during his college career.
He is not without flaws though, he lacks long speed and cannot be left in man coverage in the NFL against any receiver with speed. Receivers were able to get over the top of him too often on film and that will be exposed in the NFL. His lack of size presents challenges whether he can continue to cause impact plays in the box against the run. He isn't a polished tackler, he needs to break down better in space and bring down players without just diving for their feet.
I project Woods to compete for a starting job next to Byron Jones at safety by seasons end but at the very least, he will see plenty of snaps in nickel and dime defense at deep safety to patrol the middle of the field. Keep in mind that Dallas likes to use Jones to eliminate the offenses best 3rd down receiving threat and Woods could allow them to be more aggressive on 3rd downs to get the opponent off the field.
Their next selection was Marquez White, cornerback from Florida State. This is a classic example during the later stages of the draft, you ignore the flaws of a prospect and instead focus on what they can do. Marquez White has good athleticism, fluid hips and able to transition from the backpedal to run downfield with ease. He can cover NFL receivers in man coverage next year. But his technique is poor, he is not physical with receivers and that will be a problem in this division. In addition, White simply wants nothing to do with run support, he is not aggressive in the least trying to bring down backs or receivers that aren't his man. They might have something if he takes to coaching, improves that technique and becomes just an average tackler willing to support his teammates in bringing down the ballcarrier.
In the 7th round, Dallas took Joey Ivie (IV) from Florida who is a puzzling prospect. Following the 2015 season, Ivie had the look of a top 100 selection who could play either tackle position with good quickness, strength and upside as a pass rusher.
This was week II of the 2015 season against East Carolina. He wears #91.
However now he has lost all that athleticism and lacks the strength to make any plays in the NFL. He was asked to gain weight at the cost of what made him a prospect following his junior season.
I think the kid needs to cut 20 pounds to get down to the 285 he played at as a junior to see if he can regain that athleticism and Dallas might have something here. Its worth a shot.
Dallas returned to the wide receiver position selecting Noah Brown from Ohio State mid way through the 7th round. Brown declared for the draft after his sophomore season leaving 2 years of eligibility on the table. He should have returned to school to improve his draft stock but he is a big physical receiver who has some upside who can make plays on the underneath and intermediate routes. He will struggle to create separation but he likes to make the difficult catch especially in the redzone.
With their final pick, Dallas returned to Colorado to add another defensive lineman, this time selecting Jordan Carrell. He is a big bodied interior tackle who might flash as a run stuffing one technique but his film was unimpressive. I did not see quickness, strength nor a capable bull rush to suggest he is a prospect.
Dallas' goal was to update the pass rush and their secondary. I think they came away with 3 starters (Charlton, Awuzie, Lewis) and 2 key rotational players (Switzer and Woods).
Mission accomplished.
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