Washington Football Team: Five players to watch in rematch with Giants

No. 4 – SS Kamren Curl

Washington is a little thinner at safety after the events of their Week 7 win against the Dallas Cowboys. They dismantled their division rivals in dominant fashion, but the victory wasn’t without cost. Starting strong safety Landon Collins tore his Achilles, and was promptly ruled out for the rest of the season.

Now, the Washington Football Team will be sporting backups at both free safety and strong safety. Deshazor Everett replaced the oft-maligned Troy Apke a couple of weeks ago — and has admittedly played well — and Collins will presumably be replaced by seventh-round rookie Kamren Curl.

Curl is an intriguing player, and one I may have missed on in the draft process. When watching Curl’s tape, I saw a player who was fairly tough and instinctive, but also displayed a startling speed limitation. I thought his lacking top-end speed would prevent him from catching on to a defensive role in the NFL, but early on, he’s proven me wrong.

Perhaps Curl’s usage has played a part, as he’s often lined up in the slot and in the box, but he’s been playing with a noticeable increase in speed, explosiveness, and confidence from his college days. He’s done enough to earn beaming praise from Ron Rivera, who said Curl, with his versatility, reminded him of a young Kendall Fuller during Thursday’s press conference.

Curl has quickly made an impression as a dependable young player on Washington’s defense, but he’ll have to grow up even more with Collins gone. Curl will now likely be thrust into a full-time role in Washington’s defense, and starting against the Giants, he’ll have to prove he can be consistent.