Heading into Week 7, the Washington Football Team is sitting at 2-4, in the midst of a disappointing 2021 campaign. Coming off a 7-9 division title, Washington had high expectations on the defense, as they finished fourth in scoring defense last season. With a definitive weakness at linebacker, Ron River and company selected Jamin Davis, a linebacker out of Kentucky, in the first round, adding a fifth first-round selection to the front seven. In addition to shoring up the front seven, the Burgundy and Gold added William Jackson III on a three-year deal and Bobby McCain on a one-year contract after he was released by the Miami Dolphins.
However, these high expectations have not come to fruition for Jack Del Rio’s defense. The vaunted front four has had inconsistencies in the pass-rush and costly penalties, including two critical offsides penalties by Montez Sweat and Chase Young (play resulted in a touchdown) in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs. The linebackers have remained a weakness as Cole Holcomb remains the only relatively reliable player. Jamin Davis has received an uptick in snaps since the injury to Jon Bostic, playing 46 snaps against the Chiefs, but he has had his ups and downs after starting just one year at Kentucky.
Without a doubt, the most concerning portion for the Washington defense is the secondary. After Tom Brady threw for 381 yards in the Wild Card game, it was thought of as an outlier for the Washington defense, who had given 300 passing yards just twice in the regular season. But, with numerous coverage busts and an astounding 57.8% third-down conversion rate, a 20% increase from last season, the secondary has not been anywhere close to their performance in 2020. Here are three personnel changes that can be made to strengthen the Washington Football Team secondary.
Three Personnel Changes for the Washington Football Team Secondary
Inserting Deshazor Everett at Free Safety and Kamren Curl at Strong Safety
Despite the revolving door at safety last season, Washington managed solid play at the position in 2020. Neither of the opening day starters, Troy Apke and Landon Collins, finished the season, albeit for different reasons. Apke continued to struggle in coverage and in the open field and he was benched in favor of Special Teams captain Deshazor Everett. Everett added a unique element to the Washington defense with his physicality and hard-hitting presence over the middle. He made a fair share of highlight-reel hits, including this hit on Brandon Aiyuk.
Kevin Pierre Louis. Jon Bostic. Deshazor Everett. Brandon Scherff.
WFT is playing good football and they're playing physical football too pic.twitter.com/8t5zUSPUgr
— Pete Hailey (@PeteHaileyNBCS) December 15, 2020
In addition to the hits, Everett played fundamentally sound, with a few excellent pass breakups.
Great read and jump by Deshazor Everett for the PBU on 3rd down. pic.twitter.com/oF5udfncY1
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) December 1, 2017
Everett brings a physicality in the run game and in coverage that Washington has been missing through six games and his insertion would be an instant jolt for the defense.
While the second move has already begun to take place, Kamren Curl needs to be the starting strong safety for the Washington Football Team. Curl was magnificent last season as a rookie, with 88 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. This season, Curl has arguably been the most consistent defensive player for Washington with Jonathan Allen also in the conversation. Despite this impact, Curl only played 37 snaps (46%) in Week 1. His snap count increased steadily, as he played between 70-90% of snaps from weeks 2-5. Against the Chiefs, Curl played all 82 defensive snaps. This needs to continue for Washington, given the upcoming quarterbacks on the schedule, including Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.
Playing More Man Coverage With William Jackson III
When Washington signed William Jackson III and selected Benjamin St-Juste in the third round, they signaled a willingness to play more physical man coverage in 2021. According to Pro Football Focus, the Bengals ran cover-1 man-to-man coverage, the eighth-most in the league, while Washington ran it just 21% of the time, which is 21st in the NFL. In man coverage, Jackson allowed a 57.9 passer rating. However, in his short time in Washington, Jackson has struggled in zone coverage as he has been a part of a few coverage lapses. While Jackson has been far from perfect in man coverage, he seems more comfortable in man coverage that zone.
In turn, this could allow Washington to send extra pressure, which worked well last season, with Cole Holcomb and Kamren Curl.
Playing Landon Collins in Sub packages Near the Line of Scrimmage
Earlier this week, Ron Rivera alluded to Landon Collins as a “downhill linebacker” in a press conference.
Pretty big statement from Ron Rivera – says he told Landon Collins he views him as a downhill linebacker
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) October 20, 2021
This could be a preview of what could be to come for Collins heading into a week seven game in Green Bay. Throughout his tenure in Washington, Collins has been the subject of criticism by fans for his single-high coverage, which has led to multiple deep touchdowns. However, with Deshazor Everett, Kamren Curl, and even Jeremy Reaves, Jack Del Rio has the luxury of being able to move Collins into more of a box role that suits his skill set. Last season, Collins had a big forced fumble against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7 that led to a safety as he came on a blitz. He had a similar play in 2019 with this sack on Josh Rosen.
Landon Collins had a couple of big plays for the #Redskins this week. First was a sack. Came on a safety blitz vs Dolphins PA fake. RB attempts to pick him up off the fake, Collins catches him lunging and skips by him before chasing down Rosen for the sack. pic.twitter.com/yJCuHSXvPu
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) October 15, 2019
With a depleted linebacking corps, after the injury to Jon Bostic, the Washington Football Team secondary has a legitimate weapon in Landon Collins who can be an asset in the run game and on blitzes by Jack Del Rio.
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