The Dallas Cowboys secondary will get even better in the days to come. No, this isn’t a prediction that Earl Thomas joins the team, but rather another safety working his way back onto the practice fields in Oxnard. Kavon Frazier has been taken off the non-football injury list, eligible to return to practice as the Cowboys deliberately work him back following concerns over blood clotting.
It appears the Cowboys training staff has found a pretty simple solution to Frazier’s medical scare. The third-year safety said after his first padded practice of training camp yesterday that an increase in vegetables and vitamins in his diet is effectively his only change.
Passing a physical frees Frazier to begin working with Kris Richard. Already, the fiery secondary coach and Passing Game Coordinator has gotten the best out of cornerbacks like Chidobe Awuzie and Byron Jones.
An enforcing safety like Frazier playing in support of these cornerbacks will only elevate the Cowboys defense further. Lead by Jeff Heath and Xavier Woods on the third level so far, this Cowboys defense has gotten the best of the offense for most of camp.
Both Heath and Woods give the Cowboys desirable versatility at their positions, capable of lining up all over the field and matching up athletically against receivers or tight ends. Though Frazier still has plenty of time to change this, he came on strong as a third safety at the end of 2017, and could thrive in this role again.
Limited as a true cover player, Frazier is best utilized as a downhill ‘thumper’ that can catch opposing offenses by surprise. Given their size on the boundary, the Cowboys want to be disruptive early and often against the pass. Frazier could be key in creating turnovers as well as in run support.
Whatever happens for the Cowboys at safety (yes, now you can infer that I’m talking about a certain Seattle Seahawk), the team should feel confident in their ability to bring along all three returnees in Heath, Woods, and Frazier.
It shouldn’t take long at all for Kavon to make up for the loss of four padded practices. A player that was always going to have to wait patiently for the pads to come on given his play style, opportunity is coming for Frazier in this competitive Cowboys secondary.
The Cowboys are off today, but do return to training camp practices with Frazier fully in the fold on Saturday and Sunday.
