CLEVELAND — The Dallas Cowboys finished off their second night of the draft by continuing the trend they had set through their first four selections, taking a defensive player with their fifth and final pick of the first three rounds.
Dallas picked up 6'4 cornerback Nahshon Wright out of Oregon State, with the 99th pick in the draft.
Wright is one of the tallest corners in the draft, and evidently fits what new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is looking for on the edge.
Quinn famously had tremendous success as the defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks, while employing 6'3 Richard Sherman, who became one of the best corners in the game at the time.
Wright led the team in interceptions as a junior at Oregon State, recording three on the season. He had two more interceptions and six pass breakups as a senior, leading the team in both categories as he was named honorable mention All Pac 12.
Wright has a long wingspan to go with his tremendous height, making him a nightmare to matchup with on the edge.
Scouts say he has the flexibility and quick feet to stay with receivers. He told the Cowboys draft show, moments after being selected, that he's "an anomaly," because of his freakish mix of height and quickness.
A possible target for the Cowboys went off the board at #96, as the Patriots selected defensive end Ronnie Perkins out of Oklahoma. Perkins was the 10th-rated defensive end in this draft, per Dane Brugler from the Athletic, and was expected by some to go in the second round.
He almost made it to the end of the 3rd, before finally being selected. His fellow Sooner, Cowboys defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, tweeted before the Patriots pick "Stop playin wit my bro Ronnie." But Perkins went three picks too soon for the two to be reunited in Dallas.
At #97, the Chargers chose tight end Tre McKitty out of Georgia. He's a third round tight end with a first round name. With the 98th pick, the Denver Broncos selected offensive guard Quinn Meinerz out of Wisconsin Whitewater.
On Saturday, the Cowboys have these picks:
- Round 4, pick 115
- Round 4, pick 138
- Round 5, pick 179
- Round 6, pick 192
- Round 6, pick 227
- Round 7, pick 238
Earlier in the day, with the 84th pick in the draft, the Cowboys picked defensive end Chauncey Golston out of Iowa. In the 75th selection, Dallas picked defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. Kelvin Joseph, a redshirt sophomore out of Kentucky, was taken by the Cowboys with the 44th pick.
With the 12th pick on Thursday, the Cowboys selected Micah Parsons, a talented linebacker out of Penn State.
After their top targeted cornerbacks were selected before their pick, Dallas opted to drop back out of No. 10 by trading with the rival Philadelphia Eagles for the No. 12 overall selection.
With the Cowboys short on linebackers – perhaps even more so after the recent retirement of stalwart Sean Lee – Parsons made sense. He was the best LB in the draft and with Leighton Vander Esch struggling to stay healthy in his first three years in the NFL, Parsons covers the Cowboys in case Vander Esch gets hurt again.