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What CB Kelvin Joseph Adds To Cowboys Secondary - Rob Phillips, DallasCowboys.com
Kelvin Joseph opposite of Trevon Diggs.. thoughts?
The Rundown: Joseph played 20 combined college games at LSU and Kentucky, sitting out the 2019 season to gain transfer ability to Kentucky. Joseph decided to transfer from LSU after his freshman season, during which he was reportedly suspended for the Tigers’ bowl game due to violation of team rules. Joseph started nine games for Kentucky last season, posting 25 tackles, 5 pass breakups and a team-high 4 interceptions before opting out of the regular-season finale. His 4 interceptions ranked eighth in the nation and tied for third in the SEC. He likely boosted his draft position with a solid Pro Day that included 4.34 40-yard dash.
How He Fits In: The Cowboys upgraded their front seven Thursday night by drafting linebacker Micah Parsons in the first round, but cornerback is arguably their biggest need in terms of depth. They re-signed Jourdan Lewis to a three-year deal in March, and 2020 second-round pick Trevon Diggs is viewed as a cornerstone in the secondary. But they also lost four-year starter Chidobe Awuzie to the Bengals in free agency. Joseph only started one season in college, but he likely will compete for playing time at outside corner as a physical, athletic coverage player with a knack for making plays on the football.
Joseph Covered Off-Field Questions With Cowboys - Johnny Auping, DallasCowboys.com
Off-the-field concerns are some of the biggest issues with Joseph’s projection.
Kelvin Joseph is likely to be the youngest player on the Dallas Cowboys roster this season, and his maturity was something that teams made him answer for in their pre-draft evaluations. Apparently, his answers were good enough for the Cowboys, who used their 44th overall pick to select him.
The cornerback will still be 20-years-old in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season, and it was just a little over two years ago that the LSU Tigers suspended Joseph before their 2019 Fiesta Bowl matchup with UCF for violating team rules. That July he would transfer to University of Kentucky, where he would blossom into an evident defensive talent in 2020 before opting out of the final game of the season with the Wildcats in order to prepare for the NFL Draft.
“I talked with the Cowboys a lot in the process of my evaluation from the coaches to the owner,” Joseph said to the media moments after being drafted on Friday. “They wanted to learn everything about me. I told them everything going on with me.”
Perhaps coming up in those conversations was his fairly prolific rap career under the pseudonym “YKDV Bossman Fat.” Joseph said that he was born at 10 pounds resulting in his family nicknaming him “Fat,” and he applied it to his own moniker in middle school. According to him, his musical career was a popular topic of conversation in his pre-draft interviews, but he didn’t seem to entertain the notion that it was a distraction from football.
“Throughout this process there were people questioning [me] about rap,” Joseph said. “But this is what I’ve been doing my whole life. I haven’t been practicing and sweating and bleeding [in the game of football] for no reason. This is what I’m going to do to feed my family.”
NFL Draft results 2021: The Dallas Cowboys select Osa Odighizuwa with the 75th pick (3rd round) - Connor Livesay and Dave Halprin, Blogging the Boys
More interior pass rush for the Cowboys.
There’s been a ton of talk about the interior of the Cowboys defensive line for years now, and just one year after adding Neville Gallimore in the third round, they follow it up in 2021 with UCLA defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. While Odighizuwa isn’t your massive nose tackle with the ability to help as a run-stopper, he does offer some pass-rush ability from the interior for the Cowboys. Odighizuwa is an undersized, long, and twitched up pass-rusher who found success at UCLA with 11.5 career sacks. Odighizuwa will compete with Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore for playing time at the 3-tech position.
