Dallas Cowboys: Xavier Woods turning heads, making plays

The Dallas Cowboys may have unearthed a gem in the sixth round with the selection of Louisiana Tech safety Xavier Woods who has been turning heads so far

The Dallas Cowboys have had enough trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. For years, they’ve been operating their secondary with players that don’t truly fit the defensive scheme that is in place courtesy of defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. With several contracts wrapping up this past offseason, Dallas bit the bullet and let them all walk.

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Exiting were cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr — both of whom were brought over to be man-cover guys in former defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s system. Also leaving the team was starting safety Barry Church and his backup J.J. Wilcox.

Church was a good player, but frankly was paid too much by the Jacksonville Jaguars considering his lack of game-changing plays. Wilcox on the other hand wasn’t a fit, much like Carr and Claiborne, given his true in-the-box safety stye of play.

While they did little in free agency, the plan was simply to stockpile talent in the stacked 2017 NFL Draft. With a lot of eyes on second and third-round corners Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis, another player may be the most impressive of the bunch to this point.

Sixth-round pick Xavier Woods was an exciting safety for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, and after Preseason Week 1, he looks to have continued his pro career where his collegiate one left off. Woods stood out for Dallas against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night and earned a spot on the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week for his effort:

Woods was all over the field and recorded seven tackles, six of which were solo takedowns. He made three of his stops on third-down plays that forced punts from L.A. and his night could have even been better. Woods delivered a shot that dislodged the ball from Rams tight end Temarrick Hemingway. It looked to be a forced fumble for the fearless safety, but was ruled an incomplete pass.

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While slightly undersized for a strong safety (5-11, 197 pounds), Woods fits what Marinelli wants — a guy who can fly around the field and simply make plays. Although, the defensive coach isn’t the only one enjoying his presence as the rookie got praise from head coach Jason Garrett following the game, via DallasCowboys.com:

"“He’s one of those players that when he put the pads on, he became a different player.”"

Woods isn’t afraid to deliver the hits, but was also incredible at taking the ball away for the Bulldogs. After not recording a pick in his freshman season, Woods registered 14 in his final three seasons while forcing six career fumbles.

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With Dallas’ struggles in recent years to force turnovers on the back end — especially interceptions, which have become an unheard of in Big D by defensive backs— Woods ability to go get the ball is very welcome. He nearly created his first turnover Saturday, and there will be plenty more opportunities going forward.