Cowboys Tried Trade Up For CB Campbell; Joseph 'Just As Talented'?
FRISCO - “He’s as talented as the top three guys,'' said an anonymous NFL scout of Kelvin Joseph in a pre-Draft evaluation - an opinion the Dallas Cowboys now essentially say they share.
But before settling on Joseph with the No. 44 pick (second round), the Cowboys did try to trade up, to the top of Round 2, with the target being Georgia corner Tyson Campbell. And sources tell us that a trade-up to target either Jaycee Horn (South Carolina) or Patrick Surtain (Alabama) was a first-round war-room discussion.
But what if the "anonymous scout'' is right?
Long-time NFL beat writer Bob McGinn interviewed a collection of scouts for The Athletic, with the focus on a great number of prospects. For our purposes, the focus on Joseph is key - because while first-round linebacker Micah Parsons seems a lock to help Dallas right away, second-rounder Joseph is a lesser-known factor.
But Dallas certainly could use another starter at corner.
We know that Joseph is just 20. That the LSU Tigers suspended Joseph before their 2019 Fiesta Bowl game for violating team rules. And that at Kentucky, he became a standout while also pursuing a rap career as "Bossman Fat.''
"I talked with the Cowboys a lot in the process of my evaluation, from the coaches to the owner," Joseph said to the media after being drafted on Friday. "They wanted to learn everything about me. I told them everything going on with me."
What did the "anonymous scouts'' think was "going on''?
Said one scout: “There are certainly some inconsistencies in his game and probably (off the field), I would say, that likely will hold him back from being the best he can be,” one scout said. “If he decides that football’s No. 1, he can be a really good player. I don’t think he’s a bad kid, but he’s it’s hard to bet on him.”
The "is football No. 1'' thing, of course, is about what you can read below ...
READ MORE: Cowboys Say 'No' To Keeping Leighton Vander Esch? The Micah Factor
Added another scout: “It depends on your level of tolerance. He’s very talented.”
From a third scout: “He’s as talented as the top three guys,” a third scout said. “He’s got a little bit of inconsistency in his play, but when it was time to play against the big receivers, he would step up to the challenge. He did pretty well against Alabama.”
Said a fourth scout: “He’s got instinctual issues, but I want him to go high.”
The "top three guys'' include Horn and Surtain. Somewhere up there, too, is Campbell. Dallas didn't get them ... but the "fourth scout'' got his wish that Joseph "go high.''
And now the Cowboys hope that wish and that decision are remembered as the right ones.
READ MORE: Grading The Dallas Cowboys NFL Draft: No 'Disingenuous Projections'
