Donovan Wilson is making the Dallas Cowboys look extremely smart for taking him in the sixth round of this past April’s NFL Draft. The former Texas A&M Aggie has been all over the field in coverage showing range, great awareness, and excellent ball skills.
It all started in the first preseason game against the 49ers nearly three weeks ago. Quarterback C.J. Beathard did his best to look off Wilson but he read his eyes and didn’t budge and sat on the route making an interception. Even though it was just his first bit of game action, and with limited reps, Wilson opened a lot of eyes as to what he could potentially bring to the table.
Rookie Donovan Wilson with the INT for the #Cowboys!
Makes it a lot easier when the QB (C.J. Beathard) throws it right to you pic.twitter.com/EIcACB6TSR
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) August 11, 2019
In last Saturday’s game against the Texans, he set the twitter universe on fire with a toe tap interception along the sideline late in the game. This particular play in the video below combined the aforementioned awareness and ball skills all in one. Not only does he do an excellent job of high pointing the ball but he almost simultaneously looks down to make sure his feet are in bounds. This was a display of god-given natural instincts.
Hello starting safety Donovon Wilson. pic.twitter.com/Z9apQHcMir
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) August 25, 2019
In last night’s preseason finale Wilson did it once again as he recorded his third interception in the last several weeks. This has gone a long way to dispelling the pre-draft notion that his ball skills might not transfer to the next level. Three interceptions in four games while on limited reps sounds tasty to me.
https://twitter.com/dallascowboys/status/1167244775134826497?s=19
Most people expect Wilson to lineup opposite Free Safety Xavier Woods sometime in the near future. For now, I’d bet on Jeff Heath still being the starter at the start of the season but I feel like his days are numbered. In just a few preseason games Wilson is already showing the ball-hawking type of style that has been missing from the Cowboys secondary for a long time.
The Cowboys are no stranger to picking safeties in the sixth round, though, as they’ve done so in three of the last four drafts. In 2016, Kavon Frazier was selected and has developed into a solid backup and special teams contributor. A year later, they struck gold with current starter Xavier Woods who’s on his way to stardom. Now they have a diamond in the rough with Wilson who’s ceiling has no boundaries.
There’s no doubt Wilson makes the final 53-man roster cuts on Saturday, I mean let’s face it, he’s too good not to. If the continued progress remains as is look for Wilson to join Woods as the leaders of the safety core very soon, as in sometime during the 2019 season.
