The Washington Commanders secondary finished 2023 as the NFL's worst, allowing 262.2 yards per game and 2.3 passing touchdowns per game. It was as bad as you can get, in terms of rankings, as both numbers represented dead last.
The team added a few pieces to the puzzle over the offseason and they should help improve things, overall, but there is one holdover that will play a key role in how it all shakes out: safety Quan Martin.
Martin showed flashes of promise in 2023 while playing across the secondary. Per Pro Football Focus, he logged 191 snaps at nickel, 77 snaps at free safety, 33 snaps out wide, 78 in the box, and 14 off the defensive line (blitzing). Many thought he'd be the Commanders' primary nickel in 2024, but that became unclear after Mike Sainristil was drafted in the second round.
Since then, the primary suspicion has been Martin will move to free safety and play more of centerfield-type role, which actually suits him best. His athleticism, range, and cover skills (he played corner in college) are exactly what's needed to succeed at the position and Joe Whitt Jr. would know how to deploy him.
Per reports, Martin has been practicing at safety since camp started. And, on Friday, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn confirmed everything. Martin will indeed move to safety and Sainristil is the defense's nickelback.
"Quan, he's got excellent tackling ability. So at safety, that's, you know, at the top of the pile, along with ball skills," Quinn told reporters. "So, those were things that I saw from him, and through the evaluation from a year ago. We saw that, and so the two of those together are a nice, dangerous combination."
It will be fun to see how these guys are really used once the pads come on. As mentioned, Martin is a versatile player that can play across the secondary, but Sainristil is very versatile, himself. He won't line up on the perimeter, too often, but you better believe you'll see him lining up in different spots on the inside. There's even a chance he could play safety in some instances.
Both guys fit the mold of what Quinn and Whitt Jr. look for and that's being able to do multiple things.
"One thing that's evolved, probably for me, is multi-positional players," Quinn said Thursday. "There's real value to that - a wideout who can take snaps, a linebacker who can play defensive end, and a safety that can play down to linebacker. Not everyone can do that, but for the people that can, you've added value, and there could be a new look or a new scheme to work [with].
"So, the multi-positional players, to me, that's been one of the bigger changes, and my time in Dallas allowed me to explore into that area more, and it's led me down to, you know, with our own staff... can we find some other roles for people?"
Martin and Sainristil both have the potential to help turn the secondary around and the Commanders know how to put them in the right spot to succeed. Now, it's about making it happen on the field.
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