3 Dallas Cowboys who need contract extensions in 2020
By Randy Gurzi
2. Jourdan Lewis, Cornerback
Another player who was stunted by the previous staff is Jourdan Lewis. Taken in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Michigan — right after the Chidobe Awuzie pick — Lewis quickly became a fan favorite. He is lightning fast, extremely confident, and has the best ball skills in the secondary.
And for anyone who thinks the ball skills aren’t as important — or more so — than anything else, you need to see what a Hall of Fame quarterback thinks. When discussing his new defense, Mike Nolan shared a story about something Troy Aikman once said to him when talking about ‘ballhawks’.
"“I’m not really concerned w/ throwing at a corner that I know is just gonna knock the ball down. I throw incompletions all the time. But when I throw at Deion, I gotta be concerned about (a Pick-6).” — Aikman said via Machota of The Athletic"
As for Lewis, this kid is a ballhawk. The problem is, he didn’t have the exact measurements that the former (and incredibly rigid) staff desired. For that reason, the Cowboys kept arguably their best defensive back on the bench far too often.
Even so, he found a way to make big plays — such as the time he intercepted Drew Brees to close out a close victory over the Saints in 2018. Simply put, Lewis is a stud and Dallas has to avoid letting him hit the open market because someone will pay him big time.