Dallas Cowboys trade down and secure an edge in 7-round 2020 mock draft

With Byron Jones exiting, the Cowboys are putting their faith in Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Anthony Brown, and Maurice Canaday. That’s not the worst defensive backfield, even though the majority of those players struggled to find consistency over the past couple of seasons.

With that being the case, there’s a high probability that Dallas takes a cornerback early in this draft — but they don’t have to do so in the first round unless the right player is there for them. That didn’t happen here but thankfully it’s a rather strong corner class and they end up with a potential starter with the 51st pick by landing Jaylon Johnson from Utah.

In recent seasons, Utah has sent some talented defensive backs into the NFL and Johnson looks to be their next big star. He has great size at 6-foot-0 and 193-pounds and knows how to use that frame to keep receivers off balance. He excels in press coverage which helps make up for the fact that his top-end speed isn’t ideal (4.5 in the 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine).

Dallas isn’t going to need him to start right away due to the experience they do have. However, their defense would be better if he can provide competition and end up earning snaps sooner rather than later.