Commanders’ 2022 secondary rotation taking shape after latest signing

The Washington Commanders‘ secondary was by no means an area of strength last season. Having surrendered the fourth-most passing yards, the most passing touchdowns, the fourth-highest passer rating and logging the sixth-fewest total interceptions in the NFL, the group needs to improve.

Those numbers look even worse when you consider the strides the secondary made over the second half of the season. Excluding the 56-point embarrassment against the Cowboys, Washington allowed just 18.8 points per game in eight of the final nine games to close out the year.

Taking that into account, fans are hopeful the first half performance was an anomaly and the secondary performs more like the cohesive unit that stuck to its assignments we saw coming out of the bye.

Given that most of the 2021 rotation will be returning this year, there’s reason to be believe the group will piggyback off that momentum.

Ever a champion of continuity, Ron Rivera and Washington brought back an underrated member of the rotation on Wednesday, as the team re-signed Danny Johnson, who’s been a quality backup cornerback for multiple years now.

The Commanders announced they’ve re-signed CB Danny Johnson.

Johnson hasn’t always had a consistent role in Washington, but he’s produced whenever called upon. Take last season as an example. He was released during the final round of preseason cuts, but signed back to the practice squad and got promoted to the active roster shortly thereafter as an injury replacement.

Ironically enough, Johnson went on to log the highest combined snap share of his career; 45 percent on defense and 40 on special teams. His versatility also came in handy. Of his 336 defensive snaps, 209 came in the slot, 78 came on the boundary and 35 were in the box, per Pro Football Focus.

Despite being moved around, Johnson’s efficiency never wavered. In 12 games, he allowed just a 64.5% completion rate when targeted and two touchdowns en route to earning a 65.4 player grade and a 65.2 coverage grade.

To put those numbers into perspective, only Kendall Fuller, Bobby Mccain and Kam Curl tallied higher coverage grades than Johnson and his 77.1 tackling grade ranked third on the team for players who logged at least 300 snaps.

Not bad for a fourth-string corner, right?

Don’t look now, folks, but the Commanders’ 2022 secondary rotation is starting to take shape.

With Fuller and William Jackson III locked in as the perimeter corners, Benjamin St-Juste and Johnson serving as the primary backups and Bobby McCain and Kam Curl holding down the fort at safety, the only thing left for Washington to do is add more depth, whether it be through free agency or the draft.