Kaiir Elam, Israel Mukuamu making the case against Cowboys adding another CB

The Cowboys cornerback room underwent an interesting makeover across the offseason.

The Dallas Cowboys entered this offseason with questions at the cornerback position. Jourdan Lewis got a well-deserved bag from the Jaguars in free agency, leaving a hole in the slot in Dallas. That, combined with Trevon Diggs’ unclear timeline for recovery from a season-ending knee injury, left the Cowboys needing to find potentially two starters for Week 1 at least.

In a reversal of their usual tactics, Dallas was aggressive in trying to fill the void. They traded for Kaiir Elam, a former first-round pick of the Bills, and re-signed Israel Mukuamu, a college corner who has mostly played safety with the Cowboys. Then they drafted Shavon Revel Jr., who likely would’ve been a first-round pick if not for tearing his ACL at the start of last season.

On top of those three additions, the Cowboys still have Caelen Carson, Andrew Booth Jr., Josh Butler (injury recovery), Kemon Hall, and Troy Pride as well. Carson flashed last preseason but struggled in the regular season, similar to Booth. Butler had a successful stint playing until he had his own ACL injury. Hall showed some flash in preseason and Pride is a former standout at Notre Dame who once was a starter for the Panthers before an injury derailed his career.

In short, the Cowboys have options, though none could be considered overwhelmingly obvious answers. That’s why some have connected the dots on potential interest in veteran cornerbacks like Jalen Ramsey, Jaire Alexander, and others.

However, with mandatory minicamp now in the books, any conversation of going after other players should be put on hold until further notice. That’s largely due to the way these defensive backs, notably Elam and Mukuamu, have looked so far.

Elam, whose skillset always felt like a better fit for the schemes Matt Eberflus runs, seemingly turned heads every day of minicamp. According to those who have been in attendance for all the practices open to the media, Elam has consistently been working with the first team defense and has come away with at least one pass breakup every day.

Elam has also demonstrated the right kind of mentality in his interviews with the media. In a recent interview, he made some statements that sound like exactly the kind of thing Brian Schottenheimer has spoke about wanting from his players.

“When I got the call to come here I was just blessed and super grateful,” Elam said. “When [the Cowboys] told me I would have a fair chance and a clean cut chance to go out and show what I could do, that’s something that almost damn near brought tears to my eyes. I was just so happy and that’s something I would never take for granted.”

“I just want to be a consistent dog every day,” Elam said. “My coaches, when they talk about me and about my performance on the field, or my performance in the weight room, or my performance in my ability to catch onto the plays fast, I just want them to say Kaiir is super consistent and he gave it all he could every single time and I’ll be happy with that.”

Elam isn’t the only one showing up and showing out, though. With Diggs and Revel still both primarily working with the rehab group, Israel Mukuamu has received ample opportunities to show what he can do at cornerback.

Mukuamu played cornerback at South Carolina, opposite of one time Cowboys draft target Jaycee Horn, but when he was drafted to Dallas Mukuamu was transitioned to safety by Dan Quinn. He played spot duty as the nickel corner for the Cowboys’ first playoff game in 2022, a win over the Buccaneers in Tom Brady’s last game ever, but has since seen minimal snaps on the field.

Now, though, Mukuamu is getting his shot and not wasting it. Outside of one highlight catch given up to George Pickens (who has also been killing it this offseason), Mukuamu has frequently been noted as one of the more impressive defenders thus far.

Mukuamu has taken most of his snaps at outside corner, with Bland seeing plenty of work in the slot when the Cowboys go to their nickel package, but Mukuamu has also gotten some reps in the slot as well. It seems as if the coaching staff is handing Mukuamu every opportunity to prove he belongs on the field, and he’s making the most of it.

Of course, the long-term plan in Dallas is for both Diggs and Revel to be the starters outside (assuming Bland is the designated nickel corner), so both Elam and Mukuamu may just be competing for a temp job right now.

Regardless of what the long-term plans are, though, the play of both Elam and Mukuamu up to this point should give the Cowboys pause on adding any other veteran defensive backs into the mix right now.