The 5 O’Clock Club: Clearly, the Commanders know exactly what they’re looking for at the safety position

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…

The 5 o’clock club is published from time to time during the season, and aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.

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The four safeties listed on the left side of the chart are the players returning from the 2023 Commanders roster. Those on the right were brought to the team by Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt. Jeremy Chinn, of course, was one of the higher-profile free agent signings in March. Dominique Hampton was drafted in the 5th round of the April draft as what the Washington Post described as a “heigh/weight/speed prospect”. Tyler Owens is an undrafted college free agent out of the University of Texas and Texas Tech.

Here’s part of Tyler Owens’ draft profile from NFL.com:

He’s big, physical and rangy with a temperament for striking near the line of scrimmage. He’s not ready to handle high safety responsibilities but can be a tough out when he’s in position to contest a throw. His A+ special teams potential could buy him time as he continues his schooling as a hybrid linebacker/safety with a higher floor and lower ceiling.

The fourth safety brought in this offseason — Ben Nikkel — is an undrafted college player from Iowa State. He is unlikely to see the field on a defensive snap in 2024 (if ever). NFL.com describes Nikkel this way:

[H]e deserves a look for his special teams work. He has good size and races down the field like his hair is on fire, both on kickoffs and as a gunner. Nikkel played on all five phases of special teams at Iowa State, but he’s nowhere near ready to take NFL snaps at safety.

Discounting Nikkel as a special teams ace or camp body, let’s focus on the three safeties that Quinn and Whitt brought in for their defense this offseason — Chinn, Hampton and Owens.

Height & Weight

For consistency, I have given all the players’ height and weight stats as listed on the team website, which may vary from Combine measurements or other sources, but based on the numbers shown, it seems clear that the coaching staff has a prototypical height/weight target in mind. All three players (Chinn, Hampton, Owens) are listed at 6’2” or 6’3”, and weigh 213 or 220 pounds.

Kamren Curl, who played the position for 4 seasons, but was allowed to depart in free agency this offseason, was of similar height but weighed less than 200 pounds.

Athleticism

Clearly, the coaches are looking for highly athletic players as well. I shared Tyler Owen’s RAS card and spider chart above, and, while his testing was a less complete than that of many prospects, there’s enough there to show that he has elite traits.

And then there’s Jeremy Chinn, who is entering his 5th year in the NFL.

Rounding out the group is Dominique Hampton, who also doesn’t have very complete testing scores, but who has enough to draw some conclusions about his athleticism. Hampton doesn’t quite match Jeremy Chinn’s testing results, but comes pretty damned close:

In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Asst GM Lance Newmark explained what the team liked about Hampton in the pre-draft process:

[Hampton has] a lot of raw traits that match what we like,” Newmark said. “He was a guy that kind of rose through the [scouting] process, cross-checks, and meetings. [He] kind of steadily became more and more interesting for us, and then, all of a sudden, [he] had the real good [athletic] testing information.”

These three players represent a big part of Adam Peters’ and Dan Quinn’s first combined foray into roster rebuilding, and give us a peek at what they are targeting at the safety position — that is, big-bodied defensive backs with speed and explosiveness.

What did Dan Quinn do in Dallas?

When Dan Quinn took over as defensive coordinator in Dallas in 2021, the team immediately signed two veteran free agent safeties: Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker. Kearse, in particular, fits the mold of the big safety, listed at 6’4” and 215 pounds, while Hooker is a bit smaller at 6’1”, 212 pounds.

Since signing the pair in ‘21, Kearse has played at least 815 defensive snaps each season (averaging about 88%). Malik Hooker got off to a slower start in ‘21, playing less than half the defensive snaps, but he has been on the field for more than 825 defensive snaps (about 82%) in each of the past two seasons.

Neither Kearse nor Hooker tested with the speed and explosiveness of Chinn, Hampton and Owens, but they indicate what it is that DQ and Whitt want to do at the position in terms of size and length.

Evolution

Quinn, of course, was the defensive coordinator in Seattle during the heyday of the Legion of Boom, which featured a safety from Maury High School in my hometown of Norfolk Virginia (and later from DBU, Virginia Tech). His name was (and still is) Kam Chancellor — a two-time All Pro, four-time Pro Bowl player, and Super Bowl champion. Chancellor measured at 6’3” and 231 pounds at the Combine. While it would be too much to expect any player to live up to the legacy of Chancellor, I think that he created the prototype that is always in Dan Quinn’s mind when he thinks about the position.

Chancellor, for all his greatness as a player, did not have the speed that Chinn, Hampton and Owens have. If those payers can develop anywhere near the level of Football IQ at the position that Chancellor had, then their head starts on athletic measurables would give each of them a chance at very successful NFL careers.

Adam Peters

Both Peters and Dan Quinn have talked at various times this offseason about the process of roster building. This quote from Peters in late-February seems worthwhile:

Most coaches do a really good job of letting you know what they want out of the players. And really, last week we had all our scouts in, and we did what we call profile tapes. They presented players and what they’re looking for in particular positions, whether it be defensive line, defensive end, linebacker, all those different things. And they do a good job presenting what they’re exactly looking for in our particular scheme that we’re doing.

It’s clear from many things said by Peters and Quinn that the process is designed for the coaches to communicate what the template is for each player they are looking for. That template encompasses measurables, play style, and character traits.

Based on the acquisitions of Chinn, Hampton and Owens this offseason, the profile tape for the safety position was clearly understood.