Film Room: What Is J.J. Wilcox's Ceiling?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I'm not going to disagree that he struggled diagnosing and pursuing. He would see new things and overrun them all year long. There were a couple times where he made the same mistake twice but not too many. It is certainly a concern but is to be expected given his background. He got progressively better as the season wore on.

He also improved in games. One example of this was the Rams game, Fisher dialed up a series of underneath throws to backs and receivers and put the onus on the FS to come up and make a play. Denver destroyed us doing it the year before. Wilcox predictably overran one early and let Stacey back inside for a big gain. The rams kept on going back to it to both sides of the field. JJ played better position defense and showed an uncanny ability to break down in space to deliver a blow. He beat up Stacey the rest of that game.

Another example is the Lions. They ran Tate and Megatron up the hash, our underneath coverage was not very good, and then put moves on Wilcox. This was what teams used to do to Alan Ball all the time with Brooking and James underneath to a very high degree of success. First one he overplayed the cut and let Tate into the open field for a TD. Lions tried that again with Megatron who wasn't able to juke him and then later with Tate again where he had that athletic play to keep up with Tate through 3 cuts and beat a lead block to stop him short of the goal line. It was a huge play.

One thing teams also used to like to do to us was use bunch formations on the weakside and try to isolate WR on the deep S. Wilcox didn't allow that to work and after watching years of Alan Ball and Gerald Sensabaugh fail at executing and letting someone behind them, his consistency against the look was refreshing.

I do see what you are talking about exchanges between zones. I saw it often with cover 3 but I am inclined to put that more on Carr than anyone else. The exchange difficulties seemed to always come from Carr's side of the field and not Scandrick's. Either way the team got better on those exchanges later in the year. Hitchens, Carter, et al were dicey underneath all year. Sean Lee staying healthy would help our coverage more than anything.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

church is easily better than wilcox so far. Better tackler, takes better angles, reacts to plays faster, better in coverage.

He is more disciplined but I disagree that he is a better tackler. He is not better in man coverage or in deep coverage primarily due to his 4.6 speed.

 

[TrailBlazer]

I'm not giving up on wilcox. Though i do want to see what jones can do at FS

 

[StarBoyz83]

Hes for sure better in coverage. Wilcox might be better in the future but hes not right now. Wilcox doesnt play the ball and always pi's. Better tackler is debatable if your talking about physicality. but neither is a fs type so I dont fault them too much. Both ok at ss.

He is more disciplined but I disagree that he is a better tackler. He is not better in man coverage or in deep coverage primarily due to his 4.6 speed.

 

[pacboyX]

Hes for sure better in coverage. Wilcox might be better in the future but hes not right now. Wilcox doesnt play the ball and always pi's. Better tackler is debatable if your talking about physicality. but neither is a fs type so I dont fault them too much. Both ok at ss.

If Jones ends up taking over FS position, then Wilcox would take over for Church.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Hes for sure better in coverage. Wilcox might be better in the future but hes not right now. Wilcox doesnt play the ball and always pi's. Better tackler is debatable if your talking about physicality. but neither is a fs type so I dont fault them too much. Both ok at ss.

Sorry but I do not recall a bevy of PI from him. Most the time QBs simply looked the other way. The team kept Church away from man coverage. Different opinions. No biggie.

 

[StarBoyz83]

If Jones ends up taking over FS position, then Wilcox would take over for Church.

I think Id would agree because wilcox close to the line would be the best bet. Im not trying to be bias im all for the best player on the field. I just feel church is disrespected on this board too much. I would actually be happy with them as our ss rotation.

 

[StarBoyz83]

Sorry but I do not recall a bevy of PI from him. Most the time QBs simply looked the other way. The team kept Church away from man coverage. Different opinions. No biggie.

Not a ton I guess but I just mean he needs coverage work big time. I remember one play cant remember what game church had the dude covered and wilcox tried to help and just straight ran right Into the dude. But I do love wilcox's fire that dude doesnt play around and church doesnt seem to have that.

 

[Wood]

The fact that they have talked about moving BJones to FS tells you everything you need to know about JJWilcox. Too Slow and lacks the range for Safety. His numbers are terrible against the pass and run.

