Post-draft team analysis: S

[gimmesix]

Starters: Xavier Woods, George Iloka
Contenders: Jeff Heath, Kavon Frazier, Jameill Showers, Darian Thompson, Donovan Wilson

The Cowboys have spent the past two seasons trying, unsuccessfully, to turn Jeff Heath into a strong safety. Heath gets maligned somewhat unfairly for this because he simply is not a strong safety and should never have been the heir apparent to Barry Church for the position. The reason Dallas tried to make that happen is because of Heath's play in a reserve role as a deep safety. He returned to playing that way in 2017 when they moved him to free safety after he started off a strong safety and played the run so poorly that the Cowboys tried to move Byron Jones to strong safety (to equally disastrous results).

With Xavier Woods starting at free safety in 2018, Heath returned to strong safety and was a little better at it but still missed too many tackles, took too many bad angles, etc. He has good size for the position and doesn't mind hitting, but Heath just isn't great in run support. So our two best safeties were free safety types, which is the reason that the safeties we've brought in this offseason are more SS types.

George Iloka is a lot like Church, a slower player who is stout against the run and uses his head in pass defense. He's not a perfect option at strong safety because his lack of speed can be exposed, but he's going to play the run stoutly and mostly be where he's supposed to be, which is why I believe that he will be the starter this year. I see Heath returning to a passing-down deep safety role in the nickel and dime, and being a special teams ace.

Kavon Frazier is also a stout special-teammer, which is why I think he has a spot secured unless someone like Darian Thompson can prove to be just as good on special teams but better on defense. While Frazier is a good run defender, his lack of speed hurts him in pass defense. I'm a bit surprised that Jameill Showers is still here. I don't think his preseason play at safety has been bad since he transitioned to the position, but I don't think he's more than a camp body at the position.

It doesn't seem likely that Donovan Wilson is going to be ready to challenge Iloka for the SS job this year. He's a big hitter who needs to learn to wrap up His coverage ability looks pretty good to me in the videos I've watched, with the ability to stick with receivers and pluck the ball away. However, he's knocked for stiffness and needs to learn to play with consistency. His ferocity on attacking the ball carrier will be fun to watch this preseason, but if he gets matched up on quick-cutting receivers or backs, it might not be pretty.

I didn't say much about Woods, but I really don't think Dallas has seen anything from him to this point where the Cowboys really are interested in replacing him. The team flirted with Earl Thomas because he's Earl Thomas, but otherwise has not really targeted the free safety position. Woods had a solid season to build on in his first year as the starting FS.

DRAFT PREDICTION: I think we'll keep five this year (Woods, Iloka, Heath, Frazier, Wilson). Thompson might be the wild card. The former third-round pick has some starting experience, but his career has been sidetracked by injuries. He could possibily beat our Frazier or make the team if Wilson plays poorly.

 

[slick325]

Curious to see Darian Thompson. He had a nose for the ball in college. Thought he was a possible playmaker when the Giants grabbed him out of Boise. His speed (or lack of speed) scared me off of his band wagon in 2016. Hopefully he can show consistent flashes. We'll see.

 

[jazzcat22]

Iloka is better than many will give him credit for. I seen him play a lot for the Bengals. As I try to watch all of their games if not playing at the same time as Dallas.

All I remember is him making some big plays and some big hits. But he also had a very good DL and pass rush at the time too. If Dallas can get that play from their DL and improved upon last season, then I think many will be pleasantly surprised with Iloka.

 

[gimmesix]

Curious to see Darian Thompson. He had a nose for the ball in college. Thought he was a possible playmaker when the Giants grabbed him out of Boise. His speed (or lack of speed) scared me off of his band wagon in 2016. Hopefully he can show consistent flashes. We'll see.

This is the issue with several of our strong safety candidates. They all run in the 4.6 range or lower. Some can overcome those obstacles to an extent because of their football acumen, but some don't ever get to that point. I don't know where Thompson stands in that regard. The Giants seemed to want to make him a free safety, partly because they had Collins and partly because of his ball skills. I think he's going to have to be a strong safety to survive in this league.

 

[snapper]

"play the run stoutly and mostly be where he's supposed to be, which is why I believe that he will be the starter this year." -- gimmesix

That is why they brought him in to compete with Heath, and anyone else, for the SS role. He will not make very many spectacular plays versus the pass, but he reliable (to be where he needs to be) and is a sure tackler. I believe that is what they want from their SS.

 

[gimmesix]

Iloka is better than many will give him credit for. I seen him play a lot for the Bengals. As I try to watch all of their games if not playing at the same time as Dallas.

