Blogging The Boys
Here is a look at the state of the Cowboys safeties group.
As we wind down our roster review, we take a look at the Dallas Cowboys safeties. The position had improved under Dan Quinn, but Quinn also liked to have his safeties moonlight as linebackers to add more speed in the front seven. With a new defensive coordinator, some players had to adjust to playing a more traditional role. The good news is Dallas has some continuity with many of their safeties being on the roster for multiple seasons. Here is a closer look at Dallas’ safeties ahead of training camp.
Malik Hooker enters his now fifth season with the Dallas Cowboys after originally being drafted in 2017 by the Indianapolis Colts. The one thing that was a problem about Hooker before joining the Cowboys was his health. Since coming to Dallas he has been durable. Since joining the Cowboys, he has only missed two games and played 96% of the defensive snaps last season.
As a player, he may not be as rangy as he was in Indianapolis but still adequate at playing center field to take away deep pass attempts. The one aspect that has been a pleasant surprise is how well he plays the run. Per PFF, Hooker was 25th amongst 171 safeties in run defense, graded at 77.8. Hooker is well suited for the role that he is in. You could do a lot worse at safety and Hooker has shown that he is a reliable veteran.
Donovan Wilson is a big hitter capable of folding even the most rugged of running backs into origami. However, we’ve seen that he’s most effective playing down in the box near the line of scrimmage. The further you get Wilson away from the line of scrimmage in coverage, the less impactful he can become. Wilson enters the year on an $8.6M cap hit and is by far the most expensive safety the Cowboys have on their roster. At 30 years old, and with his third defensive coordinator in as many years, could this be the end of the line for Wilson in Dallas?
If there’s a candidate to break out in the Cowboys’ defense, it could be Junayeh Thomas. Thomas has been flirting with breaking into a starter’s role over the last few seasons because of his versatility and very strong showing in training camp and the preseason. Thomas boasts an impressive athletic profile at 6’3”, 217 lbs. In the last two training camps, we’ve seen Thomas show a nose for the football and countless times be in the right place at the right time. While sitting in zone defenses, he seems to have a good understanding of route concepts and knows where to make a play on the ball. For now, he mostly played on special teams with one kickoff return touchdown. Keep a close eye on Thomas this year. He’s been getting some run as the slot...
