OXNARD, Calif. -- At one point during the offseason, Byron Jones looked around at his fellow Dallas Cowboys safeties and was surprised to see he was the most experienced guy in the room.

Jones won't turn 25 until September and is entering only his third season.

And yet he is part of the leadership council, a group of 12 or so players whom coach Jason Garrett calls on to represent the entire team for feedback and advice.

In the offseason, the Cowboys lost defensive captain Barry Church, a four-year starter at safety, to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. Safety J.J. Wilcox also left, joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The lack-of-experience spotlight in the defensive backfield also shines on the cornerback position. At cornerback, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne left via free agency to the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, respectively.

"Just speaking up, making sure guys understand what they're doing," said Jones, who has started 27 of the first 32 games in his career. "I'm actually talking to these guys, saying, 'Hey, do you understand that play? Did you understand that adjustment?' Small stuff like that, I think, goes a long way."

It is what Church and Carr did for him in his first two years. He was initially drafted to play corner, but the Cowboys made him a starter at safety by the end of his rookie season. He started 16 games at safety in 2016 and was credited with 102 tackles by the coaches, to go along with 10 pass deflections, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble and the first interception of his career.

The Cowboys signed Nolan Carroll, a seven-year veteran, to replace Carr, but they have chosen to go with a youth movement for the rest of the secondary, selecting Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Xavier Woods and Marquez White in the draft.

To Jones, the progression is what he faced at the University of Connecticut. He became a leader in his third season and a captain as a senior.

"Last year, I was looking up to those guys that left, and once they left, now we've got the younger guys looking up to me," Jones said. "It's kind of like a natural transition."

As natural as the transition might be, there is a learning curve.

"Leading isn't easy," said Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.

There comes major responsibility. Players look to Jones to set a tone. They look for him to say and do the right things. So do the coaches. Witten and linebacker Sean Lee are considered the Cowboys' top leaders, but Garrett believes the team has a number of leaders, including Jones.

"Sometimes it's hard for rookies and second-year players to lead like you want them to, particularly when you have some veteran players around," Garrett said. "Byron has always been someone who embraced everything about this game. He loves to play. He loves to practice. He has been such a great example to everyone since Day 1. But when some of those more veteran players leave, particularly at your position group, there becomes a void. And with that void comes an opportunity. He has all the leadership traits you want -- very experienced player coming out of UConn and his character was off the charts. A guy you really want to thrust into those roles, and he's embraced the role this offseason."

On the field, Jones is not demonstrative. He was an economics major at UConn, but in 201,3 he interned for Connecticut House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz and in Washington for U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty.

His past has helped his present in dealing with the challenge of becoming more vocal.

"Just speaking up the right moment," Jones said. "You can't be too overbearing with guys. Guys are not receptive to that. You've got to understand when your time is to talk and your time to interject."

By taking on added responsibility, Jones believes he will be a better player in 2017.

"Anytime you can explain something to a younger guy, it gives you a better idea of what you're explaining," Jones said. "If you can explain something to someone who knows what they're talking about or doing, then you've done a pretty good job."