FRISCO, Texas – There is a lot to get excited about when looking at the Dallas Cowboys depth chart at the cornerback position. After all, DaRon Bland followed up his breakout rookie season with a historic second campaign that earned him First Team All-Pro honors and recognition as the NFL’s interceptions leader in 2023; and that was without fellow first-team All-Pro Trevon Diggs on the field.
There’s the point: Diggs is on track to return in 2024, and that alone should make things easier for both of them when it comes to turnover opportunities.
And then there’s defensive leader Jourdan Lewis, who re-signed this offseason instead of going to Washington with Dan Quinn. He’s the most underrated signing of the offseason, and especially considering Lewis returned to top form as last season progressed.
But what about those behind the big 3?
What we know: In 2022, this group lost Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown to devastating foot injuries and struggled mightily for the remainder of the season to locate impact backups on the roster. In 2023, they lost All-Pro Trevon Diggs to a torn ACL. In both cases, DaRon Bland helped save the day, but depth players need to be ready and on high alert.
You’ve got to love what’s shaping up in the battle between Eric Scott and Caelen Carson, and with Nahshon Wright standing in his way as he heads into a contract season. Scott was a sixth-round pick in 2023 that the Cowboys traded up to get, and Carson is a current fifth-round pick with the same potential to change the course of a game. Who wants it more?
What we don’t know: Who is the number 4 cornerback? Carson joins the mix, along with undrafted rookie Josh DeBerry, to add some spicy depth pieces to a position he’ll accept having them in the mix. There will be more pressure on Carson to perform fairly immediately, albeit as a backup, given the amount of praise he’s already received from the coaching staff and front office after being viewed as their “blinking light” in this year’s draft.
Scott has a lot to prove in Year 2, and appears ready to do exactly that, but, adding in the fact that Nahshon Wright is also trying to prove himself, heading into the final year of his rookie contract, there’s a lot to be determined. . behind Diggs, Bland and Lewis. A lot.
What to pay attention to: There were 13 interceptions for Cowboys cornerbacks in 2023, but nine of them belonged to one person: DaRon Bland. No other cornerback had more than two on the season. This is expected to change with Trevon Diggs back in the mix, but others will have to weigh in on this statistic in the future. Expect assistant head coach and defensive backs coach Al Harris and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to point this out in meetings and practices this summer.
2024-06-21 18:13:04
#Diggs #return #coming
