1. Anthony Brown, Cornerback
At first glance, Anthony Brown seems to be a player with nothing to worry about. He’s got plenty of experience with 66 career games played and 41 starts in five seasons. He was also the cornerback Dallas kept last season while letting Byron Jones walk.
Brown ended up landing a three-year deal worth $15 million and was set to serve as the slot cornerback. And for his career, he’s done well in this job with 211 tackles, six interceptions, 35 pass defenses, and four sacks.
However, he’s struggled with health as he missed 15 games over the past two seasons. And in his absence, Jourdan Lewis has filled in nicely. He’s improved in the slot and even racked up six sacks rushing the quarterback on the blitz from that position.
On top of that, Lewis also just signed a three-year extension worth $16.5 million with $8 million of that guaranteed. That means he now makes more than Brown and has a higher guarantee.
Having said all that, this isn’t just about Lewis vs. Brown since Dallas also went with several defensive backs in this class. They used a Round 2 pick on Kelvin Joseph from Kentucky and a third-round pick on Nashon Wright — who is being called a reach but that just means this staff really likes him and will be doing all they can to make sure he succeeds.
In the sixth round, they also grabbed a cornerback as they picked up Israel Mukuamu from south Carolina. He could play safety but if he does, that could mean 2020 fourth-round pick Reggie Robinson might slide back to cornerback.
Sure, there are no sure-fire studs in the Dallas secondary but there are a lot of options. And that could make it hard for a player who has struggled with injuries to make the 53-man roster.