Dallas Cowboys: Is Jeff Heath undervalued on defense?
Jeff Heath will play a big role in the new-look secondary for the Dallas Cowboys, but is he still being undervalued heading into the 2017 season?
Dallas Cowboys strong safety Jeff Heath plays with a fearless style that is a mix of current-day NFL and a bit of old school. He’s given some vicious hits at safety during his first four seasons. Heath had no starts last season, but even entering the 2017 season, still has the feel of being an undervalued player on the defense.
Maybe that is a good thing as the Cowboys have begun their 2017 mandatory minicamp. Heath continues to do his job and most importantly impresses those who see him on a daily basis, even if he doesn’t draw national attention quite yet on a regular basis.
Heath will be much-needed again this season if the Cowboys want to have success on defense. With all the attention going to the new crop of players joining the roster, and most of the focus being on how the Cowboys can fix their pass rush, Heath remains an important, undervalued part of the defense in 2017.
Cowboys S Jeff Heath was the defensive standout in first mini-camp practice today with two INTs, one off Dak in end zone helping vs. Dez.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) June 13, 2017
Entering minicamp, Heath is one of three strong safeties on the roster with the others being Robert Blanton, a free agent signing, and Kavon Frazier.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Heath has made some big plays in his NFL tenure, including a 2016 season where he finished with 23 combined tackles, with one interception and two passes defensed. The past couple seasons he’s made a name for himself to Cowboys fans, seemingly being in the right spot to make a game-changing moment on a couple occasions, including his lone interception of 2016 in Week 15 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As a strong safety, Heath has made a difference for the defense in his first four seasons. Even with being a difference maker, Heath will have a new role in 2017, as DallasCowboys.com wrote that he could take over the spot on the defense previously filled by Barry Church.
Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com wrote this of Heath in May and what he’s brought to the Cowboys:
"“Heath, a fifth-year veteran, had a terrific showing in the divisional-round playoff loss to the Packers, but he’s been more and more productive with increased playing time throughout his career. With just under a fourth of the defensive snaps in 2016, he recorded 20 tackles and an interception and also tied for third in special teams tackles.”"
This will be a very interesting and exciting offseason to see how Heath continues to improve upon his overall game as he seems to do each year he’s been with he Cowboys. If he is able to overtake the old role once held by Church, we’ll see more of Heath on the field, and that could be a good sight to see for the Cowboys.
Next: Cowboys: 5 Reasons they'll repeat as NFC East champions
The Cowboys will need Heath to not just produce at the level he has done in the past, but at an increased level for 2017. If that occurs, maybe more outside the realm of the Cowboys will see just how important he’ll be at safety for a rebuilding defensive backfield this upcoming season.