DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys have their cornerback. Kelvin Joseph, a redshirt sophomore out of Kentucky, was taken by the Cowboys with the 44th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Joseph had four interceptions in 2020, to lead the Kentucky defense. He's just shy of 6'0, weighs in at 197 pounds, and ran a 4.34 40-yd dash at Kentucky's pro day. Scouts consider him to have first-round physical gifts, but some maturity concerns caused him to fall into the second round. He was suspended by LSU for their bowl game in 2018, leading to his transfer out of the Tigers program, landing him in Kentucky.
Joseph started for just one year at Kentucky and played in 20 collegiate games before turning pro.
The Cowboys saw a potential option selected just before they went on the clock for the second consecutive round, as safety Trevon Moehrig out of TCU was taken with the 43rd selection by the Las Vegas Raiders.
It's unclear if Dallas would value the safety position enough to take Moehrig at 44, but given that Moehrig had a first round grade from most prognosticators, he was a player of high value that may have been worth the pick.
The Cowboys still have these picks left on Friday:
- Round 3, pick 75
- Round 3, pick 84
- Round 3, pick 99
With the 12th pick on Thursday, the Cowboys selected Micah Parsons, a talented linebacker out of Penn State.
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
On Thursday, 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.