Redskins Depth Chart: Analyzing the team’s safety group

Starter: S Montae Nicholson

When Montae Nicholson was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, people were skeptical of him as a prospect. Nicholson was mostly a traits based player whose tape had been okay during his final season at Michigan State. It wasn’t expected that he would develop into a starter quickly, but that’s exactly what he did.

In eight games for the Redskins, and six as the starter, Nicholson flashed excellent coverage ability and really knew how to use his 6-foot-2 frame. His athletic ability allowed him to run with receivers and matchup with tight ends. In the team’s Week 3 win against the Raiders, Nicholson was particularly impressive, logging his lone interception, and as the season progressed, he became a better tackler.

Not much is standing in the way of Nicholson finding success in 2018. However, there is one major issue that plagued him during his first season. And that was the injury bug.

As mentioned before, Nicholson only played in eight games total. He missed the last six games of the year after suffering a concussion, which is certainly a major concern. It’s also notable that he came into the league needing shoulder surgery, and he had that done shortly after the draft. That didn’t impact his playing time, but his shoulder may not have been 100 percent during the season.

It goes without saying that Nicholson is going to need to stay healthy to be effective. He has to be smart about how he trains and how he manages maladies, and there’s no doubt that he and the training staff will work to ensure that he is close to peak health before the start of the season.

For the future, pairing the hyper athletic Nicholson with the solid all-around playmaker of Swearinger should create a very good starting tandem. They will have a chance to help the secondary and if Nicholson can take another step towards become a top flight starter, then the safety unit should be in good hands moving forward.