The Redskins now have the highest-paid safety in the NFL, but shoring up the back of a defense isn’t a one-man job. It requires two.
The safety position. Aptly-named, it’s considered the last line of defense in the NFL. A good safety can render an offense inept single-handedly. An ineffective safety can serve as a revolving door and a real estate agent, all in one.
The Washington Redskins have seen both poles of the spectrum; the good from Sean Taylor, who patrolled the far reaches with fury and fearlessness before his untimely death, and the bad from so many others who’ve tried and failed to fill the void left by the loss of Taylor.
Now, the Redskins have the highest-paid safety in the league in Landon Collins. But the last time they had the highest-paid safety in the league, Adam Archuleta flamed out in half a season. So while money does talk, it doesn’t say anything convincing. Not yet.
For the Collins signing to be a success, Collins needs to rise back to his peak form. But Collins can’t do everything himself. How his counterpart at safety performs is just as important as his individual play. That counterpart is Montae Nicholson; a young safety with a great opportunity to seize, and a great responsibility to meet.
Montae Nicholson’s 2018 season with the Redskins
The Redskins had high hopes for Montae Nicholson heading into the 2018 season; just a year earlier, in his rookie season, Nicholson had flashed exciting potential as the team’s starting free safety, before an injury cut his season eight games short.
Nicholson entered the 2019 season as the team’s starter beside D.J. Swearinger at safety, but he would be replaced at the halfway point by trade acquisition Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Before the Clinton-Dix trade, Nicholson had played 441 defensive snaps in seven games, and after the trade, he only logged 26 defensive snaps in seven more.
The Redskins didn’t try to rotate Nicholson in; they took the starting job from him. Part of that was likely attributed to Nicholson’s poor play early on, but Nicholson’s off-the-field issues certainly didn’t help. Nicholson struggled off the field over the course of the 2018 season, and those struggles culminated in a December arrest for misdemeanor assault just before the Titans game.
After accumulating an interception and two pass deflections in eight games in 2017, Nicholson notched just one pass deflection in 2018. Despite his stark regression, the Redskins are turning back to him as the team’s starting free safety, with hopes that, after being cleared of charges from his December incident, he can return to form, and reach his full potential.
What Nicholson needs to do at Redskins training camp
Nicholson’s 2018 season went so poorly because his lack of focus precipitated a regression in on-field play. First and foremost, Nicholson needs to show that he’s committed to and fit for the hard work and consistent mental preparation that goes into being an NFL starter.
The mental checklist is a prerequisite for everything else. Once Nicholson shows that football is at the top of his priorities list, and that off-field distractions won’t impact his on-field performance, then he can begin to show off his exceptional athletic talent.
At 6-foot-2, 212, with 4.42 speed and a 35-inch vertical, Nicholson has the burst, range, and hip fluidity to be an elite centerfielder, and his traits coexist almost perfectly with Landon Collins’ hard-nosed, physical style inside the box.
If Nicholson can glean the most potential returns out of his untapped athletic potential, then he can lock down the starting safety position for 2019 and beyond. Ray Horton must work to get Nicholson back on the right page for the season, and Landon Collins can be a valuable veteran mentor, but ultimately, it’s up to Nicholson to accept the teaching, and grow from it.
Nicholson’s main competition at Redskins training camp
From this point on, Nicholson’s fate is entirely in his own hands. He has an opportunity to grab the starting job and run with it, and as long as he doesn’t take it for granted, he can become a fixture in the defense beside Landon Collins, with his physical upside.
That said, Nicholson’s checkered past cannot be ignored, and if he doesn’t develop, due to a lack of focus off the field, Deshazor Everett would be the first to usurp him; Everett’s been with the Redskins since 2015, and while he’s primarily a backup and special teams ace, he can fill in as a spot starter respectably.
Troy Apke could also factor into the equation with his speed, if he manages to improve his instincts and his mental acuity over the course of training camp. In all likelihood, the Redskins could use a rotation of players, if Nicholson proves to be incapable of filling the starting role. But Nicholson can prevent that from happening, if he’s willing.
Nicholson’s 2019 outlook with the Redskins
As of today, Montae Nicholson is the undisputed starter at free safety. It’s his job to lose. Everett isn’t taking the starting job. Apke isn’t taking the starting job. Tre Boston likely isn’t coming to the rescue. And barring any catastrophic setbacks in training camp, nothing should change until sometime in season.
Even then, if Nicholson lays down a solid foundation of work in training camp, then he’ll at least point himself in the right direction for the 2019 campaign. He and Collins can be a devastating combination at safety for opposing offenses. But Nicholson has to buy in.
If Nicholson buys in, heeds Horton’s teachings, and works to quickly gain chemistry with Landon Collins, then 2019 can be an exciting year for the Redskins secondary, one where Washington can surprise with one of the better safety duos in the NFL.
But if Nicholson’s off-field issues continue to plague him, even after his wakeup call and second chance, then it might be an unsalvageable project. For now, however, things are looking up. And the door is still very much open, for Nicholson to become a vital fixture in the third level.