Breaking down the Redskins safety depth chart for 2019

Redskins 2019 reserves

Jeremy Reaves and Jojo McIntosh

More likely than not, the Redskins will stick with four safeties, in order to ensure positional flexibility elsewhere. But should they decide to pick a fifth, they have a couple of intriguing options in the reserves, at the moment: Jeremy Reaves and Jojo McIntosh.

Jeremy Reaves has the most experience of the two, but that isn’t saying much: McIntosh is an undrafted free agent rookie, while Reaves played that same role last offseason. Reaves is one of our Unheralded Players for the offseason, and here’s what I had to say about his potential in an earlier piece:

"A slightly above-average athlete, Reaves can compete with NFL athletes, but he won’t be able to win on athleticism alone. Reaves has to rely on his tenacity and his nose for the football, which is evidenced by his 38 plays on the ball and his 16 turnover-producing plays in college. Reaves is physical as a tackler, and he could at least be a decent special teams contributor with the potential to provide solid depth. Another asset Reaves could bring is versatility, as the second-year player has experience all over the secondary, from boundary cornerback to slot cornerback to safety. If the Redskins want a player they can move around, Reaves has the potential to fit that job description."

McIntosh is a lesser known quantity, but he provides less athletically. The Draft Network’s Benjamin Solak praised McIntosh’s size, physicality, and route recognition skills, but displayed serious concern over McIntosh’s tackling ability and athletic upside. For McIntosh, the quickest route to contribution would be a special teams role, and without sure tackling ability or even modest athleticism, latching on in that way might prove challenging for him. He appears to be a practice squad inclusion at best, although one of our writers is higher on the former Husky.