FRISCO, Texas – For defensive backs, confidence is key. Texas' Jahdae Barron is full of it, and he's got the tape and numbers to back it up.
"I most definitely believe that I am CB1," Barron said. "I'm so versatile, I can do a lot. I can go play corner, I can go play nickle and I can play safety. I'm what you need, and I can go do it for you in the most humblest way."
And when asked if he might be one of the best players in this draft, Barron made sure that one word was removed from that sentence.
"I never thought I might be the best. That 'might' word is never with me," Barron said. "I always believe I am the best and then I show it with my play and my actions, not just on my words."
Well, here are his actions: In the last three seasons, Barron has taken 893 snaps in the slot, 860 snaps at corner, 475 snaps at box safety, and 51 snaps at deep safety. In that time, he took home the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award, was a first-team All American, tallied eight interceptions including five in 2024 and allowed just two touchdowns in coverage.
Regardless of where NFL teams decide to line him up, he feels he can do whatever is asked of him.
"There's a lot of people in this draft class, I'm not knocking what they do, they do a lot of great things… but I can do it all at every position," Barron said. "I can fit the run fit, I can play slot on the two, I can blitz in the A-gap, I could play outside on the line, I could be the middle runner, I could play post safety, I can play half safety, so I can do a lot of things and I really take a lot of pride in that."
The problem with Barron is a good one for teams to work with. Where does he play his best? Is he comfortable at one spot more than he is at another? He doesn't think so, and just wants to get better everywhere.
"I'm comfortable in all of them, Texas developed me at all the positions to be comfortable," Barron said. "At the end of the day there's always room for improvement at any spot I'm in, so I'm always looking forward to improve and that's the type of player I am."
The element of improving himself translates to Barron's life off the field as well. He credited Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and other Longhorns staffers for taking him under their wings and developing him into a better person.
"I was telling a few teams I used to have issues with going home all the time, seeing my mom. Sark helped me with that, just to grow up and kind of put myself in a different spot and just mature…" Barron said. "It helped me mature, just kind of give all my focus to football, and on that journey I matured in a lot of ways."
The Cowboys are a team that needs a corner, whether it be on the outside opposite Trevon Diggs/DaRon Bland or in the nickel to fill the void left by Jourdan Lewis. He's projected to be a first-round pick, meaning the Cowboys would have to use their 12th overall pick on him if they like him enough.
If they do, his skillset offers Dallas the versatility to try Barron at several different spots in the secondary and see where he fits in best. Essentially, the Cowboys could be villing two voids in one by selecting Barron depending on how they decide to fill out the rest of their roster.
Some things to keep in mind here is that the Cowboys have not selected a cornerback with their first round selection since 2015, when the organization picked Byron Jones with the 27th overall pick. They also tend to prefer corners with longer arms (Barron checked in at 29 5/8" at the combine).
If they choose to break tendency this time around, it's a major defensive need taken care of on Day 1. The biggest question though, is whether or not it's the biggest need facing the Cowboys in April. For that answer, we'll have to wait and see.
