Tag: Donovan Wilson

This 60-game starter for the Cowboys is on hot seat heading into 2025

Safety Donovan Wilson might find a better fit for his skillset than in the next iteration of the Cowboys defense. | From @ReidDHanson.

After a new coaching staff has been put into place, the next stage is centered on internal roster assessments. Teams look at which players on the team performed and which did not, making decisions based on cost and scheme fit.

The Dallas Cowboys are sure to be embarking on this task currently. One of the players sparking debate within the fanbase is six-year veteran safety Donovan Wilson.

Wilson is one of the more maligned players on the Cowboys defense. Some see him as a natural playmaker and difference maker. Others think he freelances too often to be trusted and is too inconsistent to be worth it.

Whatever fans may feel about the soon-to-be 30-year-old, the value is in the eye of the Cowboys front office. That very front office saw fit to sign the former Texas A&M product to a three-year, $21 million dollar deal back in 2023. With 2025 being his last actual contract year, the Cowboys have to decide if Wilson is still worth the price of admission or if he’s someone who could be released this offseason.

At a cost of $8,650,000 against the salary cap in 2025 it’s certainly a discussion worth having before the new league year begins in March. The upcoming draft boasts more than a few solid safety prospects, should the Cowboys go that route (like in this mock draft). As an alternative to the draft, Dallas also has a couple young safety options deeper down the roster that could offer better value than the current high-priced veteran.

Matt Erberflus, recently named defensive coordinator, plays a fairly straight forward brand of football. He values consistent, disciplined play by his defenders, being a stickler for run fits and demanding reliable play in coverage. It doesn’t particularly fit Wilson’s brand of play since he’s at his best crashing downhill with a certain aura of reckless abandon. What was seen as endearing for Dan Quinn might seem off-putting to someone like Eberflus.

Per Pro Football Focus tracking, Wilson’s missed tackle percentage was in the NFL’s bottom 20 amongst safeties in 2024 (that’s a bad thing). He also gave up a completion percentage of 86.1 percent when targeted to go along with six touchdowns allowed. They graded his play 61 out 98 in the NFL last season and watching the film it was easy to see why. At times it seemed as though Wilson didn’t belong on the field because he was so mistake prone.

But he has 60 starts on a defense that has been near the top of the league most of the last four seasons.

If Wilson is at his best playing near the line and in position to make plays in traffic, then Eberflus’ defense probably isn’t for him. This new defense will demand more play as a deep safety in 2-high looks and less opportunities to play in the box blitzing and crashing the backfield.

If it’s ultimately determined Wilson is a poor fit for the defense, expect the Cowboys to go the cost-cutting route this March.

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Cowboys safety fined for Week 14 hip-drop tackle vs Bengals

From @ToddBrock24f7: Donovan Wilson used the illegal technique during the 4th-quarter of Monday’s game. The tackle did not draw a penalty at the time.

The NFL has been seeking to take the so-called “hip-drop tackle” out of the sport. Now they’re taking a big chunk of change out of Donovan Wilson’s pocket for deploying it last week.

The league has fined the Cowboys safety $16,883 for his fourth-quarter tackle of Bengals tight end Tanner Hudson during the 27-20 loss Monday night.

The play did not incur a penalty during the game, but league officials have determined that Wilson’s actions met the requirements to be classified as a hip-drop tackle. The move falls under the category of unnecessary roughness and is therefore subject to a fine, even without being flagged on the field.

According to a rule change for the 2024 season, a hip-drop tackle can be called if a player grabs or wraps the runner with both hands or arms and also “unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”

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The move has caused severe injury to several high-profile players in recent years, including running back Tony Pollard while playing for the Cowboys during the 2022 postseason. San Francisco safety Jimmie Ward used the hip-drop technique to bring Pollard to the ground; Pollard suffered a high ankle sprain and fractured fibula.

Fourteen months after that injury, NFL owners unanimously voted to make it illegal, following a film review of 20,000 tackles that calculated the hip-drop technique resulting in an injury rate “20 times the others.”

Though the hip-drop is punishable on the field with a 15-yard walkoff and an automatic first down, it’s resulted in more monetary fines after the fact than penalties on the field during its first year of enforcement.

