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Dallas Cowboys select ex-Alabama CB Trevon Diggs with No. 51 pick in the 2020 NFL draft - Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News
The Cowboys got themselves a corner.
The Cowboys went with defense in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday night, selecting Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs at pick No. 51 overall.
In the first round, the Cowboys snagged Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, the sixth-rated player on their board at the time.
In Diggs, the Cowboys are getting a player who was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and was a first-team All-SEC player last season. He was tied for the team lead with eight pass breakups and had 37 total tackles.
“I’m proud to tell you, because I’m proud of it too, you got a star on your helmet,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told Diggs during a phone call Friday night released through the team’s website. “I enjoyed our time, our interview, talking to you and everybody, your potential coaches and we’re all excited about you getting in here. What we’re most excited about is the improvement ... everybody (says) he can get better, he can get better. Now remember what I told you: If anybody ever tells you that you get something for nothing, they lying to you. So we’ll have to go to work. But if you go to work, you’ll get something.”
Trevon Diggs NFL Draft 2020: Scouting Report for Dallas Cowboys’ Pick - Matt Miller, Bleacher Report
What are the Cowboys getting in Trevon Diggs?
STRENGTHS
—Awesome height (6’1”), weight (205 lbs), speed prospect who is still new to the position after originally playing wide receiver.
—Strong, long and a terror for receivers in press coverage thanks to his combination of athletic talents and technique.
—Heavy hitter with big hands to press in man coverage at the line of scrimmage.
—Good instincts in the open field and has the closing speed to jump routes and flip the field with turnovers.
—Also worked on special teams as a returner and has upside there.
—Big enough and fast enough to be a matchup problem for receivers on the outside in man coverage.
2nd-Round Pick Trevon Diggs Addresses Big Need - Rob Phillips, The Mothership
How does Diggs fit in?
How He Fits In: In the first round the Cowboys couldn’t pass up wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, the sixth-best player on their draft board. With Diggs, they’ve addressed arguably their biggest need after losing Byron Jones to an $82.5 million deal with the Miami Dolphins. The Cowboys do have several returning corners – Anthony Brown, Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and C.J. Goodwin and newcomer Maurice Canady. But all except Brown will be scheduled to hit free agency in 2021. Diggs will step in with a chance to compete for playing time under new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. Like Lamb, Diggs also returned punts and kickoffs his first two years at Alabama. Running back Tony Pollard handled kickoffs for the Cowboys last year, but both draft picks could be in the conversation on punt returns.
NFL Draft results 2020: The Dallas Cowboys select DT Neville Gallimore with the 82nd pick - Dave Halprin, Blogging the Boys
Another excellent value pick in the third round!
The Dallas Cowboys have selected DT Neville Gallimore from Oklahoma with the 82nd overall pick, pick #18 in the third round of the 2020 draft.
The Cowboys added some defensive tackles in free agency with Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe, but wanted more as they add Gallimore. The position goes from one of worry to one of strength.
Summary - Neville Gallimore is a disruptive 1T in a penetration style defensive system. Gallimore isn’t necessarily a huge finisher and hasn’t rolled up huge production in the backfield but make no mistake, his initial quickness, power, hand counters and motor will provide plenty of disruption up front for even front teams looking to collapse the pocket and get opposing quarterbacks on their heels. Gallimore has viable three down ability thanks to his short area agility. An NFL starter.
What Oklahoma DT Neville Gallimore will bring to the Dallas Cowboys - Jason Kersey, The Athletic
What does Gallimore bring to the table in Dallas?
Gallimore, who stands 6-foot-2 and 304 pounds and played nose tackle at OU, is an athletic freak. He was clocked at 4.79 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the combine. He played well at Oklahoma, but there often was a sense that he was underachieving, especially before his senior season. How much of that is Gallimore’s fault, though, is up for debate considering the state of the Sooners’ defense the past few seasons.
