(Editor's Note: While the start of the 2025 NFL Draft isn't until late April, it's never too early to profile some of the key participants. The staff of DallasCowboys.com intends to preview the landscape of the draft's top prospects, with an emphasis on possible Cowboys draft picks – from the first round to the last. Today's featured player is Clemson safety R.J. Mickens.)
- Name: R.J. Mickens
- Position: Safety
- College: Clemson
- Height/Weight: 6'0 / 199
- Did You Know? Mickens is the son of former Texas A&M star an 10-year NFL veteran defensive back Ray Mickens, who played for the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots during his time in the NFL. The Mickens family would settle in Southlake, Texas where R.J. would attend at play for perennial Texas high school football powerhouse Southlake Carroll before heading to Clemson.
Where He's Projected:
Despite finishing his Clemson career with a productive fifth season, Mickens is looked at as a Day 3 pick, with some projections even seeing him go as late as the seventh round, presenting a chance for a late-round value addition.
How He Helps the Cowboys:
If the aforementioned projection stays true, Mickens gives Dallas an option to add to their safety room that brings back all five bodies that played for them in 2024. Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson started alongside each other in all 17 games, but could the room use some more youth and depth?
Mickens give you a lot of reasons to say yes, as a high-IQ player who can be the quarterback of a defense with great instincts that allow him to play fast and confident and a willingness to get physical as a tackler. That sounds like the exact kind of player that the Cowboys defense is looking for under Matt Eberflus.
Concerns certainly lie in his top end speed, which is something to consider with coverage ability, but overall there's a good body of work on tape for Mickens, and the football DNA that runs through the Mickens family reveals itself with R.J.
Final Thoughts:
You could make the argument that because the Cowboys have all five safeties back from last year, they don't need to add any more. At the same time, I don't think you can ever have enough depth in that room especially because of what players at that position have given you on special teams.
You think of the work that Markquese Bell has done for the Cowboys on that unit, and you can see the potential to work with if Mickens is a pick. He's spent some time over the course of his Clemson career on kickoff return, coverage, punt coverage and return but there's still room for growth in that department at the very least.
