Donovan Wilson (American football)
Donovan Wilson (born February 21, 1995) is an American football safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M University.
No. 37 – Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Shreveport, Louisiana | February 21, 1995||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 208 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Woodlawn (LA) | ||||||||||||||
College: | Texas A&M | ||||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2019 / Round: 6 / Pick: 213 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2020 | |||||||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Early years
Wilson attended Woodlawn High School. As a senior, he had 70 tackles, 13 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles, 57 receptions for 860 yards and 9 touchdowns, while receiving Shreveport Defensive Player of the Year and Class 4A All-state honors.
College career
He accepted a football scholarship from Texas A&M University. As a true freshman, he appeared in 10 games as a backup safety, making 19 tackles (2 for loss). He started in the 2014 Liberty Bowl, leading the team with 9 tackles.[1]
As a sophomore, he started 7 games as a nickel defensive back. He collected 63 tackles (8.5 for loss), 5 interceptions (led the team), 3 pass breakups, 2 sacks, one quarterback hurry, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. He had 10 tackles against the University of Mississippi.
As a junior, he started 7 games as a nickel defensive back, registering 59 tackles (5.5 for loss), one interception, 2 quarterback hurries and 2 pass breakups. He had 9 tackles both against Auburn University and Louisiana State University.
In 2017, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the opener against UCLA. As a redshirt senior in 2018, he was a regular starter at safety (11 out of 12 games), posting 66 tackles (second on the team), 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions (led the team), 5 pass breakups and 2 sacks. He had 12 tackles against the University of Kentucky. He made 13 tackles (7 solo) against Louisiana State University.
Professional career
Wilson was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (213th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.[2]
In Week 4 of the 2020 season against the Cleveland Browns, Wilson recorded his first career sack on Baker Mayfield during the 49–38 loss. [3] In Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football, Wilson recorded a strip sack on Carson Wentz that he also recovered during the 23–9 loss. In week 11 against the Vikings, Wilson had the best game a Dallas safety has had since the days of Darren Woodson when he created two turnovers. [4] In Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings, Wilson and teammate DeMarcus Lawrence recorded a strip sack on quarterback Kirk Cousins that was recovered by Wilson. Later in the game, Wilson forced a fumble on running back Dalvin Cook that was recovered by Lawrence during the 31–28 win.[5] In Week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, Wilson recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Nick Mullens during the 41–33 win.[6] In Week 17 against the New York Giants, Wilson recorded a sack on Daniel Jones and also intercepted a pass thrown by Jones during the 23–19 loss.[7]
References
- "NFL Draft Profile". Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- "The Dallas Cowboys select S Donovan Wilson with the 213th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft". Blogging The Boys. April 27, 2019.
- "Cleveland Browns at Dallas Cowboys - October 4th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
- "Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles - November 1st, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- "Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings - November 22nd, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- "San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys - December 20th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- "Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants - January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-01-08.