Oklahoma fielded some of the worst defenses in school history in 2017 and ’18, but as with many defensive teammates, Gallimore made a drastic improvement in 2019 under first-year coordinator Alex Grinch.
Gallimore was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2019, making him the first OU defensive tackle to earn such honors in a decade. He finished his OU career with 148 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, nine sacks and five forced fumbles.
Credit Jerry: Patience may have netted Cowboys their best 1-2 draft punch since Zack Martin-DeMarcus Lawrence - Kevin Sherrington, DMN
Jerry Jones deserves some credit for this draft so far.
The man who used to spin like a prop — trading down, trading up, flaking out — sat patiently on his couch Friday, waiting for Trevon Diggs to come to him. Pretty much just like he did the night before when CeeDee Lamb fell in his lap.
Lamb was considered by most draft analysts one of the top two receivers in the draft. Five Texas defenders who thought they had him boxed in at the Cotton Bowl would testify he’s underrated at that.
Diggs isn’t nearly as polished or projectable as Lamb, but some services had him the third-best cornerback in the draft. And the Cowboys got him at 51. Then, in the third round, they got Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore, a big-time talent in the defensive line.
Look, I’m not saying Lamb and Diggs will end up as good as [Zack] Martin and [DeMarcus] Lawrence, though Lamb is probably as sure of a bet as anyone in the draft. One evaluator compared him to DeAndre Hopkins, a top-five wide receiver the Cardinals confiscated from Houston. Cornerbacks are harder to project, and, as noted, Diggs is raw. Until Nick Saban took him under his wing, he’d spent most of his football days at receiver, like his big brother Stefon. But the man has the measurables. And he did, after all, suit up at Alabama.
Dallas Cowboys offense has horsepower to spare - Mike Leslie, WFAA.com
With the addition of Lamb, the Cowboys offense is one of the best in the league.
So now that the Cowboys did the logical thing, drafting a player they rated as the sixth-best player in the draft with the 17th selection... now they have to go defense from here on out. Seriously, unless there is a center on the board that they really like over the next two days, I’d be hard-pressed to say they should select any other offensive players. They’re perfectly fine on offense right now. And the defense needs serious help.
A safety, a corner (or two), and an edge rusher have to be of utmost priority, and a linebacker thrown in the mix would probably be wise, too.
There should be a dose of realism applied to any critique of what Dallas did Thursday night. Yes, they needed defense far more than a wide receiver. But getting a sure-fire, top-end player at 17 isn’t common. They did that Thursday. And their offense is in a fantastic position for years to come, as a result.
But for the final two days of the defense, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys need to eat their vegetables and draft defense.
Philadelphia Eagles select QB Jalen Hurts on Day 2 - Nick Shook, NFL.com
We have our first true stunner of Day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts with the 53rd overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday.
The Eagles are very much committed to Carson Wentz — at least until 2022, when they have their first potential out of his contract — which makes Hurts such a selection surprising. Then again, the Eagles have been snakebitten by Wentz injuries for much of the last three years.
It was Nick Foles who led Philadelphia to a title in 2017, and Josh McCown announced his retirement before the start of the 2019 season and was coaching high school football before being called in to backup Wentz. McCown was forced into action in the playoffs on Wild Card Weekend at 40 years old.
The Eagles need a better backup plan. Now they have one.
2020 NFL Draft: New York Giants Select Xavier McKinney With 36th Overall Pick - CBS New York
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Giants added versatility to their defense, taking Alabama safety Xavier McKinney with the fourth pick in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday night.
The pick allows new coach Joe Judge to return to his Alabama roots, where he mentored under Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.
McKinney led Alabama with 95 tackles. He also can blitz and is willing to take on the run.
After releasing Antoine Bethea, the Giants had only two safeties returning who saw a lot of action last season, Jabrill Peppers and Julian Love.
The Giants, who went 4-12 last season and fired coach Pat Shurmur, moved to fix their weak offensive line on Thursday by taking Georgia tackle Andrew Thomas with the fourth pick overall.
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