All I remember is him making some big plays and some big hits. But he also had a very good DL and pass rush at the time too. If Dallas can get that play from their DL and improved upon last season, then I think many will be pleasantly surprised with Iloka.

I think he's much like Church, who was also a better player than many gave him credit for. He's very solid against the run, putting himself in the right position, making sound tackles and missing very few tackles. Against the pass, there are going to be times that fans will be calling for his head because the bad plays stand out while most of the time the ball will go elsewhere because he's in good position as a defender. If offenses can isolate him, they can beat him, but I believe the coverage scheme Richard uses is supposed to keep that from happening. He'll be mostly playing underneath coverage going forward instead of chasing receivers and tight ends down the field. If we see him in chase receivers, then Richard was either outsmarted or an assignment got blown.

Now, if he doesn't fare well in the underneath coverage, that's on him. But from the clips I've watched, I think he can handle that role. If we put him back deep and expect him to handle it, we're using him wrong ... just like we were using Heath wrong expecting him to be a run stopper.

 

[gimmesix]

"play the run stoutly and mostly be where he's supposed to be, which is why I believe that he will be the starter this year." -- gimmesix

That is why they brought him in to compete with Heath, and anyone else, for the SS role. He will not make very many spectacular plays versus the pass, but he reliable (to be where he needs to be) and is a sure tackler. I believe that is what they want from their SS.

If we give him primarily Cover 1 and Cover 3 responsibilities as a strong safety, I think fans will be pleased overall with his coverage. The short zones aren't as much about speed as making the proper read on whether it's a run or pass and getting into your lane so the QB can't throw there. It's more about reaction than speed. Smart players can diagnose plays quicker, which allows them to react quicker. That can't make up for a lack of speed completely if you are playing deep safety and have a lot of ground to cover, but it can prove effective with underneath coverage.

Frankly, if one of the underneath guys in the base defense has to drop back some to cover the intermediate zone, I would hope it is Jaylon Smith, who at linebacker is faster than all of our strong safeties (unless you count Heath as a strong safety, and even then it's close).

 

[Teague31]

Heath is by far the worst starter on this squad and yet the front office didn’t even bother to upgrade it

 

[gimmesix]

Heath is by far the worst starter on this squad and yet the front office didn’t even bother to upgrade it

I consider Iloka an upgrade as a strong safety (run-stopping), but not to the extent that I was hoping to see, which was a safety with more all-around cover skills so that our defense could be more diversified with our coverage schemes. Heath is a better coverage safety than Iloka, but just isn't very good against the run.

 

[pancakeman]

For so many years post-Woodson it always seemed like we had two SSs and no FS. Things flipped around.

 

[Kolemmitt]

I consider Iloka an upgrade as a strong safety (run-stopping), but not to the extent that I was hoping to see, which was a safety with more all-around cover skills so that our defense could be more diversified with our coverage schemes. Heath is a better coverage safety than Iloka, but just isn't very good against the run.

Thanks for the write-up! Thoughts about Heath moving to FS full-time to back up Woods, while Iloka, Wilson, Frazier, and Thompson battle it out for SS? To me, Heath seems more like a natural deep safety.

 

[gimmesix]

Thanks for the write-up! Thoughts about Heath moving to FS full-time to back up Woods, while Iloka, Wilson, Frazier, and Thompson battle it out for SS? To me, Heath seems more like a natural deep safety.

Any arguments that have been made about Heath being a good player point to his play at deep safety. Arguments that he sucks point to his play as a rookie UDFA or as a strong safety.

I think the plan needs to be starting a better run defender at strong safety and then bringing Heath in on passing downs to play deep. That way we use Health to his strengths. I think there's some hatred for this player that's unwarranted simply because Dallas has been trying to start him at the wrong position. When we switched Jones to SS and Heath to FS in 2017, Heath actually played quite well. (Like Heath, Jones got maligned because he was a corner/free safety trying to be the run-stopping safety.)

 

[Kolemmitt]

Any arguments that have been made about Heath being a good player point to his play at deep safety. Arguments that he sucks point to his play as a rookie UDFA or as a strong safety.

I think the plan needs to be starting a better run defender at strong safety and then bringing Heath in on passing downs to play deep. That way we use Health to his strengths. I think there's some hatred for this player that's unwarranted simply because Dallas has been trying to start him at the wrong position. When we switched Jones to SS and Heath to FS in 2017, Heath actually played quite well. (Like Heath, Jones got maligned because he was a corner/free safety trying to be the run-stopping safety.)

I've been thinking the same thing. The three safety rotation is a good idea. Let each of them play to their strengths.

 

[gimmesix]

For so many years post-Woodson it always seemed like we had two SSs and no FS. Things flipped around.