Wilson is the first Cowboys player to be fined for a hip-drop tackle. He was previously docked $11,255 for a Week 5 late hit in the team’s win over Pittsburgh.

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Cover 1, Cover 3, Cover your eyes: Cowboys defensive flip hasn’t worked

The Cowboys are doing something funny with their safeties and it isn’t working. | From @ReidDHanson

Most will agree, the Cowboys’ biggest shake up of the 2024 offseason was their change at defensive coordinator. Gone was Dan Quinn. After coaching the Dallas defense for three successful seasons, Quinn earned a head coaching job in our nation’s capital. Replacing him at the helm was long time coordinator Mike Zimmer. Zimmer brought with him his infamously demanding defensive scheme, a nonsense attitude and an acceptance for timely split safety looks.

While the Cowboys were still expected to lean on man coverage in 2024, they were also expected to show more two-high safety looks. Zimmer was known to disguise coverage frequently and split his safeties over the top from time to time. It was a departure from his predecessor who both preferred single high safety formations and didn’t put much value is disguises.

2024 has proven to be surprising but not quite in the way many imagined. Zimmer has indeed disguised coverages, rolling safeties and linebackers at the last second to catch passers off guard, but he hasn’t moved Dallas off the single-high safety reliance.

https://x.com/fball_insights/status/1848828006363529723

Between Cover 1 and Cover 3, the Cowboys play a combined 61% of their snaps in single high. While that may be down from the seasons prior, it still represents their two most popular coverages seven weeks into 2024.

It’s understandable since the Cowboys have two fairly different safeties starting on their defense. Malik Hooker, traditionally their free safety, has been one of the better centerfielders in the NFL. In his last two seasons under Quinn, he ranked inside the top 15 of the 88+ safeties Pro Football Focus graded. Donovan Wilson, their primary box safety, didn’t grade as well by PFF but since the majority of his splash plays come near the line of scrimmage with him running downfield, his positioning seemed appropriate as well.

Under Zimmer that has changed somewhat.

Hooker’s snap percentage at deep safety has dropped from 84 percent under Quinn to 66 percent under Zimmer. Wilson’s snap percentage at deep safety has jumped from 38 percent under Quinn to 57 percent under Zimmer. While the slight increase in split safety looks accounts for some of that, the two players can be seen routinely playing each other’s roles throughout a game.

Hooker can often be seen sneaking up into a box role while Wilson positions himself back as the single high. What would have been a unicorn moment in 2023 now looks commonplace on the Cowboys defense in 2024 and it’s hard to understand why.

Deception is one thing, but these are typically pre-snap alignments, so the intention is stated at the start. This is just a case of role swapping and based on early returns it isn’t working out great. Based on PFF grades Wilson is having the lowest graded season of his career in 2024. He’s flashed a nice play here and there, but most will agree it’s been a pretty poor season for the man who’s on the books for $7,370,575 this season.

Hooker is having a season to forget too. The former first-round pick is also having the lowest graded season of his career and is having a hard time justifying his more modest $3,985,296 cap hit as well.

It seems the two players were better when they were focused on their respective expertise. Maybe run fit discipline led to change or maybe it was matchups that has Zimmer playing mix and match with his two playmakers but whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem to be worth it.

The Cowboys are still leaning heavily on single high safety looks under Zimmer but where the new defensive coordinator differs from his predecessor is which safety he uses where. That may not be a good thing.

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Cowboys need to give these 2 backups more snaps or risk peril in secondary

It’s time the Cowboys give Donovan Wilson a rest and Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell a chance. | From @ReidDHanson

The Cowboys have made it four games into their 2024 campaign and it is already clear certain adjustments are in order. The struggles of the defense combined with recent injuries to key personnel necessitate the urgency of change. Covering the injury losses of Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are not easy changes with simple solutions. Altering roles and workloads in the secondary are a different story.

The Cowboys run defense rightfully garners most of the scrutiny in Dallas this season, but the secondary deserves its fair share of constructive criticism as well. Not only does the secondary play a key role in gap assignments in run support, but it’s also responsible for coverage downfield and open field playmaking. Injuries have spread the cornerback room thin, but the Cowboys safety corps remains intact and as deep as any position on the roster.

When reviewing the Cowboys struggles through the first portion of the season it’s almost impossible not to notice Donovan Wilson. Wilson, Dallas’ primary in-the-box safety has struggled immensely in 2024. His gap discipline has been lacking and instincts haven’t been doing his propensity to freelance any favors.

Wilson has always been a feast or famine player. He’s been known to disappear for extended periods of time only to explode on the scene for a monumental play out of the blue. Unfortunately, in 2024 it’s been mostly famine for Wilson, and at a time when the Dallas defense is struggling in discipline and understanding, it might be time to put the veteran safety on ice for a while.

Reserve safeties Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell are seen by many as starting quality players stuck in backup roles in Dallas. Thomas has flashed the ability to play deep in both 2-deep looks as well as in single high safety schemes. And after a year of filling in at linebacker, Bell is more than capable of playing in the box in a thumper role but also matched up in man coverage against the likes of running backs, tight ends and slot receivers.

Depending on the gameplan, either player looks capable of taking over for Wilson, or even Malik Hooker, for portions of a game. If Mike Zimmer is planning more split safety looks that week, Thomas is the better option. If Zimmer wants an extra defender closer to the line of scrimmage, Bell is a great option. The point is he has options as his disposal.

Such a shakeup could get better production from the position, or it might just serve as a wakeup call for the starters. Either outcome would signal success.

There’s a saying, “money plays in the NFL” and that seems to carry extra weight on the Cowboys. Higher drafted players and/or players making big money typically get the benefit of the doubt in Dallas, even if they’re being outplayed by others. Wilson, playing on a fresh three-year, $21 million contract, has the seventh highest salary cap number on the team this season. It’s a status no one would guess by just watching the film this season and it’s a status that brings with it extra scrutiny when performance drops such as it has.

As things stand Thomas and Bell are chronically underused and, in some ways, misused. Thomas and Bell only have a combined 21 defensive snaps this season. That usage rate would be understandable if both starters were playing at All-Pro levels, but neither are. Of the 76 safeties Pro Football Focus has graded, Wilson ranks 48th and Hooker 64th this season. If Thomas and Bell are truly as good as many seem to think they are, they could certainly stand to steal some of the starter’s snaps on defense in coming weeks.

Such a move wouldn’t have to be absolute or permanent, but it would be tapping a resource and potentially fixing a problem.

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Ravens vs. Cowboys: Top photos from 28-25 win at AT&T Stadium

We’re looking at the top photos from the Baltimore Ravens 28-25 win over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium

For one week, we thought John Harbaugh’s team would be entering the 2024 regular season.

All-world running back Derrick Henry ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns, MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson logged a passing and rushing score, and the Baltimore Ravens held on for a 28-25 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday after blowing a 22-point fourth-quarter lead.

Baltimore (1-2) scored touchdowns on their first two drives, while the Cowboys (1-2) have allowed 120 points in their past three home games.

With the final results, here are the top photos from Sunday’s massive win.

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Cowboys rewarded for cautious behavior as NFL safety market crumbles

The safety position is being devalued across the NFL with teams now following a blueprint the Cowboys have been using for years. | From @ReidDHanson

The Cowboys have been known to approach the safety position with a degree of trepidation. The team that once used a top-10 pick on a hard-hitting safety named Roy Williams, is now the team that prefers to disperse a smaller investment across multiple players. This polyamorous approach spreads the investment and the risk, and has brought on a fair share of criticism to the team in the process.

But given the state of the safety position in the league today, the Cowboys may actually be ahead of the curve. Across the NFL teams are parting ways with their high-priced safeties.

Names like Justin Simmons, Kevin Byard and Jamal Adams have all been released this offseason. Over $100 million has been shed already, per Nick Korte from Over the Cap. It marks the biggest positional purge this season by a hefty margin and illustrates the changing attitudes and volatile nature of the safety position today.

Just last year the Cowboys re-signed their homegrown safety Donovan Wilson to a three-year, $21 million deal. Modest in comparison to other megadeals across the league, the Cowboys were able to retain a top playmaker without committing too far into the future.

After Wilson, Dallas signed former Colts first-round pick Malik Hooker to an extension. He inked a similarly cap friendly three-year, $21 million deal last August. Their rehab-and-revive plan paid off with Hooker locking down the centerfielder job. They didn’t need a draft pick or big money to make it happen. They just needed patience.

Perhaps the best illustration of all was with the safety before both of them, Jayron Kearse. Kearse, an NFL journeyman, was signed as a depth piece in 2021. He proved to be an invaluable leader almost immediately, carving out an important role as Dan Quinn’s box safety and demanding a new deal in the process. Instead of falling into the same trap so many other teams have fallen into, Dallas handled Kearse conservatively. Signing him to a two-year, $10 million deal, they paid the player modestly without committing too far into the future.

By most accounts Kearse regressed in 2023, struggling in many of the same areas he thrived only two years prior. His regression could have been disastrous to Dallas if he was signed to a long-term deal. But the Cowboys only locked him in for two seasons, reducing the negative impact and giving them a clean out in 2024.

The volatility of Kearse’s play from season to season is not uncommon for the safety position. Players routinely go from Pro Bowlers to roster cuts overnight. For the safety position, the lesser the commitment is often the better commitment. Scheme changes only add to the unstable nature of the position. As coaches change, so change the scheme demands and overall fit.

It’s important to point out it’s not just the volatile performers getting the pink slip these days, but consistent top performing safeties as well. With the NFL playing more split safety schemes there’s less reliance on a single player to hold down the fort and more of a group dynamic in play. With less demanding schemes in play, lower-skilled players can adequately fill many of the needs.

Based on recent moves, the Cowboys appear to value safety play but commit resources cautiously. Since 2016, they’ve only drafted one safety (Israel Mukuamu, sixth round, 2021) and when they sign safeties, they typically keep the commitment at two to three seasons.

Dallas’ approach to the safety position allows them to stay nimble and make adjustments as needed. It’s a blueprint the rest of the NFL seems to be copying and a sign of the times in the secondary.

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Cowboys safeties underachieved, but should rebound in 2024

The Cowboys safety group appeared to regress in 2023 but there’s reason to believe the volatile position will bounce back in 2024. | From @ReidDHanson

The Cowboys went into the 2023 season with what appeared to be their best safety group in over a decade. Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker and Jayron Kease formed a versatile and proven trio in Dallas the season prior. It seemed after years of neglect the Cowboys finally had assets on the backend and not liabilities.

But like what has happened many times before in Dallas, performance at the position proved unstable, and the Cowboys trio fell short of their expectations. It’s something the franchise has seen before and likely a big reason why they’ve made such a half-hearted effort in filling it over the years.

In the past they saw players like Ken Hamlin and Gerald Sensabaugh follow up good years with bad years. Both played well enough to earn new contracts in Dallas (Hamlin even went to the Pro Bowl in 2007) and both, soon after, fell flat. It cultivated a distrust in the position and as a result cursed it to a revolving door of personnel.

Kearse, a free agent in March, is not expected to be back with the club in 2024. 2023 was his worst season in Dallas as he struggled in both phases of the game, frequently committing back-breaking penalties along the way. It was the polar opposite of his 2021 season when he established himself as one of Dan Quinn’s most versatile weapons on the defense.

Wilson was already known as a high variance player. He takes big swings and often gets big-swing results. He has good games and bad games but last season there appeared to be a little more bad than good.

Hooker was the toughest evaluation. As the Cowboys’ primary free safety, Hooker plays on the backend most of the day. His evaluation requires All-22 copy since he’s not even on the screen in a typical broadcast.

Hooker’s value was as a deterrent. The All-22 showed he was often in good position to make passers look elsewhere and the numbers back it up. In 16 games, he was only targeted 23 times. That’s the lowest number of targets since he joined the Cowboys. The completion percentage against was just 56.5% which is also his lowest since joining Dallas.

Yet Hooker’s yards/target and passer rating allowed, both went up and became his worst since joining the Cowboys.  Hooker was the only Dallas safety to grade in PFF’s top-50, but he wasn’t as impactful as he’d been the season before.

This high variance play isn’t unique to the Cowboys. Since defensive coordinators change, coverage schemes change. And since coverages change, players change. It’s not uncommon to see a one-time Pro Bowl safety bounce around the league year after year. The position itself is volatile and the demands are ever-changing.

