When the Raiders signed safety Jeff Heath this offseason, the goal for him to be used primarily on special teams. While he did have a ton of experience in Dallas, he was always at his best when he could just focus on special teams.
But after a few injuries and the release of Damarious Randall, Heath has seen more playing time on defense in the past few weeks. His first big game in Week 5 when he intercepted Patrick Mahomes to steal the win over Kansas City. Over the next four games, he totaled 118 snaps on defense with the best game of his career coming in Week 10.
Heath intercepted Drew Lock twice and finished the game with two more pass deflections as he was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. It was the first time in his career that he earned the honor and he is the first Raider to do so this season.
A well-deserved honor.
Jeff Heath is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week » https://t.co/wVX6JStvZ2 pic.twitter.com/ucPtKqNhkG
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 18, 2020
The Raiders will be relying on Heath more in the upcoming weeks and will need him to help stop Mahomes and the Chiefs once again. He currently ranks as the third-best safety by Pro Football Focus and deserves more playing time over the final seven weeks of the season. Needless to say, the signing of Heath was one of the best moves Mike Mayock made this offseason.
