As things stand right now, the players the Dallas Cowboys currently have under contract could very well be the ones who start for them in 2019. We of course could see another player acquisition via trade that could shake things up, but it's far more likely Dallas sticks with the way things are now. Unfortunately, that also means they didn't address their biggest “need” through the draft like a lot of Cowboys Nation wanted.
If you haven't already guessed it by now, I'm talking about the safety position.
Heading into the 2019 NFL Draft the Dallas Cowboys were pretty adamant about wanting to upgrade the safety position. They can't say they didn't have their opportunity. They could have drafted one of the most athletically gifted ball hawking safeties in the entire draft class at 58th overall in Juan Thornhill, but decided a disruptive, penetrating defensive tackle (Trysten Hill) was the better pick. Only time will tell whether this was the right decision or not.
Whether we like it or not, the safety position for the Dallas Cowboys is going to look a lot like it did in 2018. The only new faces on the backend of the Cowboys defense is George Iloka, who they signed as a free agent, and Donovan Wilson out of Texas A&M, who they drafted in the sixth-round in this years draft. I don't know about you, but I'm not very confident either player is an upgrade over Jeff Heath.
I don't know about you, but I find it a little difficult to see the thought process by the Cowboys brass regarding the safety position right now. They said it was one of their biggest “needs” heading into the draft but did relatively nothing to address it. Maybe they value what they have more than they're letting on… Who knows?
The only other possibility is they are hoping/praying a veteran safety gets released they like and can pick up off of waivers or possibly trade for. If that's the case, it's a gamble that may or may not pay off. I personally wouldn't hold my breath on such a thing happening. But, I wouldn't rule it out either considering how the safety position seems to be undervalued these past few years.
Barring any big changes though, the only thing we really know about the safety position is Xavier Woods is the only starter we can count on right now. Who ends up playing next to him in 2019 is completely up in the air? It's definitely going to be a position battle worth keeping a watchful eye on throughout the remainder of the offseason.
