The Dallas Cowboys have been trying to emulate the Seattle Seahawks defense for several years now. The hiring of Kris Richard to become the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator could make that infatuation turn into reality.
There is reason to believe that Kris Richard will have quite a bit of influence on the defensive side ball. Rod Marinelli supposedly contemplated retiring after the 2017 season, which could indicate Richard was brought in to be his eventual replacement.
If Richard is indeed the next Cowboys defensive coordinator, then it’s not a big stretch to believe we could see the defensive philosophy start to change. In fact, news broke earlier this week that the Dallas Cowboys are already considering moving Byron Jones back to cornerback. To me, this indicates certain personnel changes are on the way.
With that in mind, I started to wonder about the Seattle Seahawks defense over the past several seasons and how the Cowboys personnel could be used to replicate their success, especially in the secondary.
The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of young talented defensive backs, but how they will ultimately be used is still up in the air. If Byron Jones is moving back to CB, then the Cowboys need another starting safety, possibly two.
Enter Kavon Frazier.
Kavon Frazier has mostly been used as a special teams player since joining the Dallas Cowboys in 2016. He is more of the prototypical strong safety who is better in the box around a lot of scrimmage. That’s why he hasn’t received a lot of playing time on defense, because he’s a liability in coverage.
Kavon Frazier did start to receive more playing time at the tail end of the 2017 season when he started splitting repetitions with Byron Jones. That playing time could increase next season if Kris Richard believes he could become the Cowboys version of Kam Chancellor.
I know it’s a stretch to believe right now and there is a lot that can happen to change things between now and the start of the 2018 season, but all we can do is speculate at this point in time.
If the Dallas Cowboys are trying to emulate the Seattle Seahawks defense, then Kavon Frazier is probably the best suited to fill that Kam Chancellor role in the secondary. At least for now…
