Washington Position Group Breakdown 2024: Safeties
June 26, 2024
By Noonefromtampa
Overview
Even with the loss of Kamren Curl, this position group should be a strength of the team. Between returning players, free agent signings and draft picks the Commanders have a good group of young talented and versatile players.
Returning Players
Darrick Forrest: 25 years old, 5’11”, 200 pounds – The four year veteran was a 2021 fifth round pick of the Commanders and is in his contract year. He has played in 30 games and started 16 games. Forrest is coming off an injury in 2023 where he played in only five games. In his career, he has 124 tackles and four interceptions.
Percy Butler: 24 years old, 6’1”, 191 pounds – The three year veteran was a 2022 fourth round pick for the Commanders. He played in 30 games in the last two years and started 15 games as a replaced for Forrest, who was injured. He has 75 tackles, nine passes defended and no interceptions.
Quan Martin: 24 years old, 6’0”, 195 pounds – The second year veteran was drafted by the Commanders in the second round in 2023, 47th overall. He played in 16 games last year and started 5 later in the season when injuries took their toll on the secondary. He responded well with 46 tackles, two interceptions and one sack.
Jeremy Reaves: 27 years old, 5’11”, 200 pounds – The five year veteran, a 2022 Pro Bowl special teams player, was a 2018 undrafted free agent who was signed to the practice squad in September 2018. He bounced between the practice squad and the active roster for several years but exceled on special teams and also played snaps on defense. He missed most of 2023 with a partially torn ACL. He was re-signed in the offseason.
New Players
Jeremy Chinn: 21 years old, 6’3”, 220 pounds – drafted in 2020 by the Panthers in the second round (64th overall) and was signed by the Commanders in the offseason to a one-year deal. Chinn has played in 54 games and started 50 games. His stats include 324 tackles, 17 passes defensed, 2 two interceptions and 4 sacks.
Dominique Hampton: 23 years old, 6’2”, 220 pounds – drafted 2024 by the Commanders in the fifth round (161st overall) from University of Washington. He played six years in college due to the COVID rules and was a starter the last three years. He played in 57 games, making 190 tackles, 2 interceptions and 14 passes defensed.
Tyler Owens: 23 years old, 6’2”, 213 pounds – a 2024 undrafted free agent. He played three years at Texas and two at Texas Tech. He played 54 games and made 69 tackles, one interception and 5 passes defensed.
Ben Nikkel: 23 years old, 6’1”, 210 pounds – a 2024 undrafted free agent from Iowa State. He started at McPherson College before transferring to Iowa State for two years. He played in 24 games and had 43 tackles and 3 passes defensed.
Roles
The team will most likely keep four to five safeties on the roster and at least one more on the practice squad. I consider Chinn, Martin and Forrest to be roster locks. Butler, Reaves and Hampton will be competing for backup and special teams roles. Owens and Nikkel are probable practice squad candidates.
During training camp, it will become clearer who both the starters and backups are likely to be. In some respects, it may not be material about the starter versus backup designation. Players like Chinn, Martin and Forrest can fill several roles in different schemes Cover 1, 2, 3 and 4 along with variants like Robber, Hole, and Match. I expect those three players to get the majority of defensive snaps at safety.
Sources: Commanders.com, pro-football-reference.com