Dallas Cowboys fans had to feel better about their draft by the time the second day concluded, with the team adding edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku and cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. in the second and third round respectively. Both were considered fringe first-round talents, but fell for different reasons.
While there was plenty to celebrate for Cowboys fans on Friday, their division rivals each had just one draft pick throughout the night. Let’s take a look at who was just added to each opponent.
New York Giants
The Giants gave up their second-round pick to move back into the end of the first and take quarterback Jaxson Dart, so they had to wait until the third round. They held the first pick of the third, 65th overall, and used it on Toledo defensive tackle Darius Alexander.
Alexander had a meteoric rise in the draft, and was at one point a popular pet cat for Cowboys fans before Osa Odighizuwa’s contract extension. Ranked as the 61st best player by Dane Brugler, Alexander is an athletic 3-technique with length that made him an asset against the run as well.
Brugler compared him to Leonard Williams, who starred for the Giants before being traded to Seattle two years ago. The Giants have lacked a reliable penetrating presence next to Dexter Lawrence ever since, but Alexander has a chance to fill that void now.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders dedicated their first-round pick to building around quarterback Jayden Daniels, taking offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr. to beef up a unit that already added Laremy Tunsil via trade. In the second round, Dan Quinn found a piece to help his ailing defense.
Trey Amos, the cornerback from Ole Miss, heard his name called with the 61st overall pick. Amos was a coveted name among Cowboys fans, and Brugler had him ranked as the fifth best corner and 39th overall player.
A physical cornerback with great athleticism who starred at Louisiana before transferring to Alabama and, later, Ole Miss, Amos looks to be an ideal fit in Quinn’s scheme. Amos excels in press coverage and his closing speed makes him a takeaway machine, snagging three interceptions this past year.
He joins a Commanders secondary that got eaten alive much of last year. Mike Sainristil had a strong rookie year, but a midseason trade for Marshon Lattimore didn’t quite pay off due to Lattimore’s lingering injury. Now, Amos will try to form a trio that should bring much improved play on the back end.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles had to wait until the very last pick of the second round to take someone, and then they had to wait until the start of the fourth round again. With just one pick on Friday, Howie Roseman needed to make it count, and he did with Texas safety Andrew Mukuba.
Many Cowboys fans are plenty familiar with the Longhorn standout. Only three defenders in college football had more interceptions than Mukuba this past year, and he finished second on the team in tackles despite playing a vast majority of his snaps as the deep safety in Texas’ single high scheme.
Mukuba was a game-wrecker last year for one of the best defenses in college football, but his average athleticism and slight frame – Mukuba measured in at 5;11” and 186 pounds – had some concerned about his ability to hold up against bigger and faster bodies in the NFL.
In Philadelphia, with Vic Fangio running the defense, Mukuba will have more opportunities to play deep and man one half of the field instead of playing center field. He likely won’t be asked to start as a rookie, but the Eagles landed a college playmaker with some potential upside in the NFL.
