Dallas Cowboys land top-tier cornerback in 7-round 2021 NFL Mock Draft

In 2018, everyone in the NFL envied the Dallas Cowboys linebacking corps. Jaylon Smith was back to 100 percent in his second full season in the NFL and his first year without the AFO brace on his surgically repaired knee. Next to him was rookie Leighton Vander Esch, who had started to show signs of being an elite playmaker.

Throw Sean Lee into the mix and they were supposed to be elite again in 2019. The problem was, Smith started to regress following a contract extension and LVE began to deal with injuries. Lee was still solid but he was no longer an every-down player due to his age.

Then in 2020, the wheels fell off. Lee was no longer even recognizable and Smith fell off a cliff. Vander Esch wasn’t terrible but he also wasn’t good and kept dealing with injuries (Dallas does love drafting linebacker with injury issues in college).

Their front office is stubbornly saying Smith is still a building block, so don’t expect much to change. The only thing we can hope for is a mid-round addition such as Tony Fields II. After playing well for Arizona, Fields moved to West Virginia for the 2020 season and continued to shine. He’s undersized at 222-pounds but can excel on special teams with a shot to be a regular contributor down the road.

(Projected Comp Pick): Another comp pick here is projected and again, Dallas leans defense. This time, they add Cameron Sample from Tulane who offers up a big body at 6-foot-3 and 280-pounds and a solid mix of rush and pass defense. He can get after the quarterback but his large frame is best suited to set the edge in the run game.

He also can slide inside on third-downs, giving the Cowboys something similar to what they had in Tyrone Crawford who is set for free agency this offseason.