News: Will CB Jourdan Lewis Prove his Worth in Contract Season?

Will CB Jourdan Lewis Prove his Worth in Contract Season?



The Dallas Cowboys secondary has been an area that’s needed improvement for quite some time. Yes, they had former All-Pro Cornerback Byron Jones for five seasons and Xavier Woods has held down the free safety role since 2017, but there hasn’t been the consistent production you’d want to see from this group. The Cowboys addressed the cornerback position twice in the draft by selecting Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson. That takes care of the outside, however, the slot or nickel corner spot is still looking for a permanent resident.

That’s where Jourdan Lewis comes into play. Once one of the more sought after corners coming out of college, Lewis has shown flashes of how big-time he can be. Unfortunately the previous regime, in particular former Defensive Backs Coach Kris Richard, didn’t allow him to maximize abilities because he liked tall and lengthy corners, and 5’10 Lewis got lost in the shuffle. That was of course until he caught a break last November.

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Sometimes the Richard-less, gets richer
At least Jourdan starts with a clean slate now, he will only have to worry about the guy running routes and not practice, well to a point that is

And yet the Cowboys under a new coaching regime, committed to re-signing Anthony Brown, rather
than Jourdan Lewis.
How does that speak volume (and value) for Lewis even with Richard gone ?

Prediction: Either he is gonna be eventually traded, or he is gonna walk in FA next year.

Hopefully, we'll know this season. Clearly he has talent. Time will tell.

quickccc said:

And yet the Cowboys under a new coaching regime, committed to re-signing Anthony Brown, rather
than Jourdan Lewis.
How does that speak volume (and value) for Lewis even with Richard gone ?

Prediction: Either he is gonna be eventually traded, or he is gonna walk in FA next year.

Click to expand...

cern said:

Hopefully, we'll know this season. Clearly he has talent. Time will tell.

Click to expand...

Lewis has a big fan club but Brown has been the better player.

I had hopes for Lewis but he was terrible in 2019. He played 55% of the defensive snaps in 2019 which was over 3x the number of snaps he played in 2018.

There should be a picture of Lewis in the dictionary next to the definition of "Fan Narrative".

Fans get narratives into their mind and other fans jump onboard the narrative train.

It was comical how the Lewis fan club posted over and over about how he "shut down" Kamara in 2018 until I posted that he played a total of 8 snaps on defense in that game...

I think Lewis has definite talent, but I'm still not convinced he's getting a 2nd contract from Dallas.

I'm also not sure what Robinson will end up being on this team. He has elite physical talent, but gets knocked for his technique & football IQ.

if you aren't interested in the film on him, skip to around 11:20 for the overall eval.

I wish/hope he’s given more opportunities. He’s made way more plays than Brown or Chido in way less time

According to what the current coaching staff has done in the draft and in free agency, they also like taller DB's. So Lewis still has an uphill battle to fight. And with Brown receiving an three year extension it's not looking good for Lewis.

There is a chance that he and X.Woods could be cut or traded before the season.

I absolutely believe that Jourdan Lewis will prove what his worth is this coming season. But that is not good news for Jourdan Lewis. Ultimately, he's just too slow to be a significant contributor as a CB at the NFL level. He has all the other characteristics, but without speed, they are all wasted. And he'll prove that this season, as he falls on the depth chart from the #3 CB to the #5 or even #6 CB, behind Awuzie, Diggs, Worley, Brown and maybe even Robinson or Canady.

quickccc said:

And yet the Cowboys under a new coaching regime, committed to re-signing Anthony Brown, rather
than Jourdan Lewis.
How does that speak volume (and value) for Lewis even with Richard gone ?

Prediction: Either he is gonna be eventually traded, or he is gonna walk in FA next year.

Click to expand...

Well Brown was a free agent this year, Lewis had a year left. Trade wouldn't shock me though considering this staff also prefers bigger corners.

quickccc said:

And yet the Cowboys under a new coaching regime, committed to re-signing Anthony Brown, rather
than Jourdan Lewis.
How does that speak volume (and value) for Lewis even with Richard gone ?

Prediction: Either he is gonna be eventually traded, or he is gonna walk in FA next year.

Click to expand...