Ceiling: 2nd/3rd string Safety, Special Teams and Emergency RB

I am leaning more toward your thinking. It didn't take Dallas long to start talking about Jones to S. I think most of us just assumed he would be CB. Wilcox was such a raw player coming out of College and I would hate to see them give up on him. Maybe Jones and Wilcox play together and Church is odd man out. That is whole lot of upside.

 

[Aliencowboy]

He is more disciplined but I disagree that he is a better tackler. He is not better in man coverage or in deep coverage primarily due to his 4.6 speed.

This was an interesting article at BTB. The review favors Church and basically flies in the face of what you are saying.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2015...2015-secondary-finally-in-position-to-succeed


FS J.J. Wilcox, 6'0 217 lbs
Wilcox is more of a box guy than a free safety but has shown the relentless spirit needed for the safety position as a whole. Over the past two seasons, Wilcox has had awesome moments but has also had moments that leave you perplexed. Although, we tend to forget that the pass rush of this team never did them any favors.

SeasonSnapsOverallPass Cov.INTNeg. playsPass Def.Def. Passer
rating
20141,138-11-6.4317171.1
2013530-3.2-6.808198.3


Though his overall and pass coverage grades are not that appeasing, he did a nice job at disrupting the receivers, which shows in the quarterback rating levied against him last year. Wilcox has only played the position for three years and now enters his fourth. I expect the improvement will show from year two to three and possibly quite early. He's got some ball skills and can deliver a good blow, two things that will keep you on the roster.

SS Barry Church, 6'1 222 lbs
Church has been a solid defender for the Cowboys over the past five years. He's got good instincts that allow him to cover for his lack of speed. He's been a solid run defender as well and has led the team in tackles the last two seasons. For undrafted free agent, he's certainly made a presence for this coaching staff.

SeasonSnapsOverallPass Cov.INTNeg. playsPass Def.Def. Passer
rating
20141,0262.1-2.6235389.1
20131,048-0.2-0.8128196.2
2012108-0.8-1.601095.2
20111723.3-0.2060137.7
2010119-4.1-1.3030117.7


Church only gave up a 100 passer rating three times last season and really helped the secondary look better at times. Church is the ultimate competitor and will only improve with guys like Sean Lee back plus an improved pass rush.

 

[JBell]

If Jones ends up taking over FS position, then Wilcox would take over for Church.

That would be silly considering Church is better near the LOS than Wilcox is.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

This was an interesting article at BTB. The review favors Church and basically flies in the face of what you are saying.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2015...2015-secondary-finally-in-position-to-succeed


FS J.J. Wilcox, 6'0 217 lbs
Wilcox is more of a box guy than a free safety but has shown the relentless spirit needed for the safety position as a whole. Over the past two seasons, Wilcox has had awesome moments but has also had moments that leave you perplexed. Although, we tend to forget that the pass rush of this team never did them any favors.

SeasonSnapsOverallPass Cov.INTNeg. playsPass Def.Def. Passer
rating
20141,138-11-6.4317171.1
2013530-3.2-6.808198.3


Though his overall and pass coverage grades are not that appeasing, he did a nice job at disrupting the receivers, which shows in the quarterback rating levied against him last year. Wilcox has only played the position for three years and now enters his fourth. I expect the improvement will show from year two to three and possibly quite early. He's got some ball skills and can deliver a good blow, two things that will keep you on the roster.

SS Barry Church, 6'1 222 lbs
Church has been a solid defender for the Cowboys over the past five years. He's got good instincts that allow him to cover for his lack of speed. He's been a solid run defender as well and has led the team in tackles the last two seasons. For undrafted free agent, he's certainly made a presence for this coaching staff.

SeasonSnapsOverallPass Cov.INTNeg. playsPass Def.Def. Passer
rating
20141,0262.1-2.6235389.1
20131,048-0.2-0.8128196.2
2012108-0.8-1.601095.2
20111723.3-0.2060137.7
2010119-4.1-1.3030117.7


Church only gave up a 100 passer rating three times last season and really helped the secondary look better at times. Church is the ultimate competitor and will only improve with guys like Sean Lee back plus an improved pass rush.

