Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys drafted the best sixth-rounder in 2016 and might've done it again this year

Published Apr. 30, 2017 7:27 a.m. ET

Andre Vergara

The Cowboys drafted the best sixth-round pick in 2016, and they might've just done it again.

Dallas traded up Saturday to take Louisiana Tech safety Xavier Woods with the 191st pick in the NFL Draft. The Cowboys sent the Jets their 2018 fifth-round pick to move up 20 spots from No. 211 and add another young piece to their rebuilding defense. A three-time First Team All-Conference USA selection, Woods had 89 tackles, five interceptions, three sacks and broke up six passes last season.

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The Cowboys struck gold in the sixth round in 2016, drafting Purdue cornerback Anthony Brown, who made nine starts as a rookie and had 55 tackles with an interception.

The Cowboys lost two safeties, Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox, in free agency along with cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr.

Dallas used seven of their nine picks on defense in this year's draft, taking Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton in the first round, Colorado cornerback Chidobe Awuzie in the second, Michigan corner Jourdan Lewis in the third, Florida State corner Marquez White in the sixth and Florida defensive tackle Joey Ivie and Colorado defensive end Jordan Carrell in the seventh. The Cowboys also drafted a couple wide receivers, North Carolina's Ryan Switzer in the fourth and Ohio State's Noah Brown in the seventh.

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Perhaps the most excited was WWE star Xavier Woods.

https://twitter.com/XavierWoodsPhD/status/858416928620253185