Lewis wasn’t a FA when Brown was signed
But they’ve never seemed to be excited about Lewis
I think if given the snaps he will change some minds

WoodysGirl said:

Will CB Jourdan Lewis Prove his Worth in Contract Season?

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Yes. Might be the most underrated player on the roster.

Kingofholland said:

Well Brown was a free agent this year, Lewis had a year left. Trade wouldn't shock me though considering this staff also prefers bigger corners.

Click to expand...

Apparently they were not gonna wait for Brown to receive an offer from another team, and they could have extended Lewis instead of waiting for his last year contract to expire.
And do you really think the way they have added two more CBs early to mid round if they had future plans for Lewis here long term?
And they just awarded him 15 million so AB is not going anyway soon

- Frankly i admit that i am not a big fan of Brown either.
As just like Lewis, should he have a role larger than slot, such as starting outside, i think he's toast.
In a shorter area such as slot, i think he can be OK,
if he has to play uphill and locate ball in turn and go on the outside on a consistent basis, i don't like his chances.

- While Lewis has the best INT skills among last year's leftover CBs, and he may be the best blitzer, he's
still too much of a give-take corner who still has issues with receivers with speed or shifty-separation skills.
i can't see one INT for every large amount of catches and plays given up vs his coverage.
i know Cole Beasley was bad enuff' but even Skins slot guy Steven Sims Jr. was lighting him up at will.

i know Lewis mania fans like/want an against all odds underdog, and dying for a guy that has any takeaway skills on a defense that is just crying for such ability. But Lewis while scrappy, also has limitations that
doesn't give him a better chance to advance to a bigger role on the defense.
i think the bigger a role, the more he will get exposed.

conner01 said:

Lewis wasn’t a FA when Brown was signed
But they’ve never seemed to be excited about Lewis
I think if given the snaps he will change some minds

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Same answering response as previously posted.

Apparently they were not gonna wait for Brown to receive an offer from another team, in FA and they could have
extended Lewis instead of waiting for his last year contract to expire in 2020.
And do you really think the way they have added two more CBs early to mid round if they had future plans for Lewis here long term?
And they just awarded him 15 million so AB is not going anyway soon

i know Lewis mania fans like/want an against all odds underdog, and dying for a guy that has any takeaway skills on a defense that is just crying for such ability. But Lewis while scrappy, also has limitations that
doesn't give him a better chance to advance to a bigger role on the defense.
i think the bigger a role, the more he will get exposed.

The guy just makes plays and is always around the ball. Hopefully he will get a fair shake this year.

In my opinion he has proven his worth as a spot player. The question is can he increase his value with this new coaching staff?

He's a decent slot CB. The question is how much will it cost to keep him around.

I’ve never understood why some players don’t stick and get the credit they deserve.

He’s been the second best corner on the team the past 2 seasons period. Right now he’s the best corner the Cowboys have. How much more does he need to prove his worth to the media bobble-heads?! If at all.

Hard to say. Cowboys possibly drafted new replacements for their corners if they don't show something in 2020. And their new corners have size. Whether it's another "trait" Harris is looking for or it was simply coincidence & BPA is tbd.

Right now the CB list is: Awuzie*, Brown, Canady, Diggs, Goodwin, Lewis, Robinson, Smith, Westry and Worley.
A few more on the list but IMO may just be pure camp bodies. Maybe one will surprise.

I assume they'll want to give Diggs and Robinson opportunities to show their worth but they won't be thrown into fire if they are still raw.

Awuzie, depending on if he is moved or not, is our most experienced outside corner, and Brown has had an up and down career but has shown ability to play outside(LCB or RCB I forget which one he played well at) and in the slot.
Worley can play at corner or safety.

If our coaches are smart, Lewis will be given a shot.

But the field is packed this year, from vets to young draftees, and guys can get quickly forgotten about if they have a rough start.

daboyzruleperiod said:

He’s been the second best corner on the team the past 2 seasons period. Right now he’s the best corner the Cowboys have. How much more does he need to prove his worth to the media bobble-heads?! If at all.

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Fourth, but ok.

There's too much selective bias with Lewis. Fans, for whatever reason, only see the good plays he makes, but choose to ignore things like him getting roasted by Cole Beasley.