The Oakland Raiders have waived Obi Melifonwu, the No. 56 pick in the 2017 draft out of Connecticut. He entered the league with a plethora of excitement after making an absolute mess of the NFL combine. He occupies the same athletic stratosphere as his former secondary-mate, Cowboys CB Byron Jones, but has yet to see the same kind of consistency to his game. Melifonwu has only been available for five games in his short career due to injuries, having already been placed on IR three times in just under two years.
It would be foolish to think Melifonwu is of no interest to Dallas. During the leadup to the 2017 draft, the Cowboys went and worked him out in Connecticut. They then used one of their 30 pre-draft visits to bring him in for a second look.
And now, they have a de facto defensive coordinator in Kris Richard who covets length and size at the position. Dallas recently signed C.J. Goodwin, a young journeyman for those reasons, but he was lost after two weeks due to a forearm injury against Washington in Week 7 that will require surgery.
Melifonwu stands 6-foot-4, and fits perfectly under the physical profile the team now covets. Melifonwu is subject to waivers and in the unlikely event he goes unclaimed, he would be free to sign where he pleased.
The Cowboys, with a 3-4 record, sit No. 12 in the waiver-claim order, not counting Oakland.
Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Claiming Melifonwu, 24, means assuming the remaining two and a half years of his modest second-rounder’s contract. Waiting until he clears waivers means teams can negotiate an even more favorable deal, but have to compete with other suitors.
UPDATE: Melifonwu has cleared waivers and is free to sign with any club.
It’s no secret around these parts the Dallas Cowboys are quite fond of athletic DBs with size and length, both of which Melifonwu has in spades.
The Cowboys have also been known to take on low-risk, high-reward reclamation projects, like Jonathan Cooper, Alfred Morris, and Rolondo McClain in recent memory. The addition of Melifonwu would give the Cowboys a developmental safety project for the future, and if healthy at the very least could bring some competition to the room during training camp in 2019.
With the recent advent of Jones as a top-tier DB, under the teaching of Richard, all logic would suggest that similar success could be had with the former second rounder. The biggest concern for the young safety is his health, being only available for five games in the past two years has severely stunted his development.
As athletic as he may be, he was still a raw prospect coming out of college in much need of refinement when it came to the technical aspects of his game. Rehabbing with the Cowboys strength and conditioning coaches would also afford him the time to sit and learn the Cowboys defense and spend time familiarizing himself to it’s terminology and schematics.
With the hiring of Gruden, Melifonwu has yet to have consistency in his career when it comes to coaching as well. Having two entirely different defensive coaching staffs from his rookie year to this one.
The Cowboys would be wise to take a flyer on the former Husky while the price and risk are both low. Though the addition would not make much of a difference in the coming weeks as Dallas gears up for the second half of the season, but it could become a worthwhile investment down the road for a team always on the look out for improving it’s roster.
