Even with Stephon Gilmore, CB must remain a Cowboys draft priority
The Cowboys made an enormous upgrade to their roster by adding cornerback Stephon Gilmore this offseason. Acquired in a trade with Indianapolis, Gilmore is expected to cleanly slide into the starting role opposite Trevon Diggs.
The addition takes the pressure of the draft to find a ready-now solution and gives Dallas a little more flexibility as they navigate the treacherous waters of “best player available.”
Yet looking at the big picture, how much should Gilmore really impact the Cowboys draft strategy?
A case can be made they don’t need to find an immediate starter anymore but they still need to find an eventual starter. The need has remained.
Playing on the last year of his deal, Stephon Gilmore is a band-aid. He’s an excellent one, but a band-aid nonetheless. His presence means the Cowboys aren’t forced to find a plug-and-play cornerback this year, but finding a cornerback capable of taking the reins in 2024 should still be high priority.
With so many quality prospects expected in the early rounds, Dallas would be wise to use some foresight to take advantage.
Even this year the Cowboys could use some help at cornerback. As things currently stand, Diggs, Gilmore and DaRon Bland are Dallas’ top-3 cornerbacks. Behind them, things get uncertain.
Jourdan Lewis, Israel Mukuamu, Nahshon Wright, Kelvin Joseph and Isaac Taylor-Stuart currently populate the depth chart. Coming off a Lisfrac injury and on the books for $5,872,550 against the cap, Lewis’ future with the Cowboys is somewhat in doubt. And after re-signing special teams standout C.J. Goodwin to a new deal, Joseph’s future on the team is in question as well. The talent pool in September may not be as deep as it looks today.
Aside from Mukuamu, who looked promising in his limited reps last postseason, there aren’t many truly ascending players behind Bland and Diggs. It’s plain to see, after the 2023 season things get sparse at cornerback for Dallas.
As they learned last season, teams can never have too many cornerbacks because even seemingly buried players find a way to get meaningful snaps. Keep in mind, Wright logged 128 snaps on defense and Joseph logged 166 snaps on defense.
Drafting a cornerback early isn’t just about 2024; it’s about improving the play in 2023 as well.
Also worth keeping in mind is Diggs becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2024. A deal is expected for Diggs but until it’s done, the Cowboys have a couple enormous holes at the cornerback position staring them in the face.
Dallas wouldn’t be negotiating from a position of much power if they’re staring a starting trio of Bland, Mukuamu and Wright in face. Adding a top-100 draft pick to the cornerback mix offers much in immediate depth and even more for their positional health in the future.
Gilmore allows them to dip their toes into the developmental pool if they want. They don’t need to find an instant starter like they did before that trade but they still need to find an eventual starter.
In a strong cornerback class like 2023, the timing is perfect to add a new cornerback to the ranks.