Best Photos: Top Aggie performances from Week 18 of the NFL season

Texas A&M was well represented in Week 18 of the NFL, and we have some of the best photos for you to check out

The regular season is complete, and the post-season picture is clear. As we look forward to the playoffs, I’d like to take some time to recognize a few top week 18 performances from Aggies in the NFL.

Donovan Wilson Has been coming on nicely after a bit of a slow start to the season. He had another solid game and notched his second straight game with a timely interception. His play helped the Cowboys blow out the Washington Commanders, securing the NFC #2 seed and home-field advantage to start the playoffs.

  • 5 tackles / 1 interception / 1 PD

Miami rookie running back De’Von Achane didn’t fill the stat sheet, but they still have a few dynamic runs and averaged over five yards a carry. He completed the season just shy of 1,000 scrimmage yards and 11 touchdowns. The Dolphins did not get the win, but they will still be in the playoffs.

  • 56 yards / 5.6 average / 1 touchdown

For the first time this season, Ryan Tannehill makes the list. He spent the back half of the season as a backup to Will Levis, but an injury put him back in the starting lineup, which likely were his last few games in Tennessee.

  • 65.4 completion % / 168 yards / 2 touchdowns

Another great week for these former Aggies, and you can check out some of the best photos from week 18.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Best Photos: Top Aggie performances from Week 17 of the NFL season

Texas A&M was well represented in Week 17 of the NFL, and we have some of the best photos for you to check out

We are now nearing the end of the regular season, and playoff pictures are starting to take shape. As we look forward to the rest of the games this week, I’d like to take some time to recognize a few top week 17 performances from Aggies in the NFL.

After a few down games, Miami running back De’Von Achane got back on track this week. While the Rookie of the Year is somewhat in the rearview mirror, Achane gives the Dolphins another homerun hitter for Tua. The game was a blowout in the Raven’s favor, but below are Achane’s numbers in that loss.

  • 14 carries / 107 yards / 7.6 avg
  • 4 catches / 30 yards / 7.5 avg / 1 TD

Donovan Wilson was a force to be reckoned with against the Lions on a Saturday night game. On top of having double-digit tackles, he had an insane diving interception that helped close out the game for the Cowboys.

  • 11 tackles / 1 interception

Defensive lineman Justin Madubuike’s sack streak came to an end Christmas day when he was not able to reach the 49ers QB. He returned to his old ways against the Dolphins, recording his 13th sack of the season, tying him for 8th in the NFL. He is well on his way to an All-Pro selection at the defensive tackle position. Here are his stats from the big win over Miami.

  • 5 tackles / / 1 sack / 1 QB hit

Another great week for these former Aggies, and you can check out some of the best photos from week 17.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Former Texas A&M stars Donovan Wilson and De’Von Achane deliver big Week 17 performances

Two former Aggies who starred at Kyle Field during their college days are now excelling in the NFL on the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

Two former Texas A&M football players who starred at Kyle Field during their college years are now excelling at the next level.

Dallas Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson and Miami Dolphins running back De’Von Achane each had performances in Week 17 that would make the 12th Man proud.

Wilson and America’s Team led Detroit 17-13 with just over two minutes to go on Saturday night at Jerry’s World. Lions quarterback Jared Goff targeted tight end Sam LaPorta on 1st-and-10 and Wilson made a diving interception to essentially seal the victory for Dallas.

Following the win and a 35-31 Philadelphia Eagles loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Cowboys are now the No. 2 seed in the NFC and can clinch the NFC East next week with a victory in the nation’s capitol versus the Commanders.

(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Achane has had an impressive rookie season in the Miami backfield alongside veteran RB Raheem Mostert. The Dolphins were dominated by the best team in the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens, 56-19 on Sunday but Achane had an impressive individual performance.

The rookie halfback led Miami with 137 all-purpose yards. He tallied 14 carries for 107 yards rushing and 4 receptions for 30 yards receiving and a touchdown. Achane scored his 10th tuddy of the year on a 1-yard completion from former Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa to begin the fourth quarter.

Next Sunday, Achane and the Dolphins host the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium with the AFC East title and No. 2 seed on the line.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.