Some it has to do with Cover 2, I believe. Marinelli really wanted that to be our primary coverage, so he was looking for guys who could play back more, which is one reason for taking a Byron Jones in the first round. In that alignment, your corners end up playing more run support. (Marinelli didn't really accomplish this, though, because the corners we had weren't real comfortable playing zone or playing the run.)

Richard likes to use alignments where the corners stay with the receivers more and a safety plays up, taking on the short zone and run-stopping responsibilities. That's an oversimplification, but I think it explains the shift away and then the shift back.

Iloka and Wilson were brought in because they are safeties who fit what Richard likes to do instead of what Marinelli wanted to do but couldn't.

 

[xwalker]

Starters: Xavier Woods, George Iloka
Contenders: Jeff Heath, Kavon Frazier, Jameill Showers, Darian Thompson, Donovan Wilson

The Cowboys have spent the past two seasons trying, unsuccessfully, to turn Jeff Heath into a strong safety. Heath gets maligned somewhat unfairly for this because he simply is not a strong safety and should never have been the heir apparent to Barry Church for the position. The reason Dallas tried to make that happen is because of Heath's play in a reserve role as a deep safety. He returned to playing that way in 2017 when they moved him to free safety after he started off a strong safety and played the run so poorly that the Cowboys tried to move Byron Jones to strong safety (to equally disastrous results).

With Xavier Woods starting at free safety in 2018, Heath returned to strong safety and was a little better at it but still missed too many tackles, took too many bad angles, etc. He has good size for the position and doesn't mind hitting, but Heath just isn't great in run support. So our two best safeties were free safety types, which is the reason that the safeties we've brought in this offseason are more SS types.

George Iloka is a lot like Church, a slower player who is stout against the run and uses his head in pass defense. He's not a perfect option at strong safety because his lack of speed can be exposed, but he's going to play the run stoutly and mostly be where he's supposed to be, which is why I believe that he will be the starter this year. I see Heath returning to a passing-down deep safety role in the nickel and dime, and being a special teams ace.

Kavon Frazier is also a stout special-teammer, which is why I think he has a spot secured unless someone like Darian Thompson can prove to be just as good on special teams but better on defense. While Frazier is a good run defender, his lack of speed hurts him in pass defense. I'm a bit surprised that Jameill Showers is still here. I don't think his preseason play at safety has been bad since he transitioned to the position, but I don't think he's more than a camp body at the position.

It doesn't seem likely that Donovan Wilson is going to be ready to challenge Iloka for the SS job this year. He's a big hitter who needs to learn to wrap up His coverage ability looks pretty good to me in the videos I've watched, with the ability to stick with receivers and pluck the ball away. However, he's knocked for stiffness and needs to learn to play with consistency. His ferocity on attacking the ball carrier will be fun to watch this preseason, but if he gets matched up on quick-cutting receivers or backs, it might not be pretty.

I didn't say much about Woods, but I really don't think Dallas has seen anything from him to this point where the Cowboys really are interested in replacing him. The team flirted with Earl Thomas because he's Earl Thomas, but otherwise has not really targeted the free safety position. Woods had a solid season to build on in his first year as the starting FS.

DRAFT PREDICTION: I think we'll keep five this year (Woods, Iloka, Heath, Frazier, Wilson). Thompson might be the wild card. The former third-round pick has some starting experience, but his career has been sidetracked by injuries. He could possibily beat our Frazier or make the team if Wilson plays poorly.

Good post.

Thanks for noticing that Heath played FS and Jones SS for the majority of 2017.

The people that constantly complain about Heath, don't even know where he played in 2017/2018.

Jones in the box was bizarre; although, they did start replacing him on run downs with Frazier late in 2017.

Iloka
The big difference between Iloka and Church is that Iloka has played more FS than SS in his career. I don't think any coaching staff would play Church at FS.

Iloka "looks" faster than Church on the field, IMO. He did have a better 20-yard time (2.66 vs 2.75).

I know that Church got down to 212 at one point (based on an interview he did) which helped his speed a little bit.

The draft weights were 225 for Iloka and 222 for Church.

I have no idea about Iloka's NFL playing weight (roster listings are never accurate) but keeping his weight on the lower side might be a key for him.

Obviously, with Iloka playing a lot of FS with the Bengals, playing SS in Richard's coverage scheme seems like a much better fit for him (in theory).

Heath
One big issue that most fans./media overlooked is that Heath injured his wrist late in the season.

It was obvious afterwards that he was playing with 1 arm. He resorted to trying to hit harder because he couldn't wrap-up.

Frazier
The fact that KR didn't replace Heath on run downs with Frazier after Heath was injured, points to a lack of faith in Frazier, IMO.

Thompson
Started 16 games at FS for the Giants in 2017.

 

[gimmesix]

Good post.

Thanks for noticing that Heath played FS and Jones SS for the majority of 2017.

The people that constantly complain about Heath, don't even know where he played in 2017/2018.

Jones in the box was bizarre; although, they did start replacing him on run downs with Frazier late in 2017.

Iloka
The big difference between Iloka and Church is that Iloka has played more FS than SS in his career. I don't think any coaching staff would play Church at FS.

Iloka "looks" faster than Church on the field, IMO. He did have a better 20-yard time (2.66 vs 2.75).

I know that Church got down to 212 at one point (based on an interview he did) which helped his speed a little bit.

The draft weights were 225 for Iloka and 222 for Church.

I have no idea about Iloka's NFL playing weight (roster listings are never accurate) but keeping his weight on the lower side might be a key for him.

Obviously, with Iloka playing a lot of FS with the Bengals, playing SS in Richard's coverage scheme seems like a much better fit for him (in theory).

Heath
One big issue that most fans./media overlooked is that Heath injured his wrist late in the season.

It was obvious afterwards that he was playing with 1 arm. He resorted to trying to hit harder because he couldn't wrap-up.

Frazier
The fact that KR didn't replace Heath on run downs with Frazier after Heath was injured, points to a lack of faith in Frazier, IMO.

Thompson
Started 16 games at FS for the Giants in 2017.

I do think playing free safety shows that Iloka has some versatility, but I do think strong safety plays more to his strength.

Good point on Heath concerning the injury. I also believe Will McClay said that Frazier was playing injured, which is one reason we didn't use him instead of Heath on run downs.

Thompson is another who played free safety, but looks like he'd be a better fit at strong safety because of the speed issues. He played free safety because the Giants had some scrub named Collins at strong safety.

In 2017, Dallas outsmarted itself at safety IMO. The coaches believed that just because Heath looked good on the back end that he could replace a box safety like Church. When Heath looked bad at that job, then to keep their two best safeties on the field, they tried to put Jones at free safety, before alternating Frazier in. I think that might have convinced the team that not all safeties are interchangeable.

With the newer additions, we seem to be looking at guys who have some coverage skills (also some deficiencies) but can definitely play the run ... although I admit to not knowing much about Thompson in that regard.

 

[HoplessCowboysFan36]

Heath is by far the worst starter on this squad and yet the front office didn’t even bother to upgrade it

They did.. just on the defensive line.. pressure makes a db look incredibly better. Same argument most use for Dak and Zeke when they have success right??

 

[xwalker]

I do think playing free safety shows that Iloka has some versatility, but I do think strong safety plays more to his strength.

Good point on Heath concerning the injury. I also believe Will McClay said that Frazier was playing injured, which is one reason we didn't use him instead of Heath on run downs.

Thompson is another who played free safety, but looks like he'd be a better fit at strong safety because of the speed issues. He played free safety because the Giants had some scrub named Collins at strong safety.

In 2017, Dallas outsmarted itself at safety IMO. The coaches believed that just because Heath looked good on the back end that he could replace a box safety like Church. When Heath looked bad at that job, then to keep their two best safeties on the field, they tried to put Jones at free safety, before alternating Frazier in. I think that might have convinced the team that not all safeties are interchangeable.

With the newer additions, we seem to be looking at guys who have some coverage skills (also some deficiencies) but can definitely play the run ... although I admit to not knowing much about Thompson in that regard.

I'm working on a review of Thompson.

I posted this a day or two ago in regards to McClay's comments on Frazier (see link).

Frazier started games 1 and 2 with Woods out and he was not on the injury report after week 3.

 

[Hennessy_King]

Is there an emoji with a dumpster fire? Theres no reason to discuss this

 

[Mr_437]

Six, your right on again.
FS: Woods, Heath
SS: Frazier, Iloka, Wilson

Heath is a just natural Centerfielder, play him there exclusively on passing situations. Move X closer to the LOS (man) or a short zone because he's a good slot CB, so it works out well.

I've gone back n forth between Frazier and Iloka. I think Richard will keep his SS in the box and that will limit Frazier's weakness and play to his strengths. Iloka is virtually the same type player in the scheme, and I like his discipline in his run fits...plus he'll cover curl to flat easy. However, the speed n violence of #35 at SS is a different level, and I can't keep that on the bench.

Wilson will be inactive and redshirt to put on some weight n learn the pro game.

Darian Thompson is injury insurance right now, he can play either Safety position, has started in the league and is from Boise State.