The Dallas Cowboys have as many star defenders as any team in the league but they also have a crop of young players stepping up who could find the spotlight in 2024. On Wednesday, head coach Mike McCarthy opened up about safety Juanyeh Thomas who heads into his third season in the league this year.
Once an undrafted rookie free agent, Thomas became a starter for Dallas last season, racking up 22 tackles with two tackles for loss and a blocked kick.
“I thought he made a big jump last year,” McCarthy said this week during minicamp. “He’s been dynamic on special teams and what you want, particularly this time of year, is to see young players in a different light. And Juanyeh just has so much personality. He’s such a bright light.
“When he was given an opportunity at safety, he stepped up. Juanyeh is clearly a great example of a young player that’s excelled with the opportunities he’s been given. It’ll be awesome to see him take another step.”
Thomas ready for expanded role in 2024
As much growth as he experienced from Year 1 to Year 2, Thomas believes there’s even more in store for this season. The versatile defensive back can contribute all over the field and his coaches are taking notice.
“I have a chance to really expand my role and touch up on things that I really didn’t get right last year,” Thomas told DallasCowboys.com this week. “So having an opportunity in my third year, it’s really a chance to up my role and show what I can do in Year 3, for real.”
“I showed last year that I could play every spot,” he added. “I played corner, I played nickel, I played safety, I played [line]backer. Just really showing the coaches and showing everybody my versatility to be able to play down, back and guard everybody.”
Though Thomas only started one game for the Cowboys last season, he played in a total of 16 games. He played 190 snaps on defense and another 315 as a member of the special teams unit. Defensive backs coach Al Harris praised the former Georgia Tech standout for his athleticism as the team closed out minicamp.
“Yeah, man, he’s an extremely, extremely explosive athlete,” Harris said. “I think he’s gonna do a really, really good job moving forward. High hopes for (him).”
Thanks to Thomas’ development, the Cowboys were able to save themselves some money this offseason. They didn’t have to pick up a new free agent at safety, or even re-sign Jayron Kearse. Kearse remains unsigned as teams close out the early portion of preseason prep.
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