Are We Screwed at Free Safety?

With all the news surrounding our new two tight end offense, Terrell Owens, and even Drew Henson, nothing has been said about the free safety position. This position plagued our defense all of last year, and we did nothing that clearly shores up the position. We have plenty of options for the starting spot, but none of them are particularly good ones. That being said, free safety is widely regarded as the easiest position on defense to play.

Most teams opt for a cheap veteran or a young late round draft pick to fill the spot, so it isn't like we need some Pro Bowl guy back there. We just need a guy who won't screw up his assignments.

I will start by addressing last year's starter Keith Davis. He played below average last season in his first year as a starter. He played tough against the run, but he struggled badly in coverage. Davis is a great special teams player so the Cowboys no doubt want another guy to emerge as the starter. I could see Keith improving some this off-season, but he lacks much upside at the position.

We signed FS Marcus Coleman right before the draft as a possible stop gap to a younger guy. Coleman was a good cornerback before moving to free safety two years ago. Coleman is only 31, but his play last year suggests that he is all but washed up. While there is hope that Parcells can coax another year out of him, I'm not too optimistic.

Many thought we would use a first day pick on a free safety. We didn't, so that either means Parcells didn't like the value at that spot, or he is determined to find a free safety without investing a lot of money or a high draft pick on one. The latter is probably his approach considering the other three starters in our secondary are getting paid quite well. We did use a 5th round draft choice on the raw, but talented Pat Watkins. I could see him developing into a starter down the road, but I think he would struggle if forced to start his rookie year.

My sleeper pick for the starting free safety job is second year player Justin Beriault. He looked great in training camp and pre-season last year before undergoing season ending knee surgery. He is just the type of guy we want back there. He is a smart guy who won't blow coverages. He is also a good enough athlete for the position and an excellent tackler. All this being said, he is just as likely to get cut as he is to become the starter.

While I wouldn't be too worried, it is hard to forget about the main weakness on our defense last year. If we can't sure up our free safety spot, we could experience the same nightmares of the Week 2 Monday Night Football game against the Redskins. This is the one piece of the defensive puzzle that could hinder our chances of being a top 5 defense.