Daron Payne was a first-round pick by the Washington Redskins in the 2018 NFL Draft. He should play a major role at the nose tackle position and give the team’s defense a bright future.
When the Redskins came on the clock with the No. 13 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, many Redskins fans were clamoring for a flashy name. Potential top 10 safety Derwin James was on the board. Local Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds was available as well. And, of course, some called for Derrius Guice with the No. 13 pick even though he was a fringe first rounder, to begin with.
But, the Redskins knew better than to buy into the hype. They had their man picked out all along. They were targeting one of the big nose tackles in the 2018 draft. They wanted either Vita Vea or Daron Payne. When Vea went off the board at No. 12, they knew who they were getting.
Payne became the Redskins pick at 13, and he was eventually embraced by the Redskins faithful. Payne should be a good nose tackle at the very least and has the chance to develop into something even better. Especially if he can impress the team at training camp.
2017 season review
Payne had a solid college career, though his numbers don’t exactly jump off the page. In 2017, Payne was a force for the Alabama defense and recorded a career-high 53 tackles and made a massive impact on the defensive side of the ball.
During Alabama’s run in the College Football Playoff, Payne had a particularly big impact. Against Clemson, he was completely unstoppable in the middle of the defensive line and did a lot to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Additionally, in that contest, he made an absurd interception and returned it 20 yards. Then, he added a receiving touchdown on offense. That’s not something that a normal defensive lineman would be able to do.
Payne parlayed that solid finish to the season with a stellar combine and became the Redskins first-round pick. He definitely has the talent needed to make a major impact, but he has to succeed at training camp before that can be a reality.
What Payne must show at training camp
One of the major concerns for Payne is his complete lack of pass rushing production. In three years at Alabama, Payne musted just three sacks. So, on paper, he doesn’t appear to be anything more than a two-down run stuffer.
That said, Payne is an elite athlete whose production may have been hurt by a talented supporting cast in Alabama. At the NFL Combine, Payne blazed a 4.95 second 40-yard dash, which is an excellent time for a 6-foot-3, 312-pound defensive lineman. He also showed great movement skills and excellent strength coupled with that athletic ability. As a result, Payne backed up what his tape showed. He is an athletic player with the potential to be a better pro than college player.
Part of the reason for this is that Payne was never the main piece of the Alabama defense. He was always working to open up pass rushing lanes for other guys. The outside linebackers and five-techs definitely benefitted from Payne’s ability to abosrb double teams at the line of scrimmage. He worked hard enough to open up possibilities from other defenders, and that was all Alabama needed him to do.
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The Redskins are going to be expecting a bit more than that. Since they spent a first-round pick on him, Washington is expecting Payne will become a three-down player and a better pass rusher at the NFL level. Given his athletic skill set, that is entirely possible. Especially since he will be working with the great defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula.
Still, Payne has yet to prove that he can be an effective pass rusher at the collegiate level. So, there’s reason for concern regarding that ability. In training camp, Payne will have to show that he has the ability to become a great interior pass rusher at the NFL level. If he can do that, he will easily be able to win a starting job and should play a high percentage of snaps. If not, he may be limited to running downs early in his career.
Payne’s problem is similar to that of Derrius Guice. Payne has the ability to be a pass rusher, but he doesn’t have the proven production. Guice has the ability to be a pass catcher but doesn’t have the proven production. While Guice’s pass-catching skills may require less development, there is still hope that Payne will be able to turn himself into a true impact player on all three downs. That starts at training camp where he will be tasked with besting the Redskins offensive linemen in one-on-ones.
The other question for Payne is, will he be a nose tackle or a 3-4 end? I have my money on the former position, but it’s possible that he could spend time at the latter. Still, having him playing nose tackle would be an upgrade for the Redskins team, so I can’t imagine any player really taking that away from him.
Payne’s main competition
In looking at the Redskins roster, there isn’t a lot of competition for Payne at nose tackle. Last year’s starter was Ziggy Hood, who was playing out of position and as a result, struggled immensely. Payne should be able to lock down the starting role as a result of this, but still, he will face battles from some other players.
Notably, fellow rookie Tim Settle may push Payne for reps at nose tackle. Settle was merely a fifth-round pick, but some viewed him as a potential second rounder. Thanks to his huge 6-foot-3, 335-pound frame, Settle might be a more natural fit at nose tackle than Payne. And if he shows more ability as an early downs player, Settle could start at nose with Payne and Jonathan Allen flanking him.
However, this proposition seems somewhat unlikely. Had the Redskins viewed Payne as a five-technique, they probably wouldn’t have spent a first-round pick on him. After all, they already had a lot of talent at the position following the 2017 season, so adding Payne to do anything but start at nose guard makes little sense.
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Elsewhere, there is a sleeper at nose guard. That would be Phil Taylor. Last offseason, it seemed like Taylor, a 2011 first-round pick, was finally ready to be an impact player again. However, he suffered a quad injury that caused him to miss the entire 2017 season, and that left the Redskins with the gaping hole they had at nose tackle. That’s part of the reason they drafted Payne and Settle. To protect against Taylor getting hurt again.
Because of Taylor’s spotty record regarding injuries, expecting him to start is a long shot. Still, he is somewhat of a forgotten man, and he shouldn’t be counted out in the position battle.
Elsewhere, Stacy McGee may see some time at nose tackle as well. But, that’s more likely to be on a rotational basis, and he seems more likely to be a rotational tackle when the team runs 4-3 concepts in the nickel.
Though there are a handful of players that may push Payne in his first season, he is still highly likely to win the starting job. He will play as the nose tackle and will probably see some action as a defensive tackle in 4-3 concepts. It’s possible that the team may play him at the five-tech a bit, but his primary position for the squad will be as a run-stuffing nose tackle.
2018 outlook for Payne
Nose tackles don’t typically have massive stat lines in the NFL. Generally speaking, they are on the field to occupy bodies and stop the run. All that Payne needs to do is ensure that he’s an upgrade over Ziggy Hood, who struggled at nose tackle last season for the Redskins.
Payne should easily be able to do that from a statistical standpoint. Hood had 25 tackles and 0.5 sacks last season, so those numbers should be easily replicable for Payne and hopefully, he should exceed them. After all, he is a bit bigger than Hood and is definitely more athletic. So, if given a chance at nose tackle, he should do well.
More importantly, Payne’s addition should make the job of other front seven defenders easier. They should all see slight increases in their stat lines as teams are forced to focus a bit more on Payne. As he continues to develop, he will gain more pass rushing moves and will get in the face of opposing quarterbacks. And once opponents focus on him, Ryan Kerrigan, Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis, and many others will benefit from his presence.
Payne has a chance to be the biggest upgrade on the Redskins team. That may seem like an overstatement, but the nose tackle position has been such a big weakness for so many years. If Payne can at least provide average to above average play in his rookie year, he will give the defense something they haven’t had in years.
Next: Predicting Redskins starters before training camp
The Redskins are likely to go from a suspect defense to a top 10 unit. Much of that is thanks to the presence of Payne. It will be interesting to see how he fares in his first season, and if going a bit more under the radar than other Skins prospects has an impact on his performance.