The Dallas Cowboys, in desperate need of secondary help, are reportedly not ruling out former Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley in the first round.
One team not to overlook on Gareon Conley: the #Cowboys. Need corners. Used to risks. Had Conley in for a visit. Also called him yesterday.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 27, 2017
This makes sense from a number of perspectives.
First, there is the obvious need for help. Dallas lost four key defensive backs this past offseason, which has the potential to doom the defense if it’s not addressed in the draft.
Secondly, as Tom Pelissero mentioned and as we all know, Jerry Jones isn’t shy about taking risks in the draft. They don’t all work out, but the owner continues to gamble on players he believes in.
Additionally, Conley has adamantly denied he did anything wrong and says he has video proof that exonerates him from the allegation he raped a woman earlier in April. No doubt, if that is indeed true he’s sharing that information with teams that are inquiring about his unique situation.
Before the allegation arose, Conley was considered a lock as a guy who’d be drafted in the top half of Round 1. Now, he could go as low as the third round, per reports, but obviously teams are very closely looking into what happened and he could go much sooner than that.
If he does go sooner, don’t be surprised if the Cowboys are the team that accepts the risk.