“Tweener” with combination of size and athletic ability that lands him somewhere between base end and three-technique. Odighizuwa has experience playing in just about every alignment imaginable, so he could be ahead of the game from a playbook standpoint. He plays with excellent first-step quickness and good bend that gives him the early advantage as a gap worker and pass rusher. He lacks the mass and anchor strength to handle NFL power as a full-time interior defender. However, his spirited pass rush features quick, efficient hands and non-stop movement, which makes blockers work to keep him out of the gaps. He’s rarely overwhelmed at the point of attack, so more mass and play strength could elevate him beyond a rotational backup with sub-package rush potential.
Osa Odighizuwa is a good athlete with good agility and balance. He plays with good natural leverage and is tough against the run. He plays with good effort and hustle to locate the football. In the passing game, he offers value on the edge or reduced down inside. He penetrates gaps and uses his good natural leverage as a bull rusher. He has some explosion in his hips and has shown flashes of upside as a rusher. He lacks ideal size, which may hinder him as an every-down player in the NFL unless he’s used as a defensive end.
Chauncey Golston taken in third round of 2021 NFL Draft - David Eickholt, 247 Sports
Cowboys add strength, size, and length to the defensive end position.
After being a vital member of the Iowa defensive line for the past four seasons, Chauncey Golston is the next Iowa Hawkeye to be drafted to the NFL. The 6-foot-5 270-pounder was drafted 84th overall in the third round and is headed to the Dallas Cowboys.
Golston was the only true experienced EDGE player for Iowa in 2020 alongside Zach VanValkenburg. Golston had a breakout year as he was the second-highest graded defensive player for the Hawkeyes on Pro Football Focus and recorded 45 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, and 5.5 sacks in eight games for the Hawkeyes.
“The thing that comes to mind for me is improvement,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said of Golston. “We’re a program really driven by players that do improve. For Chauncey, it was year by year by year. He was up in the hallway with Alaric Jackson and Ihmir Smith-Marsette, I think it was last Thursday, and I asked him ‘what were you when you got here weight wise?’ and he was about 215, 217.
“You think about the development that he’s gone through over five years, the job that he’s done with his body, getting bigger, stronger, and right along with that physical development was his playing development. He just kept getting progressively better. He played really well for us two years ago and played his best football last year. He was also a team captain and was respected by everyone in this building: the coaches, players, and support staff thinks the world of Chauncey. Just a tremendous young person.”
How Chauncey Golston Fits In Defensive Scheme - Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
Where does Chauncey Golston fit in?
The Rundown: Golston was a guy who continued to develop over his career at Iowa. Not a highly-recruited player at first, but over his four seasons on the field, he became a problem for opposing offensive lines. Golston had over eight tackles for loss in each of his final three seasons for the Hawkeyes. He’s got long arms and can be disruptive in both the run defense and off the edge.
How He Fits In: The Cowboys will always want to add pass-rushers and Golston is the first in this year’s draft. He’ll join a group that consists of DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory and free-agent addition Tarell Basham. But the Cowboys also have Dorance Armstrong and last year’s draft pick Bradlee Anae. But in Dan Quinn’s scheme, which should play multiple fronts, Golston will likely be an edge-rusher who can also play defensive end in a 4-man front, with possibly the ability to slide inside at times.
2021 NFL Draft: Dallas Cowboys Select Oregon St CB Nahshon Wright - Jess Haynie, Inside the Star
Nahshon Wright anyone?
The Dallas Cowboys have selected Cornerback Nahshon Wright with a 3rd-round pick, 99th overall, in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 6’4″ corner just finished a two-year career at Oregon State.
This is the Cowboys’ fifth pick already in this draft and their third in this round. They were awarded this compensatory pick after CB Byron Jones signed a lucrative free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins in 2020.
Wright makes it a sweep for defensive picks so far in this draft. He’s also the second CB taken after Dallas selected Kelvin Joseph earlier tonight in the 2nd Round.
It’s no secret that Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn likes size in his cornerbacks and Nahshon brings rare size for the position. However, many will call this a reach as Wright was generally considered a late Day 3 picks by most draft analysts.
Welcome to the Cowboys, Nahshon Wright!