With the Dallas Cowboys hurting for safety depth, making a claim for Obi Melifonwu who was waived by the Oakland Raiders makes too much sense to ignore
The Oakland Raiders made news as they waived former second-round pick Obi Melifonwu after just one season with the club. With the Dallas Cowboys desperate for safety help, there’s no reason at all they shouldn’t put in a claim for the former Connecticut standout.
Currently, the Cowboys are looking to start Xavier Woods and Jeff Heath at their two safety positions. Both are dealing with injury issues right now as Woods has a banged up hamstring and Heath is dealing with a sprained ankle.
Behind them, the depth is thin, to say the least. Recently, they signed Dominick Sanders and Jeron Johnson to join Kavon Frazier, but none of those players has the kind of draft clout that Melifonwu does.
A former collegiate teammate of current Dallas cornerback Byron Jones, Melifonwu racked up 349 tackles and eight interceptions in four seasons. He then showed out at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine by running a 4.40 in the 40-yard dash while measuring in at 6-foot-4 and 224-pounds.
Many had him as high as a first-round pick a season ago, but it seemed as though he wasn’t earning the trust of new head coach Jon Gruden. For Dallas, this could be a good thing as they can get a player with a lot of talent at a position of dire need.
Of course, there’s a good chance that many teams ahead of them will put in a waiver claim for the young man, but Dallas surely needs to be one of them. If they aren’t, it means they value their safeties a lot more than they probably should. And given the way things currently stand with the Cowboys, that would be a mistake.