In stressful situations, sometimes the best thing to do is to take a drive.
That's exactly what the Cowboys' newest cornerback was doing when he received the call from Jerry Jones.
When the Cowboys passed on cornerbacks through the first five rounds of the draft, Purdue's Anthony Brown had an idea that he might be coming to Dallas. But after falling to the sixth round he stopped watching the live broadcast on television.
"Coach Joe Baker gave me a couple calls before the draft and said they liked what they saw in me, so I was waiting on them to pull the trigger," Brown said. "I was watching all the picks today, and my girl had to go to the airport so I just said I would take her to take my mind off it for a while."
Brown's girlfriend, Treyvia, needed a ride to the airport for her flight from Tampa to Texas, where she's stationed in Fort Hood, which is ironically, just a couple of hours south of Dallas. Brown, a Florida-native, played four seasons for the Boilermakers and grew up following the Cowboys through his mother, who has always been a fan.
"I had a feeling the call was going to be Dallas because I saw the whole draft and I knew they needed a corner," Brown said. "I look at it as me coming in and playing my role, getting knowledge from the older guys. I'm looking forward to learning from all of them. And I'm excited to try to go one-on-one with Dez Bryant."
Brown was the first of four sixth-round picks drafted by the Cowboys on Saturday. Of the nine draft picks, he's one of five defensive players chose, but the only cornerback of the group.
Cowboys' executive VP Stephen Jones, the team's director of player personnel, said the team had a fourth-round grade on Brown. Head coach Jason Garrett said his athletic ability stood out the most.
"He's is someone who really can run. He's got a lot of ability," Garrett said Saturday evening. "We feel like he has a big upside and can really compete for a roster spot right away and certainly for a role. Hopefully at some point in his career, he has the ability to be a starter at that position."
At 5-11, 190, Brown was consistently among the Boilermakers' top tacklers and he had four interceptions his senior season.
[embeddedad0]"My junior year I dropped three or four of them so coming into my senior year I just said that I can't keep dropping passes if I want to get to the next level," Brown said. "I really focused in on it and tried to do better at it at that spot."
Brown plans to bring coach-ability and "mental toughness" to the Cowboys. He says he's ready to work his way up the depth chart, knowing this team already has veteran corners such as Orlando Scandrick, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne.
"I look at it as me coming in and playing my role, getting knowledge from the older guys," Brown said. "You're always one play away from coming in the game, so you've always got to stay ready to go. I really look forward to coming in and being ready to go."
Brown and his fellow rookies will arrive back at Valley Ranch on Thursday and is expected to participate in the team's rookie mini-camp Friday and Saturday.
