The Washington Redskins have made a valiant effort to improve a sub-par secondary this offseason and in particular, the safety position; which has been a sore spot over the years. A unit marred with injuries and inconsistent play in the 2014 season, new General Manager Scot McCloughan looked to bring in some talented guys to compete as well as change the overall mindset of this unit.
In 2014, safety Ryan Clark was a savvy veteran on the roster who understood the importance of hard work. His presence in the locker room proved to be important in teaching the young guys how to prepare their mind and body for a grueling season. Clark recorded 102 tackles, .5 sacks and one interception through 16 games. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2015 and, instead of trying his hand at a 14th NFL season, the 2011 Pro Bowler announced his retirement. He will be expanding his work with ESPN as an analyst.
The team also parted ways with fellow safety Brandon Meriweather who started a number of the regular-season games. But between injuries and suspensions, the University of Miami product proved to be unreliable. The Redskins needed to get younger and more athletic.
When Meriweather wasn’t in the lineup in 2014, Phillip Thomas collected the first few starts of his career. A fourth-round pick for the Redskins from Fresno State during the 2013 NFL Draft, the safety recovered from a season-ending injury during his rookie year to record 27 tackles seven solo tackles and a fumble recovery in eight games in 2014.
Dashon Goldson should be the one to inherit the starting role at free safety. After a promising start to his career with the San Francisco 49ers, the hard hitting, physical safety struggled when he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two years ago via free agency. Despite his two-season slump, he still showed signs of strong play and should benefit from a fresh start and new defensive scheme.
If Duke Ihenacho is healthy Week One of the 2015 NFL season, he could be the starter at the strong safety spot. However, there has been a fierce competition between Ihenacho and offseason addition Jeron Johnson. This will be something to watch in training camp as these two slug it out. Ihenacho talked about the position battle in an interview on Tuesday
“I think it’s shaping up to be a competitive [offseason],” Ihenacho told reporters. “Everybody back there in the secondary is pretty understanding of the fact that we’re going to have to compete for our jobs this year. It’s just on right now. Me and J.J., we know we have to work for our position. That’s all we can do. It’s still early. So you just leave it up to the coaches, come out and compete. There’s no animosity. We understand the nature of the business. Somebody’s got to be back there.”
Ihenacho and Johnson are both promising young talents but only one of them can be named the starter. The former, 26, has started 14 team games in his career. That is not a lot in the big scheme of things but his starts came in the 2013 season for the Denver Broncos in the midst of a playoff run that took them to the Super Bowl. During that stint, he recorded 73 combined tackles, six pass deflections, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
It remains to be seen if Ihenacho will return to form. But the facts of his time in Denver will be weighed as he works toward winning the starting job.
Johnson, signed by McCloughan this offseason from the Seattle Seahawks, spent his time there as a backup, getting only one chance to start. This fact is not a knock on his abilities at all however. The main reason he only had the one start is because he played as a backup to talented safeties Earl Thomas III and Kam Chancellor while carving out a role for himself on special teams. Johnson has spent his time learning and developing his skills behind two of the best in the game and should get a lot of time at safety no matter who wins the starting job. With his polished skills on special teams, he will be a huge contributor in that aspect as well.
Like Ihenacho, Johnson came to Washington with expectations of finally getting a chance to earn a starting job. The latter is undaunted by the presence of Ihenacho on the roster, and Ihenacho has been totally unfazed by the signing of Johnson.
“I definitely knew Duke was on the roster when I signed here,” the former Seahawk said last week, “and that he had previous starting experience. So I knew what I was getting myself into. But I believe in myself and know what I’m trying to do.”
With the 181st overall pick in the 2015 draft, he Redskins chose safety Kyshoen Jarrett. If you look up the word “versatile” in the dictionary, you may find a picture of this guy. Don’t sleep on his 5’10’’, 200 lbs. frame. What he lacks in size he brings in his very physical nature as a player. He was a very productive player at Virginia Tech with 89 tackles, eight passes defensed, three interceptions and a forced fumble in 2014.
Special teams is an area where late-round picks can stand out and give themselves the best chance to make the final roster. Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said players, like Jarrett, seem to fully understand that concept. The former Hokie says he can play any number of positions on both defense and special teams. He will not only provide the Burgundy and Gold with a solid defensive player at safety but will also bring his ”Beamer Ball” mentality to a unit that was a liability last season.
When Gruden was asked if any of the later round draft picks had caught his eye or surprised him in anyway during rookie minicamp, Gruden was very complimentary to them all but especially the safety.
“Jarrett has done an excellent job, man,” Gruden said. “He’s fast. He’s flying around. He’s making his presence known on special teams. I mentioned that the late-round picks [are] going to have to make their mark on special teams and Kyshoen has done that.”
As for the aforementioned Thomas, he might possibly be the odd man out. That said, however, there is still a chance he could make this team although it won’t come without an uphill climb. The 2013 fourth-round pick, once envisioned as a starter by the organization, has had trouble getting snaps in offseason OTA’s and minicamp. It will be interesting to see how things develop in training camp for Thomas as he battles to secure a spot on a team that also has special teams standouts Akeem Davis and Trenton Robinson on the roster.
Gruden, of course, hasn’t named any one player from the defensive backfield to be an opening day starter. But the second-year head coach has brought serious competition to a young group of safeties.
“I think, like every other position, you bring people in to training camp and you have competition,” the head coach said. “And that’s what we’re all about — trying to create a competition at every spot on our football team, which, in turn, will make us better. It’ll help our depth and it’ll make us a better football team when we’re out there competing.”
Putting in hard work, studying the playbook and doing quality film study can really help improve a team. Something that has been lacking in Washington however, is healthy competition… players going out there and being physical and pushing each other. The pressure of not being secure in a spot on the field keeps players hungry… the type of “hungry” that the elite teams establish. Gruden said the starters need to prove themselves every day.
“When we have the starting lineup [wherein] we know who the starters are absolutely, they don’t get challenged,” he said. “We want people to challenge one another for their spot every day in practice and the safety position will be a great fight.
“I think we have some people in the building that can compete,” the coach continued. “And hopefully, with another year under their belt and a new system, some guys will rise to the occasion and make some plays, whether [he’s] in our building or maybe we have to go out and get one. But we have Johnson, we have Duke still, we have Phillip Thomas. We have some guys here — Trenton Robinson, obviously; Akeem Davis — we have some safeties here that are going to get a shot at it, get a crack at it. We’ll see how they do.”
To the stat guru, the Redskins safety position make look weak. But looking into the real “meat and potatoes” of this unit reveals that it could be one to be feared. The physicality that has been demonstrated during offseason activities in just shorts and shells indicates some intense competition.