Chicago Bears: 5 Strong safeties to target in 2020 NFL free agency
2. Tavon Wilson (Age: 30)
One of the things that make it difficult to play in the NFC North is that there are some very good quarterbacks that the defense has to play twice every season. As a secondary, you must prepare for the ball to be flying all over the place.
Signing Tavon Wilson helps with that. He already plays in the division and is very familiar with its quarterbacks. He also has a good understanding of the divisional rivals’ running gameplan so he could step in and not miss a beat.
The Detroit Lions have been revamping the safety position. They had a stable group of veterans but before the 2019 season, they released Glover Quin then traded Quandre Diggs at the trade deadline. That left Wilson as the most tenured safety on the team. Now, as a free agent, he could be moving as well.
Wilson was the Patriots’ second-round pick in the 2011 draft. After four seasons he couldn’t catch on and the Pats allowed him to walk away. The Lions signed him as a low-cost, low-risk option. Now entering free agency again, Wilson finds himself in the same low-cost, low-risk situation.
Lions head coach Matt Patricia spoke highly about Wilson’s play in Detroit, per DetroitNews.com:
"Tavon has a lot of really good attributes that he’s always had. His football instincts are phenomenal… I would say his football IQ just basically keeps improving every single year… He plays a lot of different positions at times. He’ll be in a lot of different spots and he gets lined up, makes very few mistakes, just really can handle all of that at a high level. (He can) not only do that, but also communicate to those around him what he needs to and what they need to do to help."
Wilson’s flexibility comes in handy. He’s played both safety positions, cornerback, and in 2019 against the Bears he even played some linebacker. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano can plug him in different spots to help out the defense. He’s a player who can still give his all even if he doesn’t win a starting spot and a player who could thrive in this elite defense.