2023 Position Group Breakdown – Safety Position

May 8, 2023

By Noonefromtampa

Now that free agency and the draft are concluded, it’s time to start The Hog Sty’s annual Position Group Breakdown series, where take a look at the overall shape of the Commanders roster, with a different position group each week. This post will focus of the safety position. We’ll start by looking at last year’s roster:

2022 Defensive Snaps & Stats

Player	Snap Count	Snap Pct
Bobby McCain	971	93.01%
Darrick Forrest	850	81.42%
Kamren Curl	727	69.64%
Jeremy Reaves	149	14.27%
Percy Butler	135	12.93%

 

Player	INT	PD	FF	FR	Comb	Solo	Asst
Bobby McCain	0	5	1	0	76	54	22
Darrick Forrest	4	9	2	1	88	56	32
Kamren Curl	0	0	0	0	83	58	25
Jeremy Reaves	0	1	0	0	33	20	13
Percy Butler	0	1	0	1	11	9	2

Roster Changes

Key Loss – Bobby McCain (to NYG)

Key Additions – Xavier Henderson (UDFA – Michigan State), Kendall Smith (UDFA – Illinois)

Re-signed – Jeremy Reaves (RFA tender, $2.62 7 million)

2023 Projections

McCain started the year playing safety but ended up at the slot corner position. Cornerback Jartavius Martin was drafted to take over the slot corner role, but he also has experience at safety during his time at Illinois. So, he may fulfill a safety role in some defensive sub-packages.

Curl was injured and missed five games last year. This gave Forrest an opportunity to prove himself, He ended up starting 11 games and enabled McCain to move over to slot corner. Forrest led the team in interceptions and was second in tackles behind Jamin Davis.

Curl, who enters the last year of his rookie contract, and Forrest are expected to be the primary safeties entering the season with Butler as the lead backup. Deciding on resigning Curl will be a priority after the season. He had been the soul of the defense the last several years, when he is on the field the defense always seems to play better.

Reaves, who played over 81% of the special teams snaps, also saw snap in the secondary, especially when Curl was out. Reaves was selected to the Pro Bowl last season for his special teams play and figures to be a key contributor again this season. He signed his restricted free agent tender offer in April.

The Commanders did not draft any safeties but signed two as undrafted free agents, Xavier Henderson (6’1”, 210 lbs.) from Michigan State and Kendall Smith (6’1” 200 lbs.) from Illinois. Henderson played in 51 games in college, totaling 273 tackles and three interceptions. Smith played in 30 games, totaling 70 tackles and 5 interceptions.

The final roster will probably have 10 defensive backs, of which four will be safeties.

Roster predictions for the safety group are Curl, Forrest, Butler, Reaves.

Practice squad candidates are Henderson and Smith, with the Commanders most likely keeping one safety as a backup to the active roster. So, training camp and the preseason games are very important for them.