The Dallas Cowboys have been actively addressing needs in free agency with less than a month to go until the kickoff of the 2021 NFL Draft. They’ve added help at defensive tackle and safety. With Keanu Neal at linebacker, they’ve helped the second level and may still add KJ Wright. Though they’ve brought back CJ Goodwin and Jourdan Lewis and have Maurice Canady returning after opting out of 2020, they could still use some help at outside cornerback.
Trevon Diggs is one of your starters at corner and Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown will compete for snaps in the slot. However, they don’t really have a guy that can step in week one and be the team’s other outside cornerback, that they’d feel good about.
I’ve written about Richard Sherman on a couple of occasions and aside from some comments that Sherman made about Cowboys Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones, he’d be a great fit in Dan Quinn’s defense.
If Sherman is off the table, the Cowboys should consider bringing in former Washington and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar.
Dunbar spent his first four years in the NFL playing for the Washington Football Team. He had a bit of an up-and-down career there, alternating good and bad seasons throughout his career. His worst season came in 2018 when he allowed five receiving touchdowns and a 115 passer rating allowed according to Pro Football Focus.
Dunbar’s next season was arguably the best season of his career. He bounced back to allow a 56.9 passer rating, had a career-high four interceptions, and allowed two touchdowns.
Though his 2020 was underwhelming for Seattle, he did have a really nice game against the Minnesota Vikings where he allowed a 42.4 passer rating. He only played six games and suffered a knee injury that he played through before going on injured reserve about midway through the season. Injuries have been a bit of a concern for Dunbar as he’s never played a full 16 game season. With the addition of the 17th game, it may be difficult to get a full season out of Dunbar.
Dunbar has 10 interceptions to his ledger in his six-year career and 40 passes defended. Four times in his career he allowed two or fewer touchdowns in a season. His 12 touchdowns in 64 games averages out to one touchdown allowed every 5.33 games.
Seattle is reportedly interested in bringing back Dunbar for their secondary and is also scheduled to meet with the Detroit Lions and the Arizona Cardinals. Despite the injuries, Dunbar is a sought after player and at 28 still has a lot of snaps left in the league.
He’d be a perfect bridge player for the Dallas Cowboys. Someone that gives them a veteran presence at cornerback if the draft doesn’t get them the cornerback they desire. If the Cowboys were to draft a Patrick Surtain or Jaycee Horn, Dunbar could hold down the fort until that rookie corner was ready to roll. Signing Dunbar doesn’t keep the Dallas Cowboys from doing whatever they want in the draft. Just protects them if the draft doesn’t go the way they want.
And that’s the type of player the Dallas Cowboys love to sign. A player that’s had some production, won’t cost much for whatever reason, can be signed to a one-year deal, and doesn’t preclude them from adding a player through the draft to take over in 2021 or 2022.
