Donovan Wilson (born February 21, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

Early years

Wilson attended Woodlawn High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. As a senior, he had 70 tackles, 13 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles, 57 receptions for 860 yards and 9

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s, 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 Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

. As a true freshman, he appeared in 10 games as a backup

, making 19 tackles (2 for loss). He started in the

2014 Liberty Bowl The 2014 Liberty Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 29, 2014, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The 56th edition of the Liberty Bowl, it featured the Texas A&M Aggies of the Southeastern Confer ...

, leading the team with 9 tackles. 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 The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

. 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 Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest ...

and

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

. In 2017, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the season opener against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

senior in 2018, he was a regular starter at

(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 The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. He made 13 tackles (7 solo) against

Professional career

2019

Wilson was selected by the

in the sixth round (213th overall) of the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on Apri ...

. He missed the first two games of the season with an ankle injury. He played mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and had 3 tackles.

2020

In Week 4 against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, Wilson took over the

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

position, after replacing

Darian Thompson Darian Thompson (born September 22, 1993) is a former American football safety who is currently an assistant linebackers coach and quality control coach for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Boise State University, and was selecte ...

, when he failed to defend a 37-yard touchdown trick pass from

Jarvis Landry Jarvis Charles Landry (born November 28, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round o ...

to fellow wide receiver

Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials OBJ, is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Beckham played college football at LSU and was drafted by the ...

on the first drive of the game. Wilson recorded 10 tackles, his first career sack on

Baker Mayfield Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Hei ...

and showed a hard-hitting physical style during the 49–38 loss, earning the full time starter position. In Week 8 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

on ''Sunday Night Football'', Wilson recorded a strip sack on

Carson Wentz Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Wentz played college football at North Dakota State, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS nat ...

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. In Week 11 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, Wilson and teammate

DeMarcus Lawrence DeMarcus Lawrence (born April 28, 1992) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Bu ...

had a strip sack on quarterback

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washingto ...

that was recovered by Wilson. Later in the game, Wilson forced a fumble on running back

Dalvin Cook Dalvin James Cook (born August 10, 1995) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he finished his career as the school's all-time lea ...

that was recovered by Lawrence during the 31–28 win. In Week 12, against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

, he made 10 tackles (9 solo). Wilson would later miss Week 13 and 14 with a groin strain injury and was replaced with Thompson at the

position. In Week 15 against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, he returned to the starter role and made his first career interception off a pass thrown by

Nick Mullens Nicholas Clayton Mullens (born March 21, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Southern Miss, where he surpassed Brett Favre's single-season r ...

during the 41–33 win. In Week 17 against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, Wilson recorded a sack on Daniel Jones and also intercepted a pass thrown by Jones during the 23–19 loss. He finished with 71 tackles, two interceptions, three passes defended, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

2021

Wilson entered the 2021 season as the Cowboys starting strong safety. He was placed on injured reserve on November 24, 2021 with shoulder and chest injuries. He was activated on December 25.

2022

Starting in every game, Wilson enjoyed a career-best season in 2022; he recorded a team-best 101 total tackles, 5 sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, forced two fumbles and recovered one fumble, and four tackles for loss.

2023

On March 14, 2023, Wilson signed a three-year, $21 million contract extension with the Cowboys.

References

External links

Texas A&M Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Donovan 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana American football safeties Texas A&M Aggies football players Dallas Cowboys players