Dallas Cowboys: 5 Draft targets still on board for Day 2
By Randy Gurzi
Last season, Kris Richard came in and took over play-calling duties on defense. His official title is defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator, and it didn’t take long for him to make his mark. Richard’s biggest move was moving Byron Jones from safety to cornerback where he took advantage of the length and physicality of Jones — who had spent the first three seasons of his career at free safety.
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Jones ended up in the Pro Bowl for his work and Richard became a legitimate head coaching candidate who Dallas almost lost. Even with the play of Jones, there’s still a shot Dallas will go corner with their first pick. One reason is Jones started to see his play slip some as the year progressed, which may give the team pause when his contract expires at the end of the 2019 season. Another reason is that the Cowboys simply need more opportunistic corners who can create turnovers.
For years, this has been an issue and it remained so in 2018. Jones finished the season with no picks and fellow starter Chidobe Awuzie had just one — which was the same amount he had as a rookie.
This could lead them to kick the tires on someone such as Sean Bunting, who has great ball skills and had nine picks over the past three seasons. Even more impressive was the fact that he held opponents to a completion rate of less than 39 percent when being targeted, according to NFL.com.
Bunting, 6-0 195 pounds, checks off all the boxes and has plenty of potential. The one question will be if Dallas shies away due to the school he played for. In recent seasons, they haven’t traditionally gone away from the power programs when drafting early, but Bunting could be worth bending the rules for.