The 10 best safeties in Washington Commanders franchise history

Safeties are the last line of defense. As NFL defenses have evolved over the years, their skills and responsibilities have changed as well. One thing has remained constant. A good safety never lets anyone get behind him. He cleans up any mistakes that may have occurred in front of him.

Early on, defensive coaches recognized the efficacy of using two different types of players at safety. In the early 1960s, when offenses began using a tight end, these two backend positions became more codified as the strong safety - on the side of the tight end - and the weak, or free safety on the opposite side.

The strong safety was usually a little bigger and the free safety was faster, but the skills often overlapped. The best did it all - blitz, cover, play the run, and as always, make sure no one got behind them.

The Washington Commanders, in their various guises, have had some outstanding players at the position, including one of the best of all time. When I choose my all-time roster - 22 players in all - there is one Washington player. He is a safety.

Criteria for selection

Safeties need to be effective in coverage, but they must also be sound tacklers. Since statistics on tackles weren’t kept much during the NFL's first half-century, it can be hard to do a stat-based analysis.

We do have interception numbers, as well as fumble recoveries, which indicate the player’s ball-hawking talent. However, judging players from the early days involves several subjective decisions.

We are going to base our rankings on all the standard defensive metrics when they are available, as well as on longevity and intangibles, such as leadership and iconic moments. That may come into play when separating two close players.

In many cases, it comes down to a decision about what you favor: a steady player who was with the franchise for a long time or a higher-end performer who may have only been here for three or four seasons. I’ll warn you up front - there is no “one size fits all” for this. My rankings are impressions, and subject to debate.

Let's get to it.

The 10 best safeties in Washington Commanders franchise history

10. Jim Steffen

Legendary Washington Post columnist Tom Boswell once wrote about Steffen: his “calling card was the bone-crushing, downfield, cross-body-block tackle - after he’d allowed another 20-yard completion.” It’s true.

Steffen’s strong suit was not in coverage. But Boswell may have been exaggerating just a bit. The safety played 60 games for Washington in the early 1960s and did manage to corral 17 interceptions in that time.

He came to Washington in 1961 after playing a few undistinguished seasons in Detroit. Though initially lining up primarily at cornerback, Steffen proved to be a better fit at safety.

Had injuries not ended his career prematurely, he probably would have continued his evolution and eventually become a linebacker, not unlike the trajectory of Washington’s Landon Collins a few years ago. Despite his deficiencies in coverage, Steffen produced one of the greatest games ever played by a Washington safety.

In September 1963 against the hated Dallas Cowboys, Steffen picked off opposing quarterback Dandy Don Meredith three times. He returned the first one 78 yards for Washington’s first touchdown in a 21-17 win.

9. Alvin Walton

Alvin Walton joined Washington in the middle of its glory run. He came to a veteran, championship team. For about five years, he fit right in.

Walton did not look physically imposing. That said, he was a ferocious hitter who endeared himself to fans by always being around the football.

Washington had two aging safeties in 1985. Curtis Jordan played free safety and Tony Peters manned the strong spot. Both were past 30 years old. As a rookie in 1986, Walton played behind Ken Coffey, but he would take over the following year and start 56 games over the next four seasons.

Like Steffen, Walton was not great in coverage. He would often platoon with quicker defenders on obvious passing downs. But he could tackle with the best of them, and he was always in the middle of things.

During Washington’s playoff run in 1986, the rookie recovered three fumbles in three playoff games, as well as getting his first interception. An injury in 1991 would effectively end the career of the quiet, hard-hitting fan favorite.

8. LaRon Landry

LaRon Landry arrived as a first-round draft pick in 2007. His NFL Scouting Combine numbers were exceptional, showing a player with speed, strength, and explosiveness.

The plan was for him to play strong safety alongside the gifted free safety Sean Taylor. For a very brief time, that plan looked like a genius move.

Landry was effective immediately. He was a tough tackler and reacted well in coverage. He even seemed to step up his game when Taylor was injured. When his teammate was tragically killed, the defensive back stepped up even more.

He built on that success in his second season and developed into one of the best young safeties in the league. Landry got hurt during his fourth season, beginning a break between the player and the team that would be exacerbated when he suffered another issue the following campaign.

The No. 6 overall selection out of LSU signed with the New York Jets as a free agent after five seasons. Landry's first year in a different environment resulted in his only trip to the Pro Bowl.

Landry was a solid player for Washington but left with the uneasy feeling that he should have been a lot more special. Future team running back Adrian Peterson was selected one pick after the safety in 2007.

7. Tony Peters

Tony Peters had the virtually impossible task of replacing a legend. When he came to Washington in 1979, after four seasons in Cleveland, it was ostensibly to play behind veteran strong safety Kenny Houston for a year before inheriting the job. But when the 36-year-old struggled early, head coach Jack Pardee made the move.

Peters dealt with a few injuries along the way. Many thought he sabotaged his promising career after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1982. He was suspended by the league for the 1983 season while he performed 500 hours of community service.

He accepted responsibility for his actions and was allowed to return for the 1984 season. Peters didn’t seem like the same player in his final two years, but he still performed reasonably well when healthy.

We’ll never know what might have happened had he made better decisions. Peters was on an upward trajectory before the suspension - 1982 was his best year. He made the Pro Bowl at the end of the strike-shortened campaign and started all four playoff games in Washington’s march to its first Super Bowl championship.

6. Mark Murphy

The man who would go on to become President of the Green Bay Packers played alongside Peters during those successful years in