OXNARD, Calif. -- You can forgive Jeff Heath and Xavier Woods if they feel a little like Jan Brady, because for almost the past six months, they have heard nothing but, “Earl Thomas, Earl Thomas, Earl Thomas.”

The Cowboys have been linked to Thomas ever since the Seattle Seahawks’ All-Pro safety followed Jason Garrett into the locker room last December and asked the coach to come get him if he was available.

“It hadn’t happened to me before,” Garrett said of the postgame meet up. “To me, it’s probably best we don’t talk about it.”

Garrett wanted to avoid any potential tampering ramifications regarding Thomas, but as training camp began, executive vice president Stephen Jones said the Cowboys and Seahawks have not talked about a potential trade since the draft.

But that hasn’t stopped the media from bringing it up or asking Heath and Woods about it.

“Obviously, he’s been a really good player in the NFL for a long time, so he’s kind of earned that [attention],” Heath said. “He’s coveted by just about everybody. All the players would love to play with him. Coaches would love to coach him. Fans would love to have him on their team. That’s just something he’s earned through his play.

“But at one time, he was a young guy in this league that had to prove himself. He wasn’t Earl Thomas when he first got in the league. He’s earned that reputation through his play, and I think that’s where a lot of the guys we have right now are at. It’s not that they can’t do what he does. They’re just not as well-known. But everybody starts somewhere at some point.”

Heath started every game he played last year and the coaches credited him with 81 tackles. He led the Cowboys with three interceptions, and he won the game against the Oakland Raiders by forcing a Derek Carr fumble at the goal line that kept Dallas' playoff chances alive.

Passing game coordinator Kris Richard, who was Thomas’ coach in Seattle, has grown to like Heath. A lot.

“He’s iron,” Richard said. “I respect his character, and he’s a leader on this team. He battles every day. And he comes to work every day so he brings it. He’s really fast, too. Like, when he makes a decision, he sticks his foot in the ground, he can go. So he’s got great speed. He likes to be physical. He’s smart, and he’s a leader on this football team.”

Woods played in every game as a rookie last year, starting four, but most of his playing time came in the nickel defense in the slot. Since the offseason began, he has worked with the starters, with Byron Jones moving back to cornerback.

“I just worry about what I can control, and that’s me playing out there every day,” Woods said. “I’m trying to give them a reason not to want anybody. That’s my point of view.”

Richard has liked Woods’ anticipation, speed and reaction and believes he can be a starter. Woods' sights, however, are beyond Thomas.

“I’m already motivated,” Woods said. “There’s 190 reasons to be motivated. That’s where that comes from.”

Why 190?

Because “190 guys were drafted before me,” said Woods, who was the Cowboys’ sixth-round pick in 2017.