3 studs the Cowboys should’ve taken over Kelvin Joseph in 2021 draft
By Jerry Trotta
1. Asante Samuel Jr., CB
While Humphrey and arguably have higher ceilings than Samuel, the Cowboys were seemingly set on drafting a corner in the second round, and the Chargers drafted Samuel a maddening two picks after Dallas took Joseph.
The Cowboys simply aren never going to live this down, and the narrative came full-circle in the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Jaguars. While LA collapsed in the second half, Samuel intercepted Trevor Lawrence three times, conceded one catch for 15 yards, and allowed a 30.3 passer rating when targeted.
As a rookie, Samuel finished 10th among 123 (!) qualified cornerbacks in forced incompletion percentage. He followed that up in 2022 by allowing 53 receptions on a whopping 89 targets (59.6% completion rate) while recording nine pass breakups, and 11 passes defended.
Samuel isn’t a perfect player, obviously. He’s a work-in progress as a run defender and open-field tackler, and will give up the occasional explosive play and touchdown. With that said, though, the Cowboys would have one of the best CB duos in the league had they taken the Florida State product over Joseph in ’21.
If only Dallas focused on Samuel’s skillset instead of his size.
