Carter's Classroom: Wilcox is the adequate backup

The Steelers' trade to get J.J. Wilcox does not add a great playmaker, a supreme cover safety or a turnover machine, but it does provide some depth to a position that desperately needed it.



Wilcox is a fifth-year safety with decent speed who provides the occasional big hits over the middle and keeps the play in front of him. He won't be a player who takes big risks with aggressive guesses to fool quarterbacks into ill-advised passes. But he will be a safety who comes up in run support to make big hits and solid tackles on receivers catching shorter passes underneath zone coverage.

That's pretty much the description of what the Steelers look for in a free safety. As long as the free safety can usually be the deep man who doesn't give up big plays, but also be an enforcer to deliver big hits that challenge receivers to hold onto the ball or bring down running backs in run support, while also filling his role in pass coverage, Keith Butler will be happy.

Wilcox fit this role nicely for the Cowboys in his first four years in the NFL, as he totaled 15 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and five interceptions. However, most of his interceptions came from tipped passes that happened to fly into his vicinity, rather than him making a solid read of the offense and then making a good play on the ball.

Before we get into Wilcox's cover abilities, let's talk about his skills as a hitter and why he fits into the role much better than Robert Golden or Jordan Dangerfield.

Wilcox is a player who will come up aggressively and look to put a big hit on his opponent, but he also makes a point to wrap opponents. I don't see the big hits from him that we expect from Mike Mitchell. However, he does have a knack for breaking down in his approach so that he can deliver a solid form tackle.

Here's an example of a forced fumble from 2016. Notice how Wilcox is able to widen his stance and wrap his arms around his man and eventually focus on locking down his leg:



Ironically, it's what Wilcox does wrong on this play that helps him force the turnover. Typically, when making a tackle, you need to keep your head up and see who you are bringing down. Wilcox attacks with his helmet, but puts his head right on the ball to force the fumble.

Wilcox does seem to dip his head down and go for the big hit often, especially when he has sniffed out a short pass, screen or any opportunity where he sees a ball carrier with little to no momentum. But what impressed me is that usually when he misses, he manages to stick with the play and still contributes to making the tackle.

His most impressive moments in coverage came from the same spirit of not giving up on plays.

Here's an example of a pass he defensed against the Lions last season. Watch how he plays his deep zone responsibility and notice how he makes sure his side of the field has nobody who can sneak behind the receiver in front of him. He only starts to close when he knows it's safe to attack the receiver:



Wilcox's traditional assignment in deep halves is to protect the deep end of his side of the field, but for him to recognize that he can abandon that spot to help on the deep in route makes for a good football decision on his part.

He also shows a solid burst to get after the ball and almost intercepts it when he lays out to break up the play.

Wilcox's tape shows that his lack of interceptions has less to do with his hands and more to do with him just rarely being in a position to pull it off. The Cowboys' defense ranked just a few spots behind the Steelers when it came to sacks last season, so the fact that Wilcox has not had a premier pass rush to force more ill-advised throws shouldn't count against him.

When quarterbacks do force it to Wilcox, he normally seems to be in position to either make the interception or be involved in a swat to knock away any chance of a big play.

Here is the one interception I found in his NFL career that didn't come from a tipped pass. It shows a play where Wilcox displayed solid athleticism and the patience to not commit to either of the receivers running in front of him:



Watch how the Redskins use one receiver on a go route down the sidelines and another running a skinny post to the middle of the field. This combination normally looks to make the safety decide about who to help. Wilcox stays in position to address either receiver long enough to see that Colt McCoy is committing to the sidelines go route, and he makes the interception.

Mind you, this was back in 2014 when Wilcox was just a second-year player who was able to exhibit this kind of in-game patience. He's had more time to refine his game and improve his detailed work, which will make him a better support player in the Steelers' secondary.

Ultimately, to fill in for either Mitchell or Davis in case of an injury, the Steelers need a player like Wilcox who has the kind of instincts to both be aggressive as a hitter and patient in protecting deep zones. The entire concept of the Steelers' traditional zone blitz schemes are based on forcing opponents to have to make several reads repeatedly by consistently tackling receivers short of the first down marker.

If Wilcox can be a guy who forces quarterbacks to take those underneath options because he isn't vacating his role in the defense as a protector, and is also an enforcer who occasionally makes a play on the ball, he will become a much closer version of Mitchell than any of the other replacements who were in training camp.