What specifically does it disagree with? He is regurgitating pff S stats and giving emotional generalizations.

You cannot see S play particularly FS play from the telecast so how they think they can evaluate his play?

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

PFF also has Wilcox with a better defensive passer rating. Church is 10 points higher. Lower is better in this case. Not that I put stock in that either.

 

[RS12]

The Packer game convinced me Wilcox isnt the answer at FS, though I had huge doubts before. I think Jones was brought into be a shut down CB not FS, and hopefully he turns into one. Look at what corners cost vs safeties on the cap, think that is the plan. Some nice safeties in the 2016 draft.

 

[darthseinfeld]

I think Wilcox can be a poor mans Kam Chancellor at SS. I think at FS he is Ken Hamlin

 

[rockj7]

In a perfect world, Mo will show just enough that we can trade him for a decent corner that better fits our scheme. Probably less upside, but maybe a guy who is better now.

If Mo played like a number 6 pick in the first round we could move Jones to FS but sadly that is not the case

 

[Knotamus]

I'm not going to disagree that he struggled diagnosing and pursuing. He would see new things and overrun them all year long. There were a couple times where he made the same mistake twice but not too many. It is certainly a concern but is to be expected given his background. He got progressively better as the season wore on.

He also improved in games. One example of this was the Rams game, Fisher dialed up a series of underneath throws to backs and receivers and put the onus on the FS to come up and make a play. Denver destroyed us doing it the year before. Wilcox predictably overran one early and let Stacey back inside for a big gain. The rams kept on going back to it to both sides of the field. JJ played better position defense and showed an uncanny ability to break down in space to deliver a blow. He beat up Stacey the rest of that game.

Another example is the Lions. They ran Tate and Megatron up the hash, our underneath coverage was not very good, and then put moves on Wilcox. This was what teams used to do to Alan Ball all the time with Brooking and James underneath to a very high degree of success. First one he overplayed the cut and let Tate into the open field for a TD. Lions tried that again with Megatron who wasn't able to juke him and then later with Tate again where he had that athletic play to keep up with Tate through 3 cuts and beat a lead block to stop him short of the goal line. It was a huge play.

One thing teams also used to like to do to us was use bunch formations on the weakside and try to isolate WR on the deep S. Wilcox didn't allow that to work and after watching years of Alan Ball and Gerald Sensabaugh fail at executing and letting someone behind them, his consistency against the look was refreshing.

I do see what you are talking about exchanges between zones. I saw it often with cover 3 but I am inclined to put that more on Carr than anyone else. The exchange difficulties seemed to always come from Carr's side of the field and not Scandrick's. Either way the team got better on those exchanges later in the year. Hitchens, Carter, et al were dicey underneath all year. Sean Lee staying healthy would help our coverage more than anything.

Great breakdown of Wilcox and pointing out that he's only getting better. As this should be no surprise giving the amount of time he's played the position. I like Wilcox a lot and apparently the Cowboys do too based on his Starter status with such limited experience. He is a Physical freak that could prob play several different positions on this team if asked to. I applaud your research.

I think Wilcox can be a poor mans Kam Chancellor at SS. I think at FS he is Ken Hamlin

Its funny you should mention Kam in the same breath as Wilcox, as I posted a similar comment in another thread..check it out:

Comparison: Seattle's safeties are considered top three duo in the league, so lets compare last years stats and you decide.
*tackles- sacks- TFL- PD- INT
Earl Thomas 5'10" 202 (25yo): 97- 0- 2- 6- 1
Cam Chancellor 6'3" 232 (27yo): 78- 0- 2- 6- 1

JJ Wilcox 6'0" 212 (24yo): 74- 0- 0- 5- 3
Barry Church 6'2" 218 (27yo): 97- 0- 2- 6- 2

