Cowboys admit former high draft pick isn’t ready with latest move

The Dallas Cowboys made a recent transaction that unfortunately admits a high draft pick on their roster isn’t quite ready.

The Dallas Cowboys have fought through injury trials all season long. Just before the year even started, they lost offensive tackle, Tyron Smith, due to injury. Then, in Week 1, Dak Prescott went out with an injury that would lead to him missing five weeks of the season. And just this last week during pregame warmups, Terence Steele needed to be helped off the field with what was later confirmed as a torn ACL.

Steele is out for the season, and with minimal depth in the secondary, the Cowboys looked to make roster additions to help them weather yet another injury storm. They signed Trayvon Mullen off waivers:

Within this move is a subtle admission that a former draft pick simply hasn’t worked out.

Cowboys adding Trayvon Mullen admits Kelvin Joseph isn’t ready

Kelvin Joseph, taken in the second round of the 2021 draft, was asked to step up a few times this season. He played 41 snaps in Week 10, 29 snaps in Week 13, and 40 snaps in Week 14. Joseph’s performance has been so-so at best, earning a 55.4 grade from Pro Football Focus.

According to PFF, he’s allowed 10 receptions on 15 targets. Not great at all.

Dallas has gotten through their injury woes this season internally up until this point. Rookie Tyler Smith filled in for Tyron Smith at left tackle, scoring a 66.7 per Pro Football Focus. Cooper Rush went 4-1 as a starter while Prescott was out. So with an ethos of “getting by with what we’ve got,” it’s telling that the Cowboys decided to go against just that in backfilling their cornerback need when it came up.

Dallas moving to an external option when things are looking bleak in the secondary is more than just opportunistic, it’s an admission that they don’t think Joseph is ready to have full confidence in him taking on the role of starting cornerback.

There’s still time for Joseph to get right and show he was worthy of the second-round draft pick the Cowboys selected him with, but thus far he hasn’t lived up to the high standards the Cowboys defense calls for.