Daron Payne absolutely belongs at nose tackle for Redskins

Daron Payne was drafted by the Washington Redskins to be a nose tackle. Not to play another position.

When Daron Payne was selected by the Redskins in the 2018 NFL Draft, it was immediately assumed that he would take on the nose tackle role in the Redskins defense. That was always projected to be his role in a 3-4 defense throughout the whole draft process, so it was a foregone conclusion that he would play that position for Washington.

However, some have speculated that because of his superior athleticism, Payne might be a better fit at the five technique. While Payne does have the requisite athletic ability to succeed there, his better fit is at nose tackle for a couple of big reasons.

To begin with, nose tackle was the biggest hole on the Redskins team. In 2016 and 2017, they started Ziggy Hood at the position, and he was out of position there. Hood was better off as a 3-4 end as he isn’t a natural run stopper. Conversely, Payne played the nose in college and had solid numbers as a run stuffer and made a big impact. In that regard, he should be a big upgrade over Hood and plug a hole on the Skins defense.

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Additionally, if Washington was going to spend a pick on a player that played 3-4 end, they wouldn’t have used a first rounder. The team already has a boatload of talent at end. It includes Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis, Anthony Lanier, Hood, and Stacy McGee. Bringing in Payne to that position would create a bad logjam that would be tough to resolve.

If the Redskins did plan on using Payne at the end position, they would have to move Ioannidis to a rotational role. And given how good Ioannidis looked in his second year, that would have been a mistake.

The better starting rotation for the Skins is a line that consists of Allen, Payne, and Ioannidis. While a lineup consisting of Allen, Tim Settle, and Payne could be a nice rotational run stuffing unit, that lineup would have more trouble getting pressure on the quarterback. So, teams could more easily scheme against that issue by passing in what would appear to be obvious running situations. With Payne at nose tackle, the Redskins line has more versatility.

Next: Redskins Training Camp Profile - NT Daron Payne

It’s possible that Payne could play the five technique in certain packages. He also could play inside or outside in 4-3 concepts. But, the plan for the Alabama product is to first and foremost use him as a nose tackle. If Washington didn’t think he could do that, they would have gone with someone else in the first round, like Derwin James or Tremaine Edmunds. Hopefully, Payne will be the answer for the Redskins and really improve their run defense.

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