Dallas Cowboys: 5 Players who need more playing time in 2019
By Randy Gurzi
4. Jourdan Lewis, CB
The 2017 NFL Draft was good to the Dallas Cowboys in the second and third round. They landed two good corners in Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis. As rookies, Awuzie struggled with health and that opened the door for Lewis to start seven games — and he played well in those games.
In their second season, Lewis saw his snaps significantly decrease as Awuzie was on the field for 15 games. Also hurting Lewis’ stock was the fact that new defensive backs coach Kris Richard moved Byron Jones from safety to cornerback and Jones excelled in that role. With Jones and Awuzie starting on the outside, Lewis was unable to man the slot as Anthony Brown has that locked down.
On top of that, Richard seems to have a preference for taller corners on the edge. Heading into 2019, the Cowboys need to find a way to get Lewis on the field more, even if it means Richard reaching out of his comfort zone putting a cornerback that’s under 6-foot outside. While it’s true Lewis isn’t at his best in the slot, both Jones and Awuzie have the ability to play that role — with Jones doing fairly well at it when asked to do so during his rookie season of 2015.
Lewis is simply too good of a player to keep on the bench. He showed that during their huge upset win over the New Orleans Saints when he shadowed running back Alvin Kamara and even came up with a game-sealing interception off Drew Brees.