The Dallas Cowboys took former Michigan cornerback Jourdan Lewis in the third round of the NFL Draft Friday, expressing confidence in him as both a player and person. Lewis is a facing a domestic violence charge he believes will be dropped.
Lewis was expected to go in the second round and was No. 45 on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper’s big board, but he slipped to the Cowboys at No. 92 overall. He is facing a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence stemming from a March 15 incident with his girlfriend and scheduled to appear in court July 24.
“We had thoroughly looked at his situation. We had done that much earlier,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “One of his particular, greatest attributes and assets was his outstanding off-the-field character throughout his life. On top of that, he has great football character, as well. So we were satisfied that we’d be okay there.”
“Our guys did a tremendous job researching this situation and doing their due diligence,” head coach Jason Garrett added. “What came from it was that we feel really strongly about this player, not only as a player, but as a person. Greg Jackson, our secondary coach, was on the staff at Michigan, and he knows him well. We know the coaches up their well. All the due diligence we did made us feel very comfortable in this situation.”
Jackson was Michigan’s secondary coach in head coach Jim Harbaugh’s first year.
Lewis, the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year in 2016, expressed confidence the case would be thrown out.
“I completely think that all charges will be dropped and I think I will be exonerated from everything,” he said. “I’m completely innocent. I believe that wholeheartedly. And I’m just going to have to see what happens in my next trial date. I think it’ll be squashed, right then and there – that first trial date. I’m just looking forward to getting into training camp.”
Camp starts just before the July 24 hearing.
The Cowboys also took Colorado’s Chidobe Awuzie in the second round. There’s been talk that Lewis will be a slot corner, but nothing is set just yet.
“We felt good about coming in here and getting some depth at that position,” Garrett said. “We don’t really know where everyone is going to start out right now. We just want them to get in here and get to work.”
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