At best, former Dallas Cowboys defensive back Donovan Wilson appears to be Jamal Adams-lite. Like the former Seattle Seahawks DB (and new Minnesota Vikings player), Wilson is decent going downhill and attacking the line of scrimmage. What he isn't good at is pass coverage.
The problem is he is the NFL equivalent of the Island of Misfit Toys in the classic Rudolph special. He's got the skill set of a linebacker, but he is in the body of a safety. He's a toy that some team might love, but likely not one in the NFL. Seattle still hosted him on a free agent visit on Wednesday.
Wilson is 31 years old, 6 feet and 205 pounds, but with a quarterback rating allowed of at least 121.3 in each of the past two seasons. He's been targeted 73 times and given up 54 completions. 13 (again, that is thir-teen) of those completions went for touchdowns, and he intercepted just three passes.
Seattle Seahawks host former Dallas Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson on a visit
He broke up five more passes, which means he allowed five more touchdowns than he disrupted. That is, in a way, awful.
Maybe the Seahawks aren't looking at him as a safety, however. The team has a good number of those players, including Julian Love, Ty Okada, Bud Clark, and, sometimes, Nick Emmanwori. Perhaps Seattle sees Wilson as potentially making the switch that Jamal Adams did in 2025, and the former Cowboys player will be an inside linebacker.
He is stout against the run after all, and he can be used on blitzes. He has had double-digit quarterback pressures in two of the last four seasons, and he accumulated 4.5 sacks in 2024. He had five in 2022. Literally every other season, he has been productive in terms of sacks, and 2026 would be an uptick from 2025.
Otherwise, Seattle Seahawks fans might logically be wondering what general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald see in Donovan Wilson. He does have a link to Seattle, as the current defensive coordinator, Aden Durde, was the defensive line coach for the Cowboys before coming to Seattle. Durde was not Wilson's position coach, though.
The positive part is that 12s know they can trust John Schneider's judgment. If he sees a player that he thinks will be a good fit, often they are. Wilson might disprove that theory, but Schneider should get the benefit of the doubt. Plus, Mike Macdonald is a defensive back whisperer. If anyone can turn Wilson into a good player, it's Macdonald.
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