AUSTIN, Texas – Let's expand the Dallas Cowboys' NFL Draft horizons now that we are 30 days away from being on the clock at the No. 12 position.
So much attention has been on the Cowboys selecting a running back in the first round, and they very well could do that, especially since they have a contingent at the Ohio State Pro Day event Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, where the Buckeyes have two potential first-round draftable running backs.
The possibility of selecting a wide receiver with that first-round pick also has been raised since there is not really a clear-cut No. 2 guy currently on the roster to pair with CeeDee Lamb now that the Saints have outpriced the Cowboys to sign free agent Brandin Cooks.
And there also is a possibility the Cowboys look for help on the defensive line, end or tackle, if that becomes a warranted choice since there certainly is a need there, too.
But after watching and listening to maybe the best cornerback in the draft here at the University of Texas Pro Day workout, Jahdae Barron certainly caught my attention to the point of thinking to me self, "Why not a cornerback?"
And here is what accentuated his potential selection, maybe more than his physical talent, standing on his standout combine numbers (4.39 in the 40, 39-inch vertical and 10-foot 3-inch broad jump):
His confidence. Want me one with some hutzpah.
Someone posed a question starting with something like, "At one point during the season it was thought you might be the best corner in the county …"
Excuse me, might?
"I never thought I might be the best, that might word, it's never with me," said Barron, the 5-11, 200-pound corner who led the SEC with five interceptions in 2024, third most in the nation, and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best cornerback in college football. "I always believe I am the best, and then I show with my play and my actions, not just my words, that I'm the best. I can do it all."
Said not boastfully but with conviction. Confident he can play outside, nickel inside, safety if needed, whatever the team needs.
Maybe Barron is not even there at No. 12, but if he is, let's make the case of Cowboys need at cornerback. As we speak, after losing nickel corner Jourdan Lewis to Jacksonville in free agency, the Cowboys have DaRon Bland and … and …
Makes you think, right? There is no guarantee Trevon Diggs will be ready to start the season after undergoing his season-ending knee surgery. He almost certainly won't be ready for any offseason activity. Even training camp that is now fourth months away is questionable.
Then after that, here are those the Cowboys have cornerback rights to: recent free-agent signing Kaiir Elam, who has limited experience; the untrusted Andrew Booth; Josh Butler, who finished the season on IR with a torn ACL on Dec. 2; Caelen Carson, who finished the season on IR with an assortment of injuries and lost confidence; Kemon Hall, but an undrafted second year player last year who played just six games before finishing the season on IR (hamstring); and by the end of the season, out of necessity, safety Israel Mukuamu, listed as a backup corner.
And … that's it.
You bet, cornerback is in play.
- QB Whisperer: Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys' former five-year head coach who passed through the 2025 hiring cycle without a new job, is not just sitting around doing nothing. It's being reported that McCarthy has been spending time working with QB Quinn Ewers during his preparation for the combine and Tuesday's extensive Pro Day workout on the UT campus. As we came to know, McCarthy certainly is a stickler for quarterback footwork, arm angles and getting the ball out on time, and was quoted as telling NFL Network, "I've just been impressed with Ewers as a young man and the attentiveness that he has. I'm like a kid in an ice cream shop just talking ball with Quinn Ewers." Well, whatever they have been working on sure must have helped because Ewers, appearing fully recovered from the torn oblique injury that plagued him the latter part of the 2024 season, was mostly impressive during a 59-throw session with his wide receivers, tight ends and running backs. Completed 50 passes with four drops and five incompletions, those mostly toward the end of this intense throwing session on go-route deep balls. Standing on the sideline gives a better appreciation of the zip he has on his passes and his accuracy on his short, mid-range and deeper double-move route passes than when watching on TV. From the nearby suburb of Southlake, Texas, Ewers walked past the disappointed gaggle of media members but is expected be part of the Cowboys' Dallas Day visits at The Star.
- Big Fan: That is of Longhorns receiver Matthew Golden. That is from watching him in games on TV. Now bigger fan after having watched him in person during the Pro Day workout, running an assortment of crisp routes and showing great hands, along with his speed from the combine clocked at 4.29 he stood on. You know what? Isaiah Bond, too. Golden made big catches for Texas in big games, like the 28-yard touchdown pass from Ewers in the SEC title game against Arizona State on a fourth-and-13 to tie the game at 31 in the first overtime. And his two-point conversion catch in the second overtime sealed the win for Texas. This guy is the real deal. He just snags the ball, like he did on that double-move deep route heading toward the sideling during Tuesday's workout or the leaping, overhead grab he made on another Ewers throw. And as for Bond, after fighting through a leg injury at the combine, he improved his 40 time to 4.34 and 4.35. Plus, as he said, "I just wanted to show my sure hands. I had only two recorded drops my whole college career, so I wanted to reassure my sure hands for sure." Sure did.
- Faces in the Crowd: There were five head coaches in Austin for this near four-hour event with all 32 NFL teams represented. Two of those head coaches were former Cowboys players, new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and new Saints head coach Kellen Moore, the Cowboys' former backup quarterback and offensive coordinator. Also in attendance were first-year Raiders head coach Mike Vrabel, Bears new head man Ben Johnson and Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. And am told, while not at the workouts but here for visits was the Steelers' Mike Tomlin. Also ran across former Cowboys defensive lineman Marcus Dixon, now the Vikings' defensive line coach, and former Cowboys quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, now the Saints' offensive coordinator. The Cowboys were represented by national scout Ross Wuensche and assistant offensive line coach Ramon Chinyoung.
- Happy Returns: The NFL has been so happy with increasing kickoff returns thanks to last year's new rules that an adjustment to the touchback rule will be considered during next week's NFL meetings to further increase the number of returns. The new format increased returns from 21.8 percent in 2023 to 32.8 percent in 2024. And to further increase returns, NFL owners will consider moving the touchbacks – kickoffs into the end zone – from the 30-yard line to the 35, trying to reduce the length of kickoffs to force more turnovers. A downside could be decreasing the number of times teams attempt to return kickoffs caught in the end zone, willing instead to simply take the ball at the 35 if this alteration is passed.
- Short Shots: Some of the names being associated with the Cowboys' Dallas Day visits comprised of players in the DFW area, aside of Ewers, are Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty (Frisco Lone Star), two potential second-day running backs, Miami's Damien Martinez (Lewisville) and Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon (Euless Trinity), and TCU wideout Savion Williams … Impressive 40 times from Longhorns running back Jaydon Blue after recovering from a serious groin strain, going 4.25 and 4.28, saying afterward, "I think I have very unique talent." And as we know speed sells in the draft, making him dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield or as he showed running off tackle for that 77-yard touchdown against Clemson in the playoffs … If the ability to jump means anything, Longhorns defensive back Gavin Holmes nearly jumped out of the indoor practice bubble, going the day's best 39 inches from the standing start … Now how important is the tight end position to Dak Prescott? Easy, because of his 213 career touchdown passes, 48 of them, or 23 percent, have been caught by tight ends, Dak's career total currently second in franchise history to Tony Romo's 238.
And this week's last word is really the last story, told by Javonte Williams, the recently signed free agent running back who played his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos.
When asked what he thought the message was when the Cowboys courted him in free agency, he said, "The first time I got a call from the running backs coach (Derrick Foster) I didn't know his number, so I didn't answer. At first, I thought it was a spam call. And then I got another call back from him and I answered.
"So we were just talking, said that he watched me since I came out of college and the times I played him when he was at other places. He made me feel welcomed, made me feel he wanted me, and that's why I signed. I was ready to get started."
In this case, sometimes perceived "spam" can turn out to be a shot at opportunity.
