One of the more underrated signings the Raiders made this season was bringing in veteran safety Jeff Heath at a very reasonable price. While the team appears locked into Damarious Randall and Johnathan Abram as the starters at safety, Heath could prove to be a valuable back up in Vegas.
Heath comes to the Raiders after starting 54 games for the Cowboys. However, that doesn’t even begin to explain how versatile of a player he is. For Dallas, he was not only a key defender, starting at both safety spots. But he was also their best special teams player and was their emergency kicker, as well.
In his most recent media session, Heath talked about his versatility and how he plans on helping the Raiders’ succeed this season:
“My role is just going to be to help the team anyway I can, whether that’s as a safety, obviously I know I will be on special teams a lot. At this point in my career, I just want to contribute, be on a good team and contribute and be a leader. We have a really young team, a really young secondary in particular and I can hopefully give those guys some knowledge and just help anyway I can.”
Heath is the perfect No. 3 safety in today’s NFL given his ability to play multiple positions. He’s shown that he can create turnovers and is more than a willing tackler. Heath has played through several injuries before, proving his toughness.
As previously mentioned, Heath likely won’t open the season as a starter. But don’t be surprised if he finds his way onto the field and impresses when his name is called. Heath is one of the reasons you should feel much better about the Raiders’ secondary as a whole as he gives them incredible depth at both safety spots.
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