The Dallas Cowboys have seven picks in next week’s draft and more needs than selections. This week we will take a position-by-position look at the roster to determine which spots they needs are more necessary to fill than others.
SAFETY
What they have: Byron Jones, Jeff Heath, Kavon Frazier, Robert Blanton, Jameill Showers
What they need: The Cowboys lost Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox to free agency. Church recorded four straight 100-tackle seasons and played 707 snaps last season despite missing four games with a fractured forearm. Wilcox started in Church’s absence and played more than 500 snaps as a valuable part of the sub packages.
Heath is currently projected as the starter opposite Jones. He had his best game in the playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, with an interception and a sack of Aaron Rodgers. Jones was solid in his first year as a full-time safety but has to do a better job of taking the ball away.
If the Cowboys defense is to improve, as a team they must do a better job of taking the ball away. Their secondary has not shown the ability to do that. Jones has one interception in two seasons. Heath led the Cowboys in picks in 2015 with two. The cornerbacks don’t have a lot of takeaways either.
This draft has a strong group of safeties where the Cowboys could get into the middle rounds and still find some help, and not just because their depth, like Frazier, is untested.
Best fit: Marcus Williams, Utah. Church led the Cowboys in interceptions last season with two. That’s it. Williams had five interceptions in each of his final two seasons at Utah. Williams has the range to go and get the ball from sideline to sideline. Pairing him with Jones would give the Cowboys a pair of athletic safeties to help their cornerbacks, which will have a new look with the free-agent losses of Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne.
Late-round possibilities: Xavier Woods, Louisiana Tech; Tedric Thompson, Colorado. There are players that just seem to have the ball find them. Woods is one of those types. He had 14 career interceptions in college. Last season he had 89 tackles, 11 pass deflections and five interceptions. Thompson has similar playmaking skills. He had seven interceptions last year, but he doesn't take the best angle on tackles.
Feeling a draft: It’s breezy at this position. The Cowboys have numbers at the position, but Jones is the only one with meaningful experience at the spot. Heath started nine games as an undrafted rookie in 2013 but only one game since. Wilcox was the last safety the Cowboys drafted in the third round or earlier when they took him in 2013. Finding a playmaker in the secondary is a must for the Cowboys.