NFL Draft: Winfield Jr. Wants to 'Be Even Better Than My Dad'
DALLAS – There is a home video of Minnesota Vikings great Antoine Winfield playing football with his son, a spirited and shifty toddler. The football is about half the size of the babbling Antoine Winfield Jr., but that doesn’t stop him from trying to get past (and ultimately getting tackled) by his three-time Pro-Bowler father.
Competitiveness runs in the lineage.
Antoine Winfield Jr. may be the first defensive back shorter than 5-foot-10 selected in the first round of the NFL draft since 1999, when the Buffalo Bills selected his father, cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr.
However, Winfield Jr. isn’t trying to follow in the footsteps of his three-time Pro Bowler father, who played 14 seasons in the NFL, nine with the Minnesota Vikings.... His goal is to surpass him.
“I’ve got a long way to go,” Winfield Jr. said in an exclusive interview with CowboysSI.com. “My goal is to have a better career than he did. We are very competitive.”
Winfield Jr. easily laughs off questions about his 5-foot-9 frame. He credits much of his success to his impeccable film study. Winfield Jr. famously began film study with his Dad as a young child.
“One of my goals is to be known as a ball-hawk,” Winfield Jr. said. “That comes down to a lot of film study and practice. Watching my opponents, seeing what my opponents do and then on the field keeping my mental tank open... Being able to conceptualize that is what helps my make big plays in games.”
“I think it’ll help (my transition to the NFL) a lot. Especially watching film at an early age, watching my dad break it down… Now I utilize that aspect in my game.
The unanimous All-American safety led the Minnesota Golden Gophers last season with 88 tackles and seven interceptions, which topped the Big Ten Conference.
Winfield Jr. smiles as he claims to have better hands than his dad, Winfield Jr. takes immense pride in creating takeaways. However, he is flattered to be compared to his very successful Dad.
“One thing we have in common is the way that we tackle,” said Winfield Jr. “We aren’t the biggest guys out there so we have to make something happen with that we’ve got. We are always low, aggressive and shooting for people’s legs. I’ve seen him do it a few times and I’m like, ‘wow that looks just like me’”.
One of the 59 prospects originally invited to the NFL Draft in Las Vegas, Winfield Jr.’s set up on Thursday will be much different than the glitz and the glam of thousands of screaming fans in front of Bellagio Fountain.
Winfield Jr. is glad he gets to wait for the call at home with his family in Texas. Will that call be coming from a short distance up the road?
Safety is an area of need for the Cowboys. With the offseason addition of HaHa Clinton-Dix, Dallas has three other safeties on the roster. If Winfield Jr. is to fall to the second round, he’d be an intriguing selection with Dallas’ No. 51 pick.
“That would be amazing,” said Winfield on the possibility of becoming a Cowboy. “I would love to play for the Cowboys. “Plus my college defensive backs coach is the coach in Dallas. That would be incredible to link back up with him there.”
Cowboys defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist joined coach Mike McCarthy’s staff in January. The familiar face would be a serendipitous advantage for the rookie.
Not to mention, it’d increase his odds for another dream of Winfield Jr.’s come true… intercepting NFC foe Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
“I gotta make that happen,” said Winfield Jr.
Winfield Jr. named the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots as teams who have shown a particular interest in him.
Whichever team selects Winfield Jr. is getting a versatile player with the determination to be a playmaker, 21 years in the making.
