Cavanaugh: Byron Jones moving to CB? Here are the Cowboys' draft options at safety

Cotton

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[h=1]Byron Jones moving to CB? Here are the Cowboys' draft options at safety

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By Jeff Cavanaugh 10 hours ago




As a follow up to my colleague Bob Sturm's piece on Byron Jones possibly/probably moving to cornerback I present you with my 'So You Need A Safety' column.


Before we talk about this year's safety crop we need to address the Cowboys roster. If Byron Jones is indeed going to be a cornerback in 2018, it would seem that spells the end for Orlando Scandrick on the team. It would be strange to take a useful starting safety, move him to cornerback and have him sit and watch Awuzie, Lewis, and Scandrick play. It would also be strange to move Chido to a less valuable spot (safety) after having success at a more valuable spot (corner).


So if we're to assume that the starting corners on our football team next year are Jones, Awuzie and Lewis let's take a look at how the safety positions look and what it means.


The Cowboys have Jeff Heath, who has been a serviceable player and saw the largest role of his career a year ago. They have Xavier Woods, who was drafted as a safety and forced into a slot cornerback role year last year, then played it pretty well. Finally, there's Kavon Frazier, who saw an increased role as a box safety toward the end of last season.


The Cowboys have bodies who can hold their own on Sunday. What they don't have back there is a star. If we're looking for a safety for this team, the search takes place in the early rounds. There's no need for a developmental player because they already have a full stable of youngsters back there. The only way I'm picking a safety is if I think he can upgrade that secondary right away. With that said, let's take a look at the names of interest at the top of this safety class.


On a related note,some teams will consider Alabama's Minkah Fitzpatrick a safety and others will consider him a cornerback. Either way, he isn't going to be available when the Cowboys pick. So let's jump ahead!


Derwin James – S – Florida State
Height: 6'02.1
Weight: 211
Estimated 40-yard dash time: 4.52


Derwin James is the only safety in the class that I'd get excited about at #19. He's not a finished product but took college football by storm as a true freshman in 2015. He missed basically all of 2016 with an injury and took a little while to round back in to form this year but he has all the ability you could dream of at the safety spot. In one game against Alabama this year he lined up at outside corner, deep safety, box safety, slot corner, edge rusher, and linebacker. He's a heck of a chess piece for a creative team, wherever they want to play him. He should test well at the combine and looks incredibly fluid on tape. In run support, he's able and willing. In coverage, he has the ability to shadow tight ends and backs as well as play zone. The most exciting part is that his best football should be ahead of him. Oh, and he can hit a little bit.




Here he's covering a running back, locating the ball, high-pointing and making it look incredibly easy.




Finally, take a look at the natural athleticism on display.




Strengths:
  • ATHLETICISM: You can see it on that interception return above. He's a gifted athlete that moves with easy fluidity.
  • VERSATILITY: Has lined up at every spot in the secondary, at linebacker and as a rusher off the edge. He did a little bit of everything for the Seminoles.
  • TACKLING: Generally he's a reliable open field tackler who won't miss many while looking for kill shots. He breaks down and makes sure he gets the ball-carrier to the ground. You won't see shoulder-throwing or ankle-diving.
  • BURST: The short-area quickness is there. You can see it when he's rushing off the edge or changing direction in coverage.
  • COVERAGE: At worst, he can cover tight ends and running backs with relative ease. Defended 11 passes this season.
  • BLITZING: That burst off the edge or up the middle as a blitzer is there. Has awareness to play the QBs eyes and bat a ball down if he can't get there for a sack.
  • CONFIDENCE: It's on tape and you'll hear it from teammates and coaches. Very sure of himself.
Weaknesses:
  • CONSISTENCY: Looked like he had some rust after missing a year of football. Some open field tackles he normally makes were missed.
  • NUMBERS: Only two interceptions this year and three for his career at Florida State. He has good instincts and he can catch. He can improve on that when he's in a more standard role on a team.
  • ANGLES: At times he'll come downhill a little too far on screens and outside runs, then ends up having to chase back downfield to make the tackle.

Derwin James is the guy. He was a good player at FSU but he has the tools to become a great player in the NFL. He has a first-round grade and if he makes it to #19 the Cowboys should strongly consider him.

Ronnie Harrison – S – Alabama
Height: 6'01.6
Weight: 214
Estimated 40-yard dash time: 4.57


Harrison isn't the athlete that Derwin James is, but he's a little more polished as a box player. Tough, physical, and opportunistic are words that describe him. You can rely on him to make tackles coming forward and to finish with authority. He caught seven interceptions in his three years at Alabama and a few of them were products of his awareness of the QB's intentions. This play isn't all that hard, but he sees it developing and is there to finish the play when the QB makes a bad decision.




Here we can see his capability as a blitzer with great timing and a knack for finishing.




That Alabama defense is always stacked so his numbers don't jump off the page, but he's going to step in and start for somebody at strong safety.


