Stephon Gilmore Trade Could be the Difference-Maker for the Cowboys in 2023
It’s not likely that the Cowboys would have been able to draft two players in the 5th round that are the caliber of Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks. So they went the more direct route, acquiring both players over the last week via trades that filled two key holes on their roster. Both moves will put Dallas in great position to compete with any team in the NFC next season.
Today, we’ll take a look at Gilmore, a cornerback who hasn’t garnered much attention in recent years for his on-field performance. Maybe that’s because he’s played for three straight teams that finished below .500. Maybe that’s also because he’s missed 15 games over the last 3 seasons and hasn’t quite played at the level he did in 2019, when he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.
It’s true that Gilmore might not be that caliber of player anymore, but he’s still a very good cornerback. And pairing him with Trevon Diggs in Dan Quinn’s system is going to create problems for opposing offenses.
While Gilmore has spent more time playing zone coverage in recent years, and particularly in 2022, he is still very effective when playing man. Over the last two seasons, quarterbacks have just a 50.3 passer rating when targeting him in man coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. That includes a completion percentage of less than 50%.
Regardless of the coverage he’s asked to play, Gilmore relies on great instincts and route recognition to win, as I’ll show on the examples below.
On this first play against the Cowboys from last season, he was locked up in man coverage on Michael Gallup to the back side of a 3x1 formation:
With the Colts defense pushing to the 3-receiver side of the field in zone, there would be no help for Gilmore in the middle of the field:
Gilmore didn’t panic when Gallup took his route stem inside. Instead, he stayed on Gallup’s outside shoulder (ready to break inside if necessary), read his body language, and then ran the route for him to get the interception: