Diving into the Dallas Cowboys cornerbacks: No fly zone

Jourdan Lewis

Another name that has been brought up as a candidate to transition to safety is cornerback Jourdan Lewis. So far, he has been great playing as the nickel corner for the Cowboys.

It seems as if Lewis had gotten more attention than Awuzie over the years. Despite Awuzie having a bigger role, I guess people expected that from him and not as much from Lewis.

He had an immediate impact in Dallas, racking up 54 tackles, 10 passes defended, and one interception in his rookie 2017 season. In his sophomore season, he was much more limited. From having 71 percent of defensive snaps in 2017, it dropped to 18 percent in 2018.

Because of the huge drop in usage, his numbers dropped off a cliff. Only 12 tackles, one pass defended, and one interception. He also recovered two fumbles. There isn’t enough to look at to truly evaluate Lewis for 2018.

This past season, he took a big leap up in his play. He was finally trusted with the nickel role for the majority of the season and played 55 percent of the defensive snaps. Regardless of the low percentage, he made his snaps count.

With those limited snaps, Lewis made 51 tackles, defended six passes, and picked off two passes. What I found very interesting about him in 2019 was his usage in the blitz. Lewis got 4.0 sacks, which tied for third on the team.

Lewis is a reliable corner that is still very young. He never made any unbelievable plays, but he has always been that reliable player. That is exactly what the Cowboys need him to be.

At the age of 24, he has a long career ahead of him. While he still has good potential to emerge as a number two corner in the NFL, he remains the number three corner in Dallas for now.