The Dallas Cowboys are a mess right now, especially on the defensive side of the ball. There’s no sugar coating the way they’ve played these past few weeks. I think the third consecutive loss in a row pretty much speaks for itself. Something needs to change and fast, but what!?
Enter Cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
With both Byron Jones and Anthony Brown currently nursing injuries from last Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, Jourdan Lewis should see quite an increase in playing time in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles. I don’t know about you, but this could be the change the Dallas Cowboys defense needs.
If you’ve read any of my previous articles on Jourdan Lewis, then you already know I’ve been pretty adamant he deserves to be on the field more often. I believe he is the Cowboys second best cornerback, behind only Byron Jones. Unfortunately, since the hiring of Kris Richard last season he hasn’t seen the field much.
Kris Richard has a prototype he prefers in his cornerbacks and No. 27 doesn’t quite fit the bill. Richard likes his CBs at least 6 foot tall with an arm length of approximately 32 inches. At 5’10”, Jourdan Lewis falls a few inches under the height threshold Richard likes, but narrowly misses in the arm length with 31 5/8 inch arms.
It may be pretty obvious, but I personally don’t agree with Richard’s insistence on playing the CBs that fit his prototype. I think it’s flawed, especially as it pertains to Jourdan Lewis. On just about any other team around the league Lewis would be starting, but with the Cowboys he currently sits fourth on the depth chart.
Due to the current injuries at the CB position though, Richard doesn’t really have a choice but to play Jourdan Lewis more this week. He may even have to be relied upon as a starter and I believe that could be the change the Cowboys defense needs.
Don’t get me wrong, I really like Byron Jones and Anthony Brown. But, neither CB is known for creating turnovers. No. 27 on the other hand has a knack for being in the right place at the right time to come away with an interception. In fact, only Anthony Brown (4) has more than interceptions since he joined the team and that’s with far more playing time.
As a rookie, Lewis played 70% of the defensive snaps in 2017. His defensive snaps dropped dramatically in 2018 (18%) after the hiring of Kris Richard. So far this season his snap count has increased from a season ago to 30.17% and could rise even higher due to injuries and opportunity.
I don’t expect Jourdan Lewis to fix all of the Dallas Cowboys problems on defense all by himself, but the Cowboys have to start somewhere. He could just be the spark they need to get back on track. At least that’s what I’m hoping anyway.
