Blogging The Boys
Who do you think will be the Cowboys’ nickel corner this season?
The Cowboys have done a decent job of throwing bodies at the cornerback position after Jourdan Lewis’ departure. After losing Lewis to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency, the Cowboys answered by trading for Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam, re-signing Israel Mukuamu, and drafting Shavon Revel in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft.
The issue? None of those players are primary slot cornerbacks. Elam and Revel played primarily on the outside in Buffalo and at East Carolina. Both guys are taller, longer, and fit the boundary cornerback profile more. Mukuamu has seen some time in the slot for the Cowboys over the course of his four-year career in Dallas, but his lack of experience (three starts) and ideal fit to be a full-time nickel cornerback leaves the Cowboys with an interesting hole to fill.
Over the last five years, the slot corner position has gone from being just another corner to one of the most valuable positions in the National Football League. With so many of the best wide receivers in football spending a lot of time in the slot, having a quality slot defender or outside cornerback that can comfortably follow wideouts into the slot has become extremely valuable.
With Trevon Diggs unlikely to be ready for the start of the season, and Shavon Revel still rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered at the beginning of the 2024 season, the Cowboys will need to figure some things out in their secondary during training camp. There are still a few quality slot cornerbacks on the free agent market like Mike Hilton and Asante Samuel Jr. that the Cowboys could look to sign to fill their slot need, or hold them over until Diggs and Revel get back up to full strength.
For now, it looks like the Cowboys will give many of their corners a shot in training camp to win the starting nickel role. Or they could move DaRon Bland back inside if they think they have a pair to play on the outside. But do not be surprised if the Cowboys look to bring in a veteran to solidly the position before training camp with the current injuries and holes the Cowboys are currently dealing with at the cornerback position.
