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By Bob Sturm 3h ago
Much like we did last weekend when the Cowboys brought in the veteran strong safety (and soon to be part-time linebacker) Keanu Neal, this week we thought we would take a good look at the two signings they made last week that will help completely rebuild that position on the depth chart. They went back to the Atlanta Falcons’ well to grab their young and playmaking free safety Damontae Kazee on Thursday after signing the special-teams stalwart and depth play Jayron Kearse from Detroit the previous day. Because they sort of fit as a three-man signing overhaul, let’s cover Kazee primarily, but to a certain extent, Kearse in this quick overview of the situation.
How they fit: Kazee is a smallish safety for sure and should slide right in as the starting free safety of this entire operation as Dan Quinn needed to find a few budget-worthy signings to help run his defense. He basically acquired both of the Falcons’ top safeties in the last few years (thanks to the cheap prices of the pandemic free-agent market this year combined with the realities of injured players looking for work). Over the course of his four-year career, Kazee had never missed a single game until his Achilles tendon snapped on “Monday Night Football” in Week 4 at Green Bay in 2020. Upon his full recovery, he will slide in as the best option Dallas has had up top in years if he can match his ball-hawking expertise in Quinn’s coverages in 2018 and 2019 after moving from being a college cornerback. Kearse is more of a depth play and another option at strong safety. Odds are pretty good they want Donovan Wilson and Neal to handle that, but there could be packages (man vs. some tight ends) where he is a fit, but this looks more like a special-teams ace who will have five years of NFL experience as a part-time safety who will also add to the options on the roster in 2021.
2021 impact: The impact of going from the group that was here in Week 1 of 2020 (Xavier Woods, Darian Thompson, Daryl Worley) to what they have to work with in 2021 (Neal, Kazee, Wilson, Kearse) should be enormous and have everyone feeling like the group actually has a fighting chance. Keep in mind that in 2019 — Quinn’s last full season as Falcons coach — Atlanta was very much a man coverage team that also played a lot of Cover 3. Both of these require a single-high safety who can look for opportunities to get the ball and stay over the top of routes, and Kazee demonstrated this very well in both 2018-19. You have to believe that this chart below is what is driving the Cowboys’ offseason to attempt to find corners who can handle man coverage and safeties who can cover underneath and one up top. I would not be shocked to see another free safety drafted or one of the corners moved to safety if they cannot (Jourdan Lewis?).
Atlanta Falcons’ coverages 2019 under Dan Quinn
Draft impact: As indicated above, we know this is almost a complete transition of the entire position for the Cowboys and arguably the key to unlock a new level of defensive performance. This, of course, is easier said than done, so we anticipate that all of these initial options are merely a trampoline to the next era. For it to work, the Cowboys need to find players who can fill these two spots for years to come as Neal and Kazee are both on one-year deals. Quite obviously, if they are good this year, the prices go way up. If they are not good, Dallas will need younger options. For these reasons that seem clear, don’t expect Dallas to delete safety from its needs at all. But, now, you don’t need to draft a kid and then rush him into the defensive huddle. This seems a far more appropriate strategy.
Cap update: The bad news is that the cap of the Cowboys is still quite tight and difficult to navigate for proper signings that can be expected to provide solid performances. The good news is that it appears all eight of their acquisitions are roughly the cost of the one-year deal they once signed Greg Hardy for in 2015 ($13 million or so). These are all minimal no-risk deals (aside from Neal) which are great, if the team actually finds any play of consequence from them. We don’t know the official numbers on Kazee or Kearse, but we do know that they are expected to be right around the veteran’s minimum and perhaps guarantees that will require that they make the team to have a cap impact at all.
Outlook: I am pretty sure this must be judged on a curve, but when you are signing players to one-year deals, the expectation levels need to remain reasonable. That said, the players brought in last April felt like full Hail Mary throws. These are players who are still able to perform but mostly caught up in the economy of the NFL. I am not suggesting there are many starters here, but in the cases of Neal and Kazee, they will start and likely help transition this defense at a rate that 2020 never enjoyed. And to think, they did so at roughly the cost ($6 million) of what an extension last season would have cost to begin to catch Xavier Woods’ attention to keep him from entering the market. Woods just received a one-year, $2.25 million deal from the Vikings. The depression of the entire free agency market for those not of the elite level was not ever fully anticipated. Many guessed the cap would be able to stay flat and they guessed wrong.
After studying Kazee and also the general track record of those who play in the secondary who have healed from an Achilles injury, we know he is not Earl Thomas in 2013 at all. But, he is very good and has had his hand in 15 takeaways (interceptions and forced fumbles) in his last two seasons of healthy play (2018-19). If that shows its face in 2021 as he joins a group that was starting to take the ball away in 2020 down the stretch, Dallas will be very pleased with this bargain purchase. I have great optimism that this will make plenty of sense.
Meanwhile, Kearse has a chance to help anchor John Fassel’s special-teams group and provide another player in his prime to make an impression on the defense at a minimum deal. Overall, this is potentially strong business.
. Tarbell?