In his four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Donovan Wilson has far exceeded expectations. The Cowboys selected Wilson in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft. The assumption was for him to be a career-long backup and special teams player.
However, in recent years he has emerged as one of the most important players on the Cowboys’ defense.
When Wilson replaced Darian Thompson in week four of the 2020 season, he wasted no time in making his mark. He quickly made his name as a thumping, physical, downhill safety.
Despite missing games in 2021, Wilson became Dan Quinn’s best-kept secret.
His ability to play down inside the box and deliver decapitating hits turned him into a key player on the defensive side of the ball.
He entered the 2022 season in the final year of his rookie contract and had a career-best season while spearheading a three-headed monster in the Cowboys’ secondary with Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker.
He led the Cowboys with 77 solo tackles and had a career-high five sacks and will enter the offseason as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
But just how much higher should the Cowboys put Donovan Wilson on the list of priorities this season?
Dan Quinn will undoubtedly make a big push for Wilson to be part of his defense in 2023. After all, he turned down head coaching jobs to stay in Dallas, which may have come with some conditions.
Donovan Wilson was an unsung hero for the 2022 defense
Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, and DeMarcus Lawrence draw most of the media attention while Wilson quietly makes play after play.
In an ideal world, the Cowboys would ink Wilson to a multi-year contract. And in turn, make a significant stride in solving their somewhat constant defensive secondary woes.
However, as things stand, the Cowboys are $7 million over the 2023 cap space.
Even when they do make moves to get under the limit, they might not make enough space for Wilson to return.
Wilson could likely demand a $6 million-per-year contract in free agency, and he’s shown to be worth it.
For the past three seasons, Wilson has played an important role in the defense and last year was one of the best players in the unit. And he never earned over $1 million a year.
The Cowboys definitely got their money’s worth.
So, it’s unlikely the Cowboys would be able to convince Wilson to pass up on testing the market and getting a big payday in favor of taking a hometown discount.
With Malik Hooker and Jayron Kearse under contract through 2023, the Cowboys might think the position is in good hands even without Wilson.
Kearse and Hooker have been solid at safety since joining the team in 2021. If Wilson does walk away, the position would not be completely lost without him.
Donovan Wilson, Dalton Shultz, Tony Pollard, and Leighton Vander Esch top the list of Cowboys free agents this off-season. On paper, it would be ideal to bring them all back for 2023 and beyond.
But CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs will be looking for big contracts this off-season too.
The Cowboys simply won’t be able to keep up with the market value for Donovan Wilson. And with a worryingly long list of needs, the Cowboys probably shouldn’t move mountains to keep the star on his helmet.
Wrong, he needs a decent contract. Jhe has earned it. Pay this man!
I want him back. But it’s hard to justify paying him what he’s worth with Kearse and Hooker on the team, and the needs list is too long to fork out over $6M a year
That would be a big mistake by the Cowboys if they don’t resign him. He is one of the best open field tackler the Cowboys have and he hits with power.
Definitely a great tackler and hits like a truck. But there are a lot of needs on this team that don’t have serviceable players already on the depth chart
Of course he isn’t. Why would they keep a physical presence who should get the franchise tag?
Hank Armentrout This has nothing to do with DAK Cowboys can sign anyone if they want to
Gotta be kidding me!!!! He’s one their best DBs
Gotta keep this guy. Come on!
I wish they would. This team probably trusts their draft ability to get a future replacement and let Kearse, Hooker, and Izzy fill the gap meantime
Need to keep him..
Resign this man today!
With him being from my hometown I rather see him get the bag elsewhere. This is the typical Dallas Cowboys decisions. A big mistakes I bet he’ll probably take a lil less too stay there. He’s a born and raised Cowboys fan. His family as well.
We definitely need to keep him.. JJ doesn’t know how to spend his money.. Zeke is serviceable, he’s had a decent career. Let’s move on from him and keep the players we need on defense.
They feel they can move Izzy to take his spot
We definitely need to keep Wilson
Guy is a head hunter and only one laying the pads.
He better be at the top of the list
So pay Wilson and skip on every other position that does not already have guys that can play just as well? Of course they do not need to find a way to pay CeeDee and Diggs and Parsons in the next couple of years. You people do not understand basic math and common sense.
Hard to put him at the top of the list with how many needs this team has. And the fact that CeeDee and Diggs will most likely get paid this off-season too
Oth Chris there they go acting cheap , we need to keep him
#jerryjones NO way you guys letting him go
He should first be the first one signed
He Must Be
Man please Hooker can’t touch Wilson these clowns better not let Wilson go
A bunch of whining going on here for a replaceable player. He is well worth keeping but not at any real sort of money. They played just as well without him in the game as with him. Wilson, like quite a few players on this D is getting credit for what Quin sets them up for. He goes somewhere else he will be average. Folks acting like the sky is falling.
Why do the Cowboys not value the defensive backs.
DW has done a very good job for the Cowboys, one of the best D players, and hopefully they can retain him. If they can’t hope he doesn’t go to another division team.
He needs to be a priority it’s been a long time since we had a decent defensive backfield player. He actually matches up pretty good with Leighton and Micah
This is a tough one. He is the most physical DB we have on the roster and really motivates others to play at his level. Unfortunately, he is average in coverage and can not stay healthy because of his supreme physicality. I would love to keep him but can we risk keeping a box safety who is often injured? He is a sixth round pick with limitations and can absolutely drop the hammer on ball carriers and whom ever comes into his area. Kears is the leader and Hooker is your free safety and Wilson is the supporter. I’m thinking let him walk and move on.
It’d be very nice to keep him, but it may be a luxury
He gets called for too many stupid penalties, so I’m fine with letting him walk!! I’d rather make sure we have enough money to pay Ceedee and Diggs, and Parsons will need to be paid next year too, so there’s 3 players that’ll demand big contracts and we’ll need as much cap space as possible to sign them!!
You can’t pay everyone.
They better resign him!