With the NFL trade deadline approaching, we know that the Jets aren’t averse to adding a quality cornerback to their defensive backfield as they reportedly contacted the Arizona Cardinals to explore the possibility of adding Patrick Peterson.
With Peterson off the market, if the Jets are looking to add a cornerback, they should place a call to Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys who seemingly have little to no use for second year cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who some of you may remember for this incredible play he made in college to seal a Michigan win against Wisconsin.
Lewis, a former third-round draft choice was a player who only lasted that long due to some off-field concerns regarding domestic violence that were still unresolved when the draft rolled around. When all was said and done, Lewis was cleared of the charges and free to move on.
As a rookie with the Cowboys, Lewis showed why he was viewed by some as a first or second round talent at corner. He showed solid cover skills and earned a respectable grade from pro football focus of 72.0, earning “average” grades both in coverage and run support as a multi-dimensional player.
With some changes to their coaching staff, the Cowboys seemed to get away from Lewis early on in the season and not much has changed since then. Lewis has played in just five games thus far, surpassing more than ten coverage snaps in two of those contests.
In those games, Lewis played a total of 73 snaps (49 in coverage), earning grades of 77.5 and 76.3 from PFF. Both performances bordering on “above average” as a second year player. Following the two games that saw him get a heavy dose of reps, Lewis was back to the bench this week, playing just 9 pass coverage snaps against the Washington Redskins. Lewis’ current PFF coverage grade of 75.3 would rank him second on the Jets behind Darryl Roberts who comes in at 75.6, due largely in part to his off the charts performance against the Vikings on Sunday.
Giving up draft picks isn’t something the Jets should be looking to do at this point, unless it’s for a player who is still just in year two of his career, and used year one to show that he can offer quality play at a critical position for a cheap price.