Washington’s defense ranked in the lower third of the NFL last year, necessitating the mid-season demotion, and eventual firing of DC Joe Whitt Jr. at end of the season. Daronte Jones was brought in to correct the issues with the defense, and Dan Quinn has asserted the new defensive coordinator will have full control of the defense and implement his own scheme. Previously, we looked at several coverage schemes that Jones might utilize to disguise his secondary and how the cornerbacks might fit within
them. Today’s edition continues the series with a look at the safety room. Flores likes to utilize a 4-2-5 “Tite” front with three versatile safeties playing in rotational roles to disguise coverages. We will be comparing the Commanders current group with Flores’ 2024 starting lineup as they represent the most ideal deployment.
Nick Cross
Students of Brian Flores’ defense should be very familiar with safety Josh Metellus. A do-it-all, Swiss army knife player, Metellus is a key cog in the Vikings defensive scheme. Whether playing as a traditional safety, lining up in the box, or even on the defensive line, Josh has proven his effectiveness across the board and is integral in blitz packages. A sixth-round selection, Metellus was mostly stuck on special teams to begin his career until Flores identified his full skill set and turned him into one of his most valuable players.
Unfortunately for Daronte Jones, Josh signed a lucrative extension last summer and wasn’t available to spearhead his new defensive plan in Washington, but the good news is Adam Peters provided Jones with his own version in free agent Nick Cross. The former Maryland safety is coming back home this season. Known for his versatility, Cross can support Jones’ scheme in a variety of ways. Nick’s 2025 season compares well with Metellus’ 2024 utilization, when Flores was able to use the safety in his preferred roles.
Ideally, Cross would primarily be used in the box with his time in deep coverage limited, but there is no denying the quality of the fit.
Will Harris
While Flores’ defensive backs rotate into different positions, his safeties typically end up playing one role more than the others. Metellus is his box safety, but for the deep cover role in 2024, he used Cam Bynum. The safety is comfortable playing on an island and patrolling the back end of the secondary, and in that season with the Vikings, Bynum totaled 1,081 defensive snaps at three different positions: 728 at free safety, 139 at slot corner, and 85 at strong safety.
This is where the fit for Flores’ scheme starts to unravel. Quan Martin had a disastrous 2025 season at free safety that we will discuss in the next section, so Will Harris wins Bynum’s role by default. How does Harris fit the prototype?
Will is a high IQ player who should be able to understand and communicate in complex schemes and also understands how to shade or “poach” towards different sides of the formation based on the strengths and weaknesses of the lineup. Harris is a good, if not great, tackler with a career missed tackle rate of 8.4%, although he struggled somewhat last season with an 11.6% rate. His versatility is a big plus, and Harris will help implement the pre- and post-snap adjustments Jones is expected to utilize.
The real problem is Will has never been considered a great free safety. In fact, when he was signed by Washington last year, there were multiple outlets suggesting he was better suited to play closer to the line of scrimmage and fill the Jeremy Chinn role while providing man coverage versus tight ends.
That proved troublesome as PFR credited Harris with a 117.1 allowed passer rating. His deep coverage was even worse. Harris’ RAS (9.65) indicates he should have plenty of athleticism at safety, but Next Gen Stats credited him with a 148.1 rating from the free safety alignment. While he is versatile, Will is also a poor fit for a zone scheme. He is susceptible to misdirection in the backfield, and after the Commanders disastrous outing on Thursday Night Football against the Packers in Week 2, Joe Whitt Jr. frequently cited eye disciple as the problem.
At age thirty and in a new system, it is fair to question Harris’s ability to cover the backend for a blitz-heavy defense. For those bullish on Will’s fit, I present the highlights of Cam Bynum’s 2023 season and ask if it matches what we have seen from Harris in a Commanders uniform.
Jartavius Martin
The last player in the secondary to be included in this series is by far the most questionable fit. Quan Martin was known for his versatility in college, but his time in a Commanders uniform has primarily involved playing free safety. The results have been underwhelming. Despite being talked up by Joe Whitt Jr. during the offseason, Martin went on to have one of the worst seasons of any safety in the league in 2025.
By the time the Commanders benched him on Christmas Day, Martin was ranked 86th out of 100 safeties by PFF. He allowed 20.6 yards per reception, which was the most by any safety, and also had 10 missed tackles according to PFR, which is the most of his professional career. He allowed a passer rating of 154.5 for the 2025 season per Pro Football Reference. Like Harris, Jartavius can also be caught with his eyes in the backfield.
So what role is Quan Martin supposed to play in Brian Flores’ defense? Harrison Smith’s.
That’s right, the proposed comparison for Martin is a two-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler. Harrison plays the most diverse role in Flores’ defense, operating both deep and close to the line of scrimmage. Smith’s high football IQ and command of the defense are unmatched, and he frequently calls coverages and adjustments on the field in real time. In addition, his range and ability to move quickly and effectively into different zones pre- and post-snap are elite even in his thirties. Here is a clip of Harrison Smith from James Foster referenced in this series’ initial article.
One of Quan’s most troubling problems is his inability to properly position himself on the back end, as referenced in Mark Bullock’s article discussing the potential fits for Jones’ schemes. Bullock notes that Martin frequently plays too deep in coverage, which makes it impossible for him to properly make plays on the ball. Mark ultimately wonders if Jartavius can play within the complex schemes associated with Jones’ proposed system.
Fans may point to Martin’s 2024 season as a sign that Quan would succeed in the right system, but that defense was frequently beaten by the run and the secondary saw the second fewest passing attempts in league. Martin only saw 28 targets during the 2024 regular season, which was two less than a rookie season spent primarily on the bench, and almost half of the 48 he saw in 2025. His average yards per completion in 2024 was worse than his 2025 number.
Best of the Rest
Jeremy Reaves played the most defensive snaps of his career last season but affirmed that he should be a core special teamer and occasional spot starter only. Percy Butler profiles much the same way, and Tyler Owens looked completely lost in the few defensive snaps the team gave him last season. They are competing with Quantrezz Knight, Robert McDaniel, and Malik Spencer for the last spot on the roster.
The free agency market was deep, but is now heavily picked over. Ifeatu Melifonwu is injury-prone but started as a cornerback before shifting to safety and offers experience serving in hybrid coverage duties. Drafted by the Lions in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he should be familiar to assistant GM Lance Newmark.
Bottom Line
The safety room has plenty of players that fit the mold of a versatile, in-the-box safety, with Nick Cross at the top of the list. The roster is severely lacking in players that thrive in a deep cover role. All is not lost, as the 2025 Vikings defense saw Cam Bynum depart in free agency but still ranked 2nd in passing yards per game and passing touchdowns allowed. Bynum’s heir apparent, Theo Jackson, struggled in the role for most of the season, before going out with an injury and being demoted in December. To compensate, Flores and Jones moved Metellus to a heavier rotation at free safety and went with a mix of Fabian Moreau and safety Jay Ward at the slot position. According to Next Gen Stats, Metellus played 408 snaps at free safety in 2025 with 223 coverage snaps, which was more than double his snaps in that role the previous year. Similarly, Nick Cross played 440 snaps with 287 coverage snaps at free safety for the Colts in 2025.
Commanders fans that want to move to a similar model in Washington for 2026 should be aware of another set of stats. Next Gen Stats reported an allowed passer rating of 54.2 for Metellus from the free safety position in 2025. Conversely, Cross had an allowed passer rating of 134.9 in the same spot. As mentioned before, Cross is better suited for an in-the-box role versus deep cover, so moving the new Commander there might not be a good solution. The draft brought no additional options so readers should expect Daronte Jones to modify his scheme accordingly. The impact of these modifications to the effectiveness of the secondary won’t be known until we are well into the 2026 season.
