FRISCO, Texas – With less than two weeks before the NFL Draft, it seems most teams are focusing now on the upcoming rookies and hitting the pause button on free agency.
Of course, the door isn't closed to adding veterans, but the draft process is well underway with meetings and interviews, and we've even seen some league-wide trades to move around in the draft.
But for the most part, the dust has settled for now, knowing it will pick up significantly on April 28, the start of the draft. So let's look back at each position with a free-agent recap, and look ahead to see if there's more left to do.
Today, we'll continue with the cornerback position.
What Happened:
- What seemed like a rather quiet offseason at the cornerback position ended last Thursday when news surfaced that Kelvin Joseph was connected to a shooting death in Dallas last month. Joseph has reportedly been questioned by Dallas police and his attorney has made a statement that Joseph was in the vehicle but not the active shooter in the death of 20-year-old Cameron Ray. Two arrests have been made, and it's likely both the police and the NFL will continue their investigations regarding Joseph.
- The Cowboys made a statement on Friday, acknowledging Joseph's involvement and that they would continue to monitor the situation, but would have no other comment at this time.
- Before this incident, the only news involving Joseph and his fellow cornerbacks were simply jersey changes. Joseph moved from No. 24 to No. 1, while Jourdan Lewis is wearing No. 2 and Anthony Brown moved to No. 3.
- Veteran free agent Maurice Canady was one of the 22 unrestricted free agents for the Cowboys. So far, after more than a month into the free-agent signing period, he has remained unsigned.
What's Next:
Obviously, the news with Joseph could be an ongoing situation that might not be resolved quickly.
From a depth standpoint, the Cowboys have more than a few capable bodies in place for the offseason program. It starts with Trevon Diggs, who is coming off an All-Pro season in which he tied a franchise record with 11 interceptions, the most by an NFL player since Everson Walls had 11 in 1981, setting the Cowboys record.
On the other side, Brown had arguably the best season of his career, getting three interceptions while starting 16 games. Lewis also had a career-high with three picks and is back as one of the team's top slot corners.
This is where Joseph would fit into the conversation as he was expected to compete with the two veterans for more playing time. Second-year cornerback Nahshon Wright didn't get a lot of reps on defense last season but should see plenty of offseason snaps.
Feeling A Draft?
The Cowboys made it known they were coveting cornerbacks last year and wanted either Patrick Surtain or Jaycee Horn with the No. 10 overall pick before they were both taken, leaving them with Micah Parsons. Obviously, that turned out to be the best "fallback" plan they could've hoped for.
And although they picked Joseph in the second round and Wright in the third last year, the Cowboys will probably always have their eyes on cornerback talent. Even if it's not in the first round, look for the team to be interested in corners with Brown being a free agent after this season and Lewis having just one more year remaining on his deal.
If there's a chance to get younger, cheaper and perhaps better players at cornerback, the Cowboys will be in the market.
But unlike a year ago, any interest in specific cornerbacks has been rather quiet. The team only brought in one lower-round cornerback in the 30 visits, although it's been reported they met with a few more corners at the scouting combine in Indianapolis last month.
