Death, taxes, and the Dallas Cowboys declining to use premium resources on the safety position.
We have all cried out for the organization to spend heavily on a solid safety option. We have all said that it has been a long time since the team has had a safety that they can rely on. We have all continually been disappointed by what the group has invested in the back of their defense.
Over the last five years the Cowboys have technically thrown some resources at the safety position, they just haven’t been top-of-the-line. For the third time in that stretch the Cowboys drafted a safety in the sixth round which is par for the course for how they like to operate.
Can Israel Mukuamu be a better option than either of his predecessors?
Israel Mukuamu has the potential to be a solid safety option for the Dallas Cowboys
In the initial moments after the Cowboys drafted South Carolina’s Israel Mukuamu it became obvious that they were getting someone with insane athleticism. Mukuamu is about 6’4” and weighs 205 lbs. which means he is pretty long and muscular.
Obviously Mukuamu’s length fits the Dan Quinn model and while the Cowboys defensive coordinator likes that length in his cornerbacks the team just about announced from day one that while Israel played corner in college that they plan to utilize him at safety.
That’s the interesting thing when it comes to Israel Mukuamu, that the Cowboys had a plan from the jump with him. This certainly feels like more initial progress than Dallas had with either of their sixth-round options in recent memory and while that bar is somewhat low, it is something.
The two safeties that have heard their name called by the Cowboys in the sixth round as of late are of course Xavier Woods (2017) and Donovan Wilson (2019). Taking safeties in the sixth round is becoming a pattern of sorts here as is the idea of the players ascending to a point of legitimate responsibility.
While things did not end how everybody wanted them to with Xavier Woods there is no question that he out-performed his draft day stock while wearing a star on his helmet. Donovan Wilson figures to have a larger role than ever this season and will have the opportunity to do so himself.
Given Wilson’s status on the roster as well as Damontae Kazee’s presence, it's unlikely that Mukuamu will have a legitimate opportunity to contribute in 2021, but his physical gifts separate him from most and are something that the organization clearly like. Ultimately he may be a sort of slow burn, but patience is a virtue and all that jazz.
We broke down exactly who Israel Mukuamu is in the latest video on the Blogging The Boys YouTube Channel. Make sure to subscribe (which you can do so right here) to the channel so that you don’t miss any of our videos!