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Kyle Wilber adds another notch to position belt
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. -- The Dallas Cowboys selected Kyle Wilber in the fourth round of the 2012 draft with the idea of turning him into an 3-4 outside linebacker from college defensive end.
When they switched to the 4-3 scheme a year later, they made Wilber a defensive end. Midway through that season they moved him to strong-side linebacker, where he has mostly called home.
At the start of training camp Wilber opened up as the starting strong-side linebacker with Anthony Hitchens moving inside because of Rolando McClain's knee injury. While Damien Wilson has been taking first-team snaps there this week, Wilber has added middle linebacker to his resume.
"I just think it shows the kind of football player he is," coach Jason Garrett said. "He's not one of those guys that wows you. He's not one of those guys that jumps through the roof and runs a great 40 and all those different kinds of things, but he's a guy who shows up really each and every day. He's been an excellent special teams player for us, a lot of versatility, just a good player."
In one of his first days at middle linebacker in the nickel defense, Wilber intercepted Brandon Weeden in the end zone. On Thursday, he broke up a Dustin Vaughan pass in 7-on-7 drills.
The Cowboys want to keep Sean Lee at weakside linebacker at whatever cost, so they need to find depth with Hitchens out with a sore foot and Jasper Brinkley a two-down inside linebacker.
"You're always as a coaching staff trying to find the best place for guys," Garrett said. "He's someone we like a lot, and whenever we've given him opportunities both as a defensive player or in the kicking game, he's very productive. So you try to find the right spot for him in the scheme you're playing, but you're also trying to find the right spot for your team as you work through the different issues. So he's been a guy who we've been able to plug into a lot of different spots on short notice, and he typically responds well."
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. -- The Dallas Cowboys selected Kyle Wilber in the fourth round of the 2012 draft with the idea of turning him into an 3-4 outside linebacker from college defensive end.
When they switched to the 4-3 scheme a year later, they made Wilber a defensive end. Midway through that season they moved him to strong-side linebacker, where he has mostly called home.
At the start of training camp Wilber opened up as the starting strong-side linebacker with Anthony Hitchens moving inside because of Rolando McClain's knee injury. While Damien Wilson has been taking first-team snaps there this week, Wilber has added middle linebacker to his resume.
"I just think it shows the kind of football player he is," coach Jason Garrett said. "He's not one of those guys that wows you. He's not one of those guys that jumps through the roof and runs a great 40 and all those different kinds of things, but he's a guy who shows up really each and every day. He's been an excellent special teams player for us, a lot of versatility, just a good player."
In one of his first days at middle linebacker in the nickel defense, Wilber intercepted Brandon Weeden in the end zone. On Thursday, he broke up a Dustin Vaughan pass in 7-on-7 drills.
The Cowboys want to keep Sean Lee at weakside linebacker at whatever cost, so they need to find depth with Hitchens out with a sore foot and Jasper Brinkley a two-down inside linebacker.
"You're always as a coaching staff trying to find the best place for guys," Garrett said. "He's someone we like a lot, and whenever we've given him opportunities both as a defensive player or in the kicking game, he's very productive. So you try to find the right spot for him in the scheme you're playing, but you're also trying to find the right spot for your team as you work through the different issues. So he's been a guy who we've been able to plug into a lot of different spots on short notice, and he typically responds well."