STRENGTHS:
  • PHYSICAL: He's a good tackler and packs some thump when he finishes.
  • IN THE BOX: The closer the ball is to the middle of the field, the better he is as a tackler.
  • COVERAGE: He's at his best when the plays are in front of him. As a downhill player on crossers and short routes, he's solid in coverage. Will let the QB's eyes take him to the ball.
  • PACE: He's an aggressive downhill player but he stays under control well enough to be a reliable finisher.
  • TACKLING: The majority of the time he will wrap up and make sure his ballcarrier gets to the ground.
  • AWARENESS: He has an ability to line up and play multiple spots on the field. Has a good feel for his assignments.
  • REFLEXES: Has the reaction speed and body control to make interceptions off tipped passes. He can catch.
WEAKNESSES:
  • MAN COVERAGE: He's solid as a zone defender when the ball is in front of him or if he's matched up in the slot with a bigger, physical guy. When it's man coverage he's susceptible to the deep ball and matchups with guys with quickness. Gets caught flat-footed on deep routes.
  • ATHLETICISM: He could surprise me at the combine but I expect he's an average athlete for an NFL safety.
  • OUTSIDE RUN: Needs to improve on angles when a runner goes wide. At times gets too far upfield and has to chase.
  • SINGLE HIGH: Alabama asked him to do this too much. He doesn't have great sideline-to-sideline speed and can get in trouble when the ball is thrown over his head.
Alabama asked him to play a deep-half or single-high look too often for his skillset. As a box player, he should be a rock-solid safety for whoever picks him. I have a second-round grade on him.
In addition to these two, I have a short list of other guys worth considering in the third round area. We'll give you their scouting reports soon.


Jessie Bates – Wake Forest
Armani Watts – Texas A&M
Justin Reid – Stanford
Jordan Whitehead – Pittsburgh
Kyzir White – West Virginia
 

mcnuttz

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I hate to discount Scandrick, as he's played like a cagey vet since he showed up.

What are the chances he could fill the FS role on this defense?

He's signed to a relatively cheap contract, so why not take advantage?

His name was floated out during the draft as potential trade bait and it sounds like the team is ready to let him go, but I would like to see him tried out at FS before he's gone.
 

Rev

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I hate to discount Scandrick, as he's played like a cagey vet since he showed up.

What are the chances he could fill the FS role on this defense?

He's signed to a relatively cheap contract, so why not take advantage?

His name was floated out during the draft as potential trade bait and it sounds like the team is ready to let him go, but I would like to see him tried out at FS before he's gone.
Pretty sure he is going to be a cap relief casualty. Almost positive that he will if they have to tag Lawrence. Somebody posted that he was on local radio talking like he was going to be gone.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Pretty sure he is going to be a cap relief casualty. Almost positive that he will if they have to tag Lawrence. Somebody posted that he was on local radio talking like he was going to be gone.
I don't think he has anything left in the tank anyway.
 

Cotton

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I don't think he has anything left in the tank anyway.
Yeah, I'm good with him going away. We have a lot of young talent back there now. Solidify that FS spot, let Frazier see what he can do at SS, and we are set.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Yeah, I'm good with him going away. We have a lot of young talent back there now. Solidify that FS spot, let Frazier see what he can do at SS, and we are set.
I'm all for Derwin James if he makes it to 19. He is the perfect final piece to the secondary.
 

Cotton

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I'm all for Derwin James if he makes it to 19. He is the perfect final piece to the secondary.
Yep, and I said as much on Twitter about 20 minutes ago. I'm not normally big on taking DBs early, but he is a stud and will really finish out our secondary.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Yep, and I said as much on Twitter about 20 minutes ago. I'm not normally big on taking DBs early, but he is a stud and will really finish out our secondary.
I think he possesses a lot of elite leadership qualities we could really use on defense as well.
 

Simpleton

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I don't think James is necessarily the "final piece" to the secondary, that depends on how Woods develops, but I do think if he's there at 19 it's a near lock that he's the pick.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I don't think James is necessarily the "final piece" to the secondary, that depends on how Woods develops, but I do think if he's there at 19 it's a near lock that he's the pick.
I saw nothing out of Woods that really made me worried. Actually it was very much the opposite. He looked really good.
 

Simpleton

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I saw nothing out of Woods that really made me worried. Actually it was very much the opposite. He looked really good.
Yes, I thought he could've been a 3rd/4th so obviously I'm high on him, I just want to see him develop into a full-time starter with range on the back end before declaring the secondary "final".
 

Cowboysrock55

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Yes, I thought he could've been a 3rd/4th so obviously I'm high on him, I just want to see him develop into a full-time starter with range on the back end before declaring the secondary "final".
He made some high level reads in zone coverage that really impressed me. The ability to sort of read a QB and move from covering one guy to another is what other safeties in our defense have totally lacked and he has proven to be excellent at. My only concern is that I don't know about his tackling coming down from a deep safety spot.
 

boozeman

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