With the Redskins 2015 Training Camp less than two weeks away, Redskins Capital Connection is taking an in-depth look at some of the pivotal positional battles that will be playing out in front of thousands of fans eyes at the Bon Secours Training facility in Richmond, VA. Redskins Capital Connection will be at Training Camp daily bringing you the latest news, analysis, photos, video and podcasts, so make sure you check us out!
Among the numerous roster changes that have taken place in Washington following another losing season, no position group is likely to be as radically different in 2015 as the Safeties. Gone are the 2014 starters Ryan Clark at Free Safety and Brandon Meriweather at Strong Safety, with General Manager Scot McCloughan bringing in fresh talent for new Defensive Backs Coach Perry Fewell to utilize.
With former Pro-Bowler Dashon Goldson joining the team as the expected starter at Free Safety, the opportunity to be the starting Strong Safety for new Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry remains wide open between the two players we are looking at today.
Duke Ihenacho
- Age: 26
- Height: 6 ft 1
- Weight: 207 lbs
- 40 yd time: 4.68
- 2015 Cap Hit: $660,000*
After being cut by the Broncos in the 2014 preseason following their signing of T.J. Ward, the Redskins claimed Ihenacho off of the waiver wire to compete with Bacarri Rambo for the backup Strong Safety role. Ihenacho quickly impressed then-Defensive Backs Coach Raheem Morris, winning the job from Rambo who was cut from the team a month later.
Unfortunately for Ihenacho, his first season with the Redskins was cut short by injury when he fractured a bone in his left foot in week 3 of the regular season against the Eagles and he was placed on the Injured Reserved list.
His 2013 campaign for the Denver Broncos was the first year in his career where he was given the opportunity to play as a starter, notching up 14 regular season games and 3 postseason games including Super Bowl XLVIII as the starting Strong Safety.
Strengths
- Good against the run and in the box
- Perfect size for the position
- Not afraid of contact
- Great physicals
- Good in zone
Weaknesses
- Has struggled in man coverage
- Can get burned by double moves and quick cuts
- Questions about his hands
- Unknown leadership abilities at a position that often requires it
Having had his year cut short due to injury in 2014 was obviously disappointing, both for the player and the team. It’s fair to say that both safety positions were an area of weakness for the Redskins last year, and with Ihenacho sidelined and Meriweather’s reliability wavering, Phillip Thomas saw more snaps last year than he probably deserved.
Ihenacho is at his best when the entire defensive backs unit works as a well-oiled machine; if he is left to cover his assignment he does his job reliably well. When coverage break downs occur, however, Ihenacho (like many young and inexperienced players) has tended to get exposed quickly, like we saw in Super Bowl XLVIII. To be fair to Ihenacho though, there weren’t many players on that Denver Broncos team who didn’t have poor days during their blowout loss to the Seahawks.
Based on the best football that we’ve seen Ihenacho play so far, which was with the Broncos in 2013, we know that he has the tools and the talent to be an upgrade at Strong Safety should he win the starting role. His size combined with his speed and agility is almost exactly what General Managers would look for in a prototypical modern strong safety, and Ihenacho puts his body to good work. This is especially prevalent against the run, where in 2013 he notched up 73 total tackles and 19 stops.
His pass coverage in 2013 was reasonable without being extraordinary, allowing 31 receptions on 49 targets, and only giving up 1 touchdown pass in one-on-one coverage. Whilst that’s not elite by any measure, most Redskins fans would agree that this level of play would be a welcome change for a secondary that has been consistently torched in recent years.
Jeron Johnson
- Age: 27
- Height: 5 ft 10
- Weight: 212 lbs
- 40 yd time: 4.51 seconds
- 2015 Cap Hit: $1,209,375
On the other side of the field from Ihenacho during Super Bowl XLVIII was Jeron Johnson, the Seahawks backup Strong Safety behind Kam Chancellor. Whilst that day was not an enjoyable one for Ihenacho, for Johnson it is surely a day he will cherish for the rest of his life as he along with his team mates were crowned champions.
The tricky part for Johnson in his 4 years with the Seahawks after joining the team as an undrafted rookie in 2011 was that he was perpetually stuck behind the aforementioned elite Pro-Bowler Chancellor, meaning his opportunities were limited. In November 2014, his 4th year in the NFL, Johnson made his first NFL start when Chancellor missed the week 10 game versus the Giants with a groin strain. He made 8 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and gave up no touchdowns in his start, however he did allow 71.4% of passes thrown his way to be completed.
Strengths
- Great football IQ
- Good at sticking with receivers in man coverage
- Demonstrates glimpses of good leadership in limited opportunity
- Contributes on special teams
- Comes from winning programs
Weaknesses
- Undersized for the position
- Has struggled in zone coverage
- Needs to use his hands better to break up plays
- Has trouble disengaging blocks
The difficulty in assessing Johnson comes from how little football we’ve been able to see him play. The Seattle secondary has been a force to be reckoned with for years now, with starters like Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman firmly entrenched as the starters, and none of them have missed many games at all due to injury, seriously limiting Johnson’s snaps. In fact, in 4 years with the Seahawks, Johnson only saw the field for 275 defensive snaps, compared with Chancellors 4,469 during the same time frame.
With all that said, the advantage of being able to sit behind a player of the caliber of Kam Chancellor and learn from him could be a huge developmental boon for Johnson; he has had front-row seats to watch and learn from the best in the business at the position in a system that is famous for developing quality defensive backs.
From what we have seen of Johnson, there are qualities in his game that give him every opportunity to be a starter in the NFL. He matches up in man coverage against Tight Ends very well, and also has the speed to run with slot receivers across the middle. Like all defensive backs in Seattle, Johnson was also expected to be ferocious against the run, and demonstrated a propensity in this role when given the opportunity against New York last year in his first (and only) career start.
Verdict
Although Ihenacho has been with the team for one year longer than Johnson, both players essentially start this competition on even footing with the new Defensive coaches implementing a new playbook. In addition, neither player has a contract that in any way impacts the decision on who should start. For all intents and purposes, and just as Jay Gruden said earlier in the year, both players will go into Training Camp with an equal shot at winning the job in a truly open competition. During minicamp and OTA’s, Ihenacho and Johnson rotated snaps with the starting unit.
To both players credit, they have handled the open competition with aplomb so far when asked about it in the media. Both players are from Southern California, and have mutual friends from their childhoods. When asked about the competition to be the starter, Johnson said the following:
“Our friendship is still good. No love lost off the field. We still hang out together, but it’s a job, and we both want it, and we’re just out here trying to compete.”
And Ihenacho followed suit, adding:
“We understand the nature of the business, and we understand that it is a competition, and someone has to play… so we’re both just doing what we have to do and staying positive and staying optimistic toward each other and encouraging. But we’re still competitors, and we still understand that somebody’s got to get the job.”
When it comes down to it, both players should see a significant number of snaps in 2015 with the Redskins, but given the advantage that his size, experience, and athleticism gives him, we project the starting job to go to Ihenacho.
Projected Starter: Duke Ihenacho
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