One of the biggest things I wanted to find out about the Dallas Cowboys during OTAs and minicamp was the exact way they're using versatile defensive back Israel Mukuamu.
Entering a contract year, Mukuamu is in a very intriguing spot: He's too good to leave him out of the 53-man roster but he's starting to look buried in a loaded safety room where Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell look primed to earn reps in addition to starters Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson. On the team's official roster, Mukuamu is listed as a safety.
The good news for Mukuamu is that he's been considered a chess piece from the moment he got to Dallas. He's played safety and cornerback alike and was even tasked with nickel responsibilities against the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2022-2023 NFL playoffs.
Heading into 2024, it certainly feels like Mukuamu's easiest path toward getting on the playing field is at corner. At safety, Thomas finished 2023 with a much higher defensive snap count than Mukuamu (190 vs. 75) and is poised for even more in his third year in the league.
Additionally, Markquese Bell is headed back to the safety room after excelling in coverage as an undersized linebacker. PFF gave him the fourth-highest coverage grade among linebackers. That aspect of his game should directly and smoothly translate to playing in the defensive backfield and I'd be surprised if he doesn't jump Mukuamu on the depth chart after playing on 61% of the defensive snaps last season.
Meanwhile, there's no clear-cut CB4 on the Cowboys
On the other hand, the Cowboys' cornerback depth chart looks way thinner. Behind the trio of starters made up by Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Jourdan Lewis, there are a few options for CB4 but all of them are big question marks and the competition for the role is wide open.
Nahshon Wright has yet to establish himself as an NFL player you're comfortable sending out there on the field. There's also fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson but he and second-year Eric Scott Jr. have zero combined snaps so it's easy to see why they don't appear ideal candidates for the job right now. At the very least, they'll need to show what they're about in training camp.
As with any young, inexperienced players though, it's good to have a Plan B with someone more experienced. For the Cowboys, that could be Mukuamu, who enjoys playing corner more than he does safety.
"I definitely would say I like corner better, but I also like being a chess piece because it just shows the versatility. [...] I take pride in that as well in being versatile," Mukuamu told me in a 2022 conversation.
We'll see what new Cowboys defensive coordinator has to say about it when training camp kicks off in Oxnard.
