Diving into the Dallas Cowboys cornerbacks: No fly zone

The Dallas Cowboys have been heavily criticized in recent years for their lack of talent amongst their cornerbacks. Let’s dive into who they have right now.

When one team has a glaring need, it should be addressed at some point in time, especially if it is a consistent problem. The Dallas Cowboys have had this problem with their group of cornerbacks.

This offseason they lost their top cornerback, but have addressed that both in the draft and free agency. What do the Cowboys have lining up at cornerback and how should they hold up?

Chidobe Awuzie

There have been reports of the Cowboys looking to move one of their cornerbacks to safety. One name that is often mentioned is cornerback Chidobe Awuzie.

While there are some good reasons why this could be true and work out well, he is the Cowboys top corner right now. While I’m sure the former second-round pick would move around the lineup playing both safety and corner, it leaves the team in a tough position.

For now, I am moving forward with placing Awuzie at cornerback until the Cowboys officially move him over. So, let’s dive into who Awuzie is, and just how good the top corner is.

Every season, he has been overshadowed due to his former teammate Byron Jones. As the number two corner, Awuzie has held his own.

Jones had emerged as one of the better cornerbacks in the league, forcing quarterbacks to opt for Awuzie instead. Despite that effort, he has played well.

The 2018 season was when he officially became a starter. In that season, he had 71 tackles, 11 passes defended, and one interception in 15 games. He also added a forced fumble.

Quarterbacks were held to a 56.8 percent completion percentage and a 96.4 passer rating. He also gave up an average of 14.3 yards per completion. While this doesn’t sound amazing, Awuzie made sure he took a step up in 2019.

This time around he played a full season. The second-round pick got eight more tackles and three more passes defended than the season prior. Only one pass was picked off and he didn’t force a fumble, but he did recover one.

Awuzie’s advanced stats were much better in 2019, backing up his case as a player improving season after season. The completion percentage was three percent higher, but the yards per completion dropped by 2.2 yards and the passer rating dropped to 89.1.

Sure, his stats aren’t off the charts, but they are good. He rightfully deserves the opportunity to play as the number one cornerback. This season is his opportunity.