Xavien Howard has emerged as one of the top three cornerbacks in the NFL. He’s a man to man coverage specialist who specializes in shutting down a vertical passing game. What sets him apart from other cornerbacks in the league is the patience he displays. Xavien is a technician that always has his eyes on the receiver. He has the speed to match who he covers and runs step for step on the route. The other day, he issued a statement saying he wanted to be traded. Let’s take a look at some possibilities on who could acquire him.
1. Arizona Cardinals: This makes a ton of sense. First, they lost Patrick Peterson in the offseason. Yeah, they added Malcolm Butler and Darqueze Dennard, two veterans, why not try to further fill the void with a ball hawking cornerback like Xavien? The Cardinals defense has the pass rushers and the linebackers. Adding Xavien to the mix would further elevate this defense. He’s the one guy that can force turnovers and this would give Kyler Murray a short field to work with. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph also knows Xavien well. He was a coach on the Dolphins back in 2016. Vance also prefers playing man to man coverage, the defense Xavien excels in.
2. Dallas Cowboys: They should definitely be all in for him. As usual, the expectations are high for the Cowboys. They could have a high-flying offense with Ezekiel Elliott, CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper and a healthy Dak Prescott. The defense however still has a ton of questions. Micah Parsons was a great draft pick out of Penn State. He will have an impact. Having Xavien would be a significant upgrade for the Dallas secondary. Pairing him up with Trevon Diggs would be a great duo in the backend to produce at the catch point. The Cowboys need that difference maker on the defensive side and Xavien would provide that immediately.
3. Kansas City Chiefs: There may not be a better destination than Kansas City. They are the class of the AFC and the Super Bowl window is still relatively open. If you watched the Super Bowl in February, the Chiefs struggled all over. However, the secondary really struggled against the Buccaneers. On the defensive side, cornerback is a big liability for the Chiefs. L’Jarius Sneed and Charvarius Ward are the current starters. They don’t scare me. Moving a potential first-round draft pick for a guy of Xavien’s caliber makes the most sense to me. He and Tyrann Mathieu in the backend would be a scary tandem.
4. Tennessee Titans: If you all heard me rant about the Titans last season, I always complained about two things. One was the lack of a pass rush (which they still haven’t addressed) and the other was the lack of discipline in the secondary. The Titans did draft Caleb Farley in the Spring. However, he will start the season on the PUP list (Physically Unable To Perform). A player of Xavier’s caliber will boost up the Titans defense and it would make them more of a threat to Kansas City in the conference. You need that one guy who can line up against Tyreek Hill. This would be an intriguing move for Mike Vrabel and the Tennesse Titans.