My Opinion: I think we have a solid Safety tandem that will on get better. We could nick pick and say Dallas needs to upgrade Barry Church, but as an undrafted player.. he is exactly what teams would love to find..a true diamond in the rough. You cant field a team with all first rounders, teams rely on scouting reports to manage the cap and hopefully get 'good' production in return. Based solely on the stats above and knowing he didn't get much help from the DL last year..I'd say Barry did a hell of a job. Wilcox is still refining his game and still had 3 Int's! He isn't afraid to "lay the Wood" and the emotion he brings to the secondary reminds me of Dez. His ceiling? Well, the sky's the limit. I agree with FuzzyLumpkins and I'll add...Sean Lee is a difference maker, Rolando McClain is a difference maker, Hardy is a difference maker.... you get the point. There's a ton of talent on this team that wasn't here this time last year. With the additions along the DL, the improved depth at LB, first round talent being added at CB, and several second year players with a full offseason to be prepared...(Copy and Paste later) I'll go on record and say this defense is top 5 and Superbowl ready.

 

[dallasdave]

Great breakdown of Wilcox and pointing out that he's only getting better. As this should be no surprise giving the amount of time he's played the position. I like Wilcox a lot and apparently the Cowboys do too based on his Starter status with such limited experience. He is a Physical freak that could prob play several different positions on this team if asked to. I applaud your research.



Its funny you should mention Kam in the same breath as Wilcox, as I posted a similar comment in another thread..check it out:

Comparison: Seattle's safeties are considered top three duo in the league, so lets compare last years stats and you decide.
*tackles- sacks- TFL- PD- INT
Earl Thomas 5'10" 202 (25yo): 97- 0- 2- 6- 1
Cam Chancellor 6'3" 232 (27yo): 78- 0- 2- 6- 1

JJ Wilcox 6'0" 212 (24yo): 74- 0- 0- 5- 3
Barry Church 6'2" 218 (27yo): 97- 0- 2- 6- 2

My Opinion: I think we have a solid Safety tandem that will on get better. We could nick pick and say Dallas needs to upgrade Barry Church, but as an undrafted player.. he is exactly what teams would love to find..a true diamond in the rough. You cant field a team with all first rounders, teams rely on scouting reports to manage the cap and hopefully get 'good' production in return. Based solely on the stats above and knowing he didn't get much help from the DL last year..I'd say Barry did a hell of a job. Wilcox is still refining his game and still had 3 Int's! He isn't afraid to "lay the Wood" and the emotion he brings to the secondary reminds me of Dez. His ceiling? Well, the sky's the limit. I agree with FuzzyLumpkins and I'll add...Sean Lee is a difference maker, Rolando McClain is a difference maker, Hardy is a difference maker.... you get the point. There's a ton of talent on this team that wasn't here this time last year. With the additions along the DL, the improved depth at LB, first round talent being added at CB, and several second year players with a full offseason to be prepared...(Copy and Paste later) I'll go on record and say this defense is top 5 and Superbowl ready.

Well said, stay thirsty my friend.

 

[speedkilz88]

In this podcast with Brad Sham it sounds like the coaches picture Byron Jones as a CB. 5:45 in for talk about Byron. They think the techniques and scheme they run are better for him than what they taught and ran at UCONN.

http://download.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d1/d8/dC/dK/dO/18CKO_3.MP3

 

[CCBoy]

Dallas Cowboys film room: What is J.J. Wilcox’s ceiling?
By Marcus Mosher



I used to believe that quarterback was the most talent-deprived position in the NFL. But with the influx of great talent into the position the last few years (Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Teddy Bridgewater, etc), I no longer believe this is true.

If I were to ask you to name the best five free safeties in the NFL, I’m sure you would say Earl Thomas and probably Devin McCourty. After that, you may struggle to even come up with three other names. For the most part, teams are sending out pairs of safeties that are real liabilities on the field. As for the Dallas Cowboys, they currently have two average safeties, which gives them one of the best tandems in the league if that makes sense. That should also give you an idea of where the safety position is at now in the NFL.

The biggest problem for Dallas regarding their safety play is that they currently have two strong safeties that both thrive when they are moving forward and are lined up closer to the line of scrimmage. As for J.J. Wilcox, he’s had to endure a tough transition from college running back to strong safety and now to free safety. It hasn’t been a seamless move, but it may have clouded our judgment as to how good Wilcox can eventually be...



Read more at http://cover32.com/cowboys/2015/05/...t-is-j-j-wilcoxs-ceiling/#SdaJQK4SEVwLxmmi.99