Which Dallas Cowboys rookie will make the biggest impact?

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Jun 13, 2017; Frisco, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Noah Brown (85) makes a catch against Chidobe Awuzie (33) during minicamp at The Star at Cowboys World Headquarters. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

I believe that Chidobe Awuzie, or Cheeto as many call him, is going to be the rookie that makes the biggest impact on the Dallas Cowboys this season.

Allow me to present the evidence to support my claim.

Awuzie was a second round pick that the Cowboys front office and scouting department were thrilled to see still on the board when they got on the clock.

He is a tall, physical, and intelligent athlete that does one thing every time he steps onto the field- competes.

Awuzie is expected to compete for a starting cornerback spot right out of the gate- but that isn’t where his value ends.

Cheeto is an extremely versatile defensive back that can line up at outside cornerback, slot cornerback, safety, and is even physical enough to play linebacker when the Cowboys run a dime defense.

Dime linebacker? What? I know, it sounds crazy.

But picture this scenario: The Cowboys are facing the New York Giants and the Giants are facing a third down with eight yards to go. It’s the fourth quarter in a tightly contested ball game.

The Giants are in a clear passing situation and they bring all of their weapons out on the field at once.

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Wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shepard are on the field with two physically gifted tight ends Evan Engram and Jerell Adams in the game. Engram is split out wide as an inside slot with Beckham outside of him and on the other side you have Marshall outside with Shepard in the slot and Adams on the line as a true tight end.

Holy cow! Most defenses are feeling good about getting the Giants into third and long but they probably aren’t feeling great about stopping all of those weapons on a given play.

When a team is facing that offensive personnel they will likely bring out their dime defense- which means that there are four cornerbacks, two safeties, one linebacker, and four defensive linemen on the field.

Where Cheeto is truly special is in the fact that he is capable of playing that dime linebacker spot. What that does is put another defensive back that is a damn good cover player and also a solid tackler on the field.

So now instead of facing those Giants weapons with six defensive backs, the Cowboys add that seventh which certainly increases their chances of being able to protect every part of the field on third down.

It’s a very unique wrinkle that I expect Dallas defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli to utilize when those big moments in the game come along and the opposing offense gives you a personnel look that seems like a mismatch for most.

Chidobe’s versatility in those situations is like having an ace in the hole, so to speak.

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No matter where he is- outside, inside, at safety, at linebacker- in the parking lot or on the moon, he is going to be competing with everything he has and I expect him to make several impact plays to help our Dallas Cowboys win football games in 2017 and beyond.

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