Yesterday, I took a look at a few Aggies who have garnered some interest from the Dallas Cowboys during the pre-draft process. In order to not leave anybody out, let’s take a look at several Texas Longhorns that could be selected by the Cowboys during the NFL Draft this week when the Cowboys go on the clock.
The Cowboys front office and scouting department has shown interest in Charles Omenihu and Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the University of Texas.
Let’s take a look at these potential Dallas Cowboys draft picks.
Charles Omenihu, Defensive Line
There seems to be some debate about Texas Longhorns Defensive Lineman Charles Omenihu. Some see him as a defensive tackle because of his size, length, and athleticism, and others see him as an EDGE.
When I watched Omenihu, I had a hard time with his film. I didn’t see a guy that was overly impressive in any area. He has a good motor and a good arm over, but I didn’t see a guy that would win consistently on the EDGE in the NFL and was strong enough to be a defensive tackle.
He does have a frame that can add more bulk and strength to his game once he gets into an NFL strength and conditioning program and many scouts see him as a round two prospect.
Omenihu was a very productive player in college. totaling 16.5 sacks over the last three seasons in Austin, including 9.5 in his senior season. In 2018, Omenihu also had 18 tackles for loss.
The Dallas Cowboys met with Omenihu at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and looks like a player that meets Rod Marinelli’s size requirements for defensive linemen. The question becomes, where does he play?
I think he could be a good rotational player and push for starting snaps after a year or two, but needs some work on his quickness and agility as well as adding strength. If the Cowboys take him, it would likely to be in the third round, but I’m not convinced the Dallas Cowboys will go after a defensive lineman early in the 2019 NFL Draft.
| Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| 2015 | Texas | Big 12 | FR | DE | 9 | 15 | 2 | 17 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2016 | Texas | Big 12 | SO | DE | 12 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| *2017 | Texas | Big 12 | JR | DL | 13 | 20 | 7 | 27 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| *2018 | Texas | Big 12 | SR | DL | 14 | 33 | 12 | 45 | 18.0 | 9.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Career | Texas | 85 | 30 | 115 | 30.0 | 16.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||||
Projected Round: Late 2nd, Early 3rd
Cowboys Draft Probability: 50%
Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Wide Receiver
The Dallas Cowboys have been heavily interested in adding a wide receiver this offseason and did so with the addition of Randal Cobb. They aren’t done, however, with Cobb and Allen Hurns set to be free agents in the 2020 offseason. In that vein, the Dallas Cowboys met with several receivers throughout the pre-draft process including Texas Wide Receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
Humprhey is a wide receiver type that they don’t have on their roster. At 6-4 and 225 pounds, Humphrey would immediately be the biggest wide receiver on their depth chart. His size provides a nice catch radius and good red zone threat. He scored a lot of touchdowns in 2018.
| Receiving | Rushing | Scrimmage | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2016 | Texas | Big 12 | FR | WR | 3 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | |
| *2017 | Texas | Big 12 | SO | WR | 11 | 37 | 431 | 11.6 | 1 | 6 | 41 | 6.8 | 1 | 43 | 472 | 11.0 | 2 |
| *2018 | Texas | Big 12 | JR | WR | 14 | 86 | 1176 | 13.7 | 9 | 6 | 25 | 4.2 | 1 | 92 | 1201 | 13.1 | 10 |
| Career | Texas | 125 | 1622 | 13.0 | 10 | 12 | 66 | 5.5 | 2 | 137 | 1688 | 12.3 | 12 | ||||
Humphrey was a productive player his senior season with the Longhorns and caught 86 passes fo 1,176 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also had a touchdown rushing. For someone with his size, he had a very difficult scouting combine, running only a 4.75 40-yard dash and didn’t do well in the vertical or broad jump.
It’s odd to me that a guy standing 6-4 would only jump in the 27th percentile at the wide receiver position.
The Dallas Cowboys have been looking at wide receivers, but it’s likely they’re looking at guys who are slot receivers or who have sub-4.4 speed. So think of names like Deebo Samuel, Andy Isabella, or Jalen Hurd in the slot. The speed guys they’ve looked into are Emanuel Hall and Mecole Hardman.
Humphrey is a possibility as the team thought enough of his film to make sure they met with him while in Indianapolis, but I think it’s highly unlikely that he hears his name called by the Dallas Cowboys this weekend.
Projected Round: 5th Round
Cowboys Draft Probability: 10%
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
One guy I didn’t mention that could find his name called by the Cowboys is Cornerback Kris Boyd. He’s likely a fifth or sixth round defensive back target, but he hasn’t been linked with the Cowboys in the pre-draft process. It’s not the most important thing, but they like to draft players that they’ve met with.
The other thing that makes it unlikely that Boyd wears a star on his helmet is his height. Under Richard, the Cowboys are looking to get taller at cornerback. Most of the corners they’ve brought in in the pre-draft process are 6-0 or taller. Boyd at 5-11 will get drafted by someone, but it won’t be the Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys could take a shot on one of these players in the draft that starts on Thursday. Many analysts like Charles Omenihu more than I do, and I can see why. He’s a really intriguing player. With Rod Marinelli, he could become a really good player, but he needs some work. If there was a Texas player they were going to draft, it would be Omenihu in the second or third round this week and he’d immediately compete for snaps at 3-tech and right defensive end.
