Cowboys: Is Safety Eric Berry A Fit As Free Agent Target?

The Dallas Cowboys could feature very different personnel in the secondary in 2016, but should Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry be among the new faces?

The NFL free-agent signing period is less than a month away and NFL teams will actually be able to designate franchise and transitional players starting on Tuesday. The available pool of talent that the Dallas Cowboys might wish to pursue is about to take shape.

In addition to the cornerback position, many believe that the Cowboys could afford an upgrade at the safety position, a part of the depth chart that’s been manned by Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox for the last few seasons.

I’m certainly no advocate of the Cowboys spending significant resources on any part of the secondary until they show that they have maximized efforts to bring as much talent and disruption into the box as possible. Show me two or three Pro Bowl-caliber players on the defensive line and I’ll completely agree that Dallas should take a shot on a high draft pick or spend big dollars on a veteran defensive back in free agency.

Eric Berry is one player that’s been rumored to be of interest to the Cowboys, and the reasons are completely justified. Berry is about as good of a story off the field as he is on it. He’s a playmaker in every respect and he’s lived up to his billing as the fifth-overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Given the cap space, adding Berry would make perfect sense, but only if another first-round draft pick remains at cornerback.

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Byron Jones just completed his rookie season with the Cowboys and managed to play all over the secondary. Talk of moving Jones to safety only makes sense if a guy like Berry isn’t heading to Dallas.

Reid Hanson of SportDFW recently offered an interesting take on how Berry and Jones would fit Dallas’ scheme in the secondary. There’s no question that these two could create some tight passing lanes for slot receivers and tight ends.

My question, however, is at what expense does Dallas’ run defense suffer given the presence of two smallish safeties on the field that are better in coverage than they are in the box. Berry weighs just 212 pounds while Jones is a mere 205. That’s really not much in the way of physicality to play run support or to create fear in opposing receivers going across the middle.

Remember the coverage and hitting ability possessed by Darren Woodson for so many years. The former Arizona State linebacker weighed 220 while also running like a deer.

There was also Roy Williams, the big hitter out of Oklahoma who washed out once former head coach Bill Parcells made the switch to the 3-4 defense in 2005. Williams was never brought in to cover, but he did change the game of pro football with his ability to literally knock players out of games.

If we look at a safety like Kam Chancellor of the Seattle Seahawks, we see a guy who’s a couple of burgers away from playing a linebacker, much like Williams was. A true strong safety, Chancellor has been a key part of a defense that’s appeared in two Super Bowls during the past three seasons.

I’m a believer in safeties playing a role in run support. The idea of having Jones and Berry both playing seems to add more of a finesse quality that I’m not sure is a good idea – unless Jones stays at cornerback.

Given the up-in-the-air status of Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr, the Cowboys seem to be in more need of corners than they are safeties. This is not to say that upgrades aren’t needed at each position, but while one of those two areas could stand improvement, the other might simply need bodies.

So, about the only way Berry makes sense is if Jones is staying at cornerback, which doesn’t appear to be the case. The versatility of the former Connecticut defensive back is why the Cowboys made him the 27th-overall selection in last year’s draft. It would seem that given where Dallas likely needs the most help, Jones at cornerback along with Claiborne, at a reduced price that is, and then Berry and Church at safety would keep the Cowboys in position to elevate a secondary that’s way short on playmaking ability.

In other words, playing two free safeties makes very little sense.

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