Related: Gerald McCoy film room — how he fits with the Cowboys

If signing Gerald McCoy was considered a splash, then the Dallas Cowboys agreeing to a deal with cornerback Maurice Canady is merely a ripple. Nonetheless, given that’s it’s a low-money, short-term deal, Canady is a low-risk hire who should be able to provide valuable depth in the secondary while also contributing on special teams.

In 2019, Canady began the season as a member of the Baltimore Ravens practice squad before being promoted to the active roster for their Week 2 contest against the Arizona Cardinals. Canady remained on the active roster until a disastrous showing against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6, where he allowed 10 catches (on 14 targets) for 109 yards, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), while also struggling on special teams. He was quickly claimed by the New York Jets, seeing his first action on special teams in Week 10 before making his first appearance on the team’s defense in Week 11.

Canady played the best football of his career once he saw the field with the Jets, as he was more consistent in coverage and on special teams. In five games with the Ravens, he allowed 17 receptions (on 27 targets) for 166 yards on 117 coverage snaps, per PFF. However, in the seven games he appeared on defense with the Jets, he allowed just nine catches (on 14 targets) for 78 yards on 146 coverage snaps.

Altogether, Canady was targeted 41 times, allowing 26 catches for 244 yards and a 69.6 passer rating while accumulating 1 INT and 4 PBUs in 2019 in 12 games (three starts), per PFF. However, if you take away his one poor showing against Cincinnati (he performed much better against them as a Jet), he only allowed 16 catches (on 27 targets) for 135 yards in 11 games.

Not bad.

New #Cowboys CB Maurice Canady doing a nice job driving on the out route from off coverage to secure the PBU. Does a good job sticking his hand through the catch point instead of swiping at the ball. pic.twitter.com/oL6VTg9fUV — John Owning (@JohnOwning) March 18, 2020

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 193 pounds, Canady provides valuable depth for the Cowboys at outside cornerback and could also become a major contributor on special teams.

Canady is most comfortable in zone coverage as he displays good awareness in intermediate and deep zones, showing a keen understanding of how to pass off and take on defenders in his zone. He’s really at his best in off or bail zone coverage where he can cap (stay on top of) vertical routes and play top-down on any stop or breaking routes. Here’s a great example:

One of Canady's strengths in coverage is his ability to cap vertical routes from bail or off coverage. Does an excellent job staying on top of this go route while squeezing the WR to the sideline and minimizing the throwing window. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/GwYN3eAlhg — John Owning (@JohnOwning) March 18, 2020

On this play, Canady is aligned as the right cornerback opposite Bills wide receiver Robert Foster and his 4.4 speed. Once the ball his snapped, Canady quickly transitions into his bail technique, where he opens up his hips to the field and runs downfield to cover the deep-third to his side of the field.

Notice how Canady accelerates to keep Foster in his peripheral vision when Foster tries to stem into his blind spot. This puts Canady in perfect position to cap the route while squeezing Foster to the sideline, creating a minuscule throwing window for the quarterback.

Unfortunately, despite Canady possessing the requisite deep speed, he shouldn’t be classified as a burner, which causes him to struggle to recover when he’s beat at the line of scrimmage or gives up separation at the top of the route. Because of this, Canady is often slow to trigger on underneath routes when playing in coverage. He’s so fixated on not getting beat deep that he’ll sometime give up some cheap stuff underneath.

Canady also has a checkered injury history since entering the NFL in 2016, as he’s spent time on injured reserve in three of his four seasons (and activated off IR in two of those seasons) — a hamstring injury in 2016, knee injury in 2017 (activated off IR in early November) and thigh injury in 2018 (activated off IR in late November).

Nevertheless, Canady does deserve credit for his ability to limit yards-after-catch, as he’s a reliable tackler who doesn’t make bad plays worse by missed tackles. He finished 15th among all NFL cornerbacks in tackling efficiency after posting just two missed tackles in 2019, per PFF. Here’s a great example:

On this play, Canady is aligned as the left cornerback in press coverage. With New York in a variation of Cover 2, Canady is able to get his head back to the QB and quickly identify the throw to the ever-elusive Joe Mixon in the flat underneath Canady’s zone.

Having a cornerback one-on-one in open space with an elusive RB is something that keeps defensive coordinators up at night. However, Canady acquitted himself well in this scenario.

Notice how Canady quickly triggers and accelerates downhill, as it enables him to minimize the open space once the ball is thrown to the flat. Moreover, Canady smartly maintains outside leverage on Mixon, as he knows that his teammate (No. 58) is there to help if Mixon cuts inside.

Once Mixon covers the ball with both hands and ducks his head, making it obvious he’s going to attack downhill and physically challenge Canady at the point of contact, he expertly drops his pad level and fires through Mixon’s knees to drop the Bengals RB to the ground to limit the positive yardage.

The Bengals must have though Canady was lucky — they threw the ball to Mixon in the flat, which once again put Canady in a one-on-one situation in space against the running back, who opted to use elusiveness instead of power. Nonetheless, the result was the same, as Canady was able to bring Mixon down short of the sticks (above clip).

Canady could also provide the #Cowboys with value as a gunner on punt coverage. pic.twitter.com/PgG8XaR7bB — John Owning (@JohnOwning) March 18, 2020

Outside of his abilities as a defensive back, Canady can provide the Cowboys with a lot of value on special teams. A poor outing on special teams contributed to him getting waived by Baltimore, but Canady proved to be a special teams asset in New York, securing four tackles — tied for the most special team tackles on the Jets since Week 10, as he provided New York with an effective gunner on punt coverage while also contributing on kickoff coverage and punt return.

Overall, a cheap one-year deal for a 25-year-old cornerback who can provide the Cowboys with valuable depth in the secondary while also being a major contributor on special teams is a bargain. A team is only as good as its depth. Signing Canady puts the Cowboys one step closer to solidifying the overall roster depth.

Just like the Kerry Hyder deal last spring, signing Canady is the classic low-risk, high-reward type of deal that the Cowboys love to target in free agency.

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