Dallas Cowboys safety George Iloka is a sleeping giant
By Boss Cowboy
The Dallas Cowboys signed a veteran safety this offseason. And I believe he’ll win the fans over this summer with his size and crowd-pleasing big hits.
Dallas Cowboys‘ safety George Iloka checks many boxes when it comes to being the next sleeping giant to surprise fans. First, let’s define the term sleeping giant. A sleeper is a person or thing that is unexpectedly successful. And a giant is a person, either real or imaginary, who is extremely large and strong, or a very large or powerful organization. Check and Check.
The size check is straightforward. All it takes is an ability to measure to see Iloka is enormous. Iloka is a 6-foot-4, 225-pound giant. That type of size is the type you strategically plan to be the first off the bus to intimidate opposing NFL teams.
The sleeper check is not so easy to measure. I believe most of the Cowboy fanbase haven’t seen Iloka and he’ll be an unexpected pro to rise to the challenge this summer.
One of the main reasons why so many are yawning over the potential of Iloka is his small price tag. According to Spotrac, Iloka only cost the Cowboys a salary cap hit of $730,000 with a base salary $930,000. The price tag of Iloka screams sure camp body and future journeyman. When money is the only thing used as an indication of potential, sleepers are easy to miss.
Another false indicator of his potential is his very brief stint with the Minnesota Vikings. While playing for Minnesota, Iloka only started three games and recorded sixteen combined tackles. Most of his tackles were solo with fourteen and only two assisted.
Projecting Iloka as a 16-game starter for the Cowboys based on his production with the Vikings would work out to 85 tackles, mostly solo. His former defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, created a position for him while at Minnesota as a safety/linebacker, which speaks to the faith he had in him.
It is a fair assumption that most fan research stopped at Iloka’s contract value, his brief time at Minnesota, and they simply gave a collective shrug. I dug deeper and found some giant sleeping clues that are exciting.