Dallas Cowboys: Patrick Surtain II should be top target with 10th pick

The Dallas Cowboys will pick 10th in the 2021 NFL Draft and, if Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II is there, they should be running to the podium.

With no NFL Combine this year, all eyes have been on pro days leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft. And the Dallas Cowboys have undoubtedly been honed in as they have the No. 10 overall pick in late April. It also feels safe to say that most people have the Cowboys looking at cornerback with that selection as well.

There are, in all likelihood, three players in the mix at cornerback that could be available with the 10th pick: Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. In any mock draft iteration, you’ve likely seen the Cowboys taking one of these players. Our own Randy Gurzi had Dallas taking Horn in this week’s post-free agency mock draft.

But as we start to get the testing numbers on these players from pro days, Patrick Surtain II should be moving more into focus. The 2020 SEC Defensive Player of the Year starred in his workout, posting a 4.42-second 40, a 39-inch vertical jump, and a 10-foot-11 broad jump at 6-2, 208 pounds.

To be clear, Farley and Horn have both tested as freak athletes in their own right. However, Surtain doing so should be much more meaningful and should make him the obvious pick for the Dallas Cowboys if he’s still on the board when they pick.

There are no shortage of quality options for the Dallas Cowboys but Patrick Surtain II is the best at No. 10.

When you look at the value of players like Farley, Horn and Surtain, they have long been put into different boxes. Farley has barely scratched the surface of his potential but is an elite athlete with great instincts. Horn is a physical player who can match up with most anyone. Surtain is the most technically gifted and pro-ready player from that aspect.

Having said that, the big knock on Patrick Surtain II, the son of the Dolphins great, was that he didn’t seem to have the athleticism of someone like Farley or even Horn. At the Alabama pro day, he proved that wasn’t the case. Not only is he the best cornerback in the class from a technical aspect, he’s every bit the athlete that his peers are.

To be sure, based on the draft projections for any of these players, the Cowboys are in a great position. They have a dire need at cornerback as they remake the secondary and any player could be a stud opposite young Trevon Diggs. However, Surtain’s workout should put him in a class of his own for Dallas.

Surtain would be able to come in and be a prime starter right away on the outside with the frame and physical tools, along with his polish at the position. Moreover, he could be even more dangerous given his athletic prowess. It’s hard to say that about Farley or Horn, even if their ceilings are just as high. The Cowboys need a sure thing, though. And from all we’ve seen, that’s Surtain.