The Dallas Cowboys top five position battles of 2017

Potential Cornerback Candidates

Orlando Scandrick – 5’10”, 196 pounds

Scandrick is the most experienced veteran of the group and is the longest tenured defensive player on the entire Cowboys roster. While he lacks great size and really hasn’t made a lot of plays on the football in his career, he is a quick footed player that is hard to run away from.

Orlando is best suited inside as a nickel corner where he can use his ability to quickly change directions to mirror shifty slot receivers. There were rumors of Scandrick being on the trade block during the draft so we will have to see how all of that pans out over the summer.

Nolan Carroll – 6’1″, 205 pounds

Carroll was an affordable veteran signing this March and is a welcomed addition to the Cowboys secondary. He is an eight year veteran in the league and has seen action against all types of receivers.

Carroll has ideal size to be a boundary corner and all indications are that he will likely start out the year getting a lot of playing time. He actually plays a lot like Brandon Carr- chippy, competitive, fights every single play, but he is liable to allow elite athletes to make big plays down the field against him despite his effort.

Anthony Brown – 5’11”, 196 pounds

Brown proved to be an absolute steal of a sixth round pick in his rookie season in 2016. He started several games for the Cowboys and showed the ability to cover well and a willingness to step up and make tackles in run support. He has ideal size and tremendous speed which allows him to be versatile in playing both outside and inside. I believe that he will be lining up on the left side against the New York Giants in Week 1.

Chidobe Awuzie – 6’1″, 202 pounds

Chidobe Awuzie was the Cowboys second round pick this year in the draft. He has great size, excellent cover skills, and has displayed the ability to be a great tackler. Similar to Brown, he has the versatility to line up at any cornerback spot on the field and execute. His ability to blitz should be a nice wrinkle to Rod Marinelli’s defense this season. If he doesn’t start to begin the year, expect to see him crack the starting lineup sometime after the bye week.

Jourdan Lewis – 5’10”, 170 pounds

Lewis is an ultra competitive cover corner with tremendous instincts and ball skills. He simply knows how to close on the ball when it’s in the air and get his hands on it. While he lacks size to be an ideal fit on the outside, he makes up for it with long arms and having a great understanding of how to recognize routes and get a jump on receivers.

Lewis has pending legal issues that may effect him arriving to camp on time which could hinder his ability to get a starting job at first but he factors into the Cowboys plans as the slot cornerback of the future.

Next: Five Dallas Cowboys who could get a pink slip soon

Marquez White – 6’1″, 172 pounds

White was a sixth round pick this year out of Florida State. He has impressive length at the position and has shown flashes of cover skills and the ability to make plays on the ball. While he is unlikely to earn a starting job, or even to be active on game days early on, I expect him to make the final 53 and has potential to really develop into a solid player.