5 Cowboys who earned themselves larger roles in 2021

One position of need for the Dallas Cowboys is safety. The team has been at a loss for solving this issue since the departure of Roy Williams.

After two seasons of progression from safety Xavier Woods, a down season casts doubt on his future. Luckily, a late emergence of another safety came in Donovan Wilson.

To start the season, he was off to the side as Darian Thompson was the number two safety. It quickly changed to Wilson come Week 4. Since winning over the starting job, he won the hearts of Cowboys fans, at least for the time being.

Dallas needed a safety that was willing to be a ruthless hitting safety. That is what he ended up becoming. While he played well, not many people noticed him.

The statement game for the 25-year-old was in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings. One of the best running backs in the NFL, Dalvin Cook, got blown up and fumbled the ball twice. Both were hits by Donovan Wilson.

He needs to work on getting his hands on the football more. The good thing is that he makes up for that by making big hits.

The Texas A&M product finished the 2020 season with two interceptions and three passes defended. Adding to that is allowing a 66.7 percent completion percentage and 13.3 yards per completion.

It is well-known that he needs to work on his pass defense. The good thing is that his run defense is his specialty. Dallas will likely need to find a coverage safety to play on passing downs while using Wilson as the shallow safety on running downs.

That’s not to say Wilson does not have the potential to become more of a hybrid safety. However, I do not believe he is ready yet. If he proves me wrong, I will be more than happy.

Despite all this, he is now a crucial part of the Cowboys’ defense and is more than likely to be the starter come Week 1. He earned his spot through his hustle, aggressiveness, and his bone-crushing hits.