2014 Impact: I don’t know if there is a player on this roster that I enjoy watching play more than
J.J. Wilcox, but at the same time I find myself cringing while he is doing it. I don’t want to call him an inconsistent player because I feel like that there are more positive traits to his game than negative ones. For a player that had not had many experiences playing the position before he was drafted, Wilcox has made some nice improvements. There are still some areas where he needs to pick up his game, but those are fixable areas. I respect how he always finds himself around the ball or in the pile for a tackle.
His aggressiveness is his best trait but also at times his biggest curse. I have been critical of his play in regard to playing with his eyes. When he gets in trouble it is when he doesn’t see the play develop or he sees it too late and it affects his ability to get himself in position to make the play. When you study him on tape, you can tell when he sees the play well -- especially in pass coverage -- because of the position he is in. For a guy trying to learn the position like Wilcox currently is, this is the most difficult area to understand due to all the things he has to process at a split second because of the routes.
I feel another area where Wilcox needs to show improvement is not only with his angles to the ball, but playing under control when he gets there. There were one or two times a game where, if he just gathered himself better, he could have made the play. Coaches don't want to take away his aggressiveness, but coaching him to be mindful of how he arrives would eliminate those missed tackles in space.