Cowboys miss out on top secondary target yet again in second round

The Dallas Cowboys were one pick away from selecting TCU safety Trevon Moehrig, but they lost out to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Entering the first-round of the 2021 NFL Draft, it was essentially a foregone conclusion that the Dallas Cowboys were going to take one of the top two cornerback prospects in Jaycee Horn or Patrick Surtain II. However, those plans the Cowboys had vanished in thin air, as both were selected in consecutive picks by the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos.

As it turns out, the Cowboys dealt with some deja vu in the second round.

On Friday night, Dallas watched TCU safety Trevon Moehrig fall one pick ahead of them, but watched the Las Vegas Raiders trade up with the San Francisco 49ers to select him. In response, the Cowboys selected Kentucky cornerback Kelvin Joseph with the 44th overall pick.

Cowboys: Dallas loses out on defensive back for second consecutive night

Moehrig was slated to be the top safety prospect in the entire draft class, making his drop into the second round a bit shocking. However, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport notes that Moehrig suffered a back injury while training and MRI results revealed that there was an issue. The Raiders were not scared away, as they moved up to secure him.

As for the Cowboys, they do land a corner to bolster their secondary in Joseph. This past season with Kentucky, Joseph recorded 25 total tackles, four interceptions, one defended pass and one defensive touchdown in nine games.

The goal for Dallas was simple entering the NFL Draft, and that was to improve their defense. They secured Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons on Day 1, and got a corner in Joseph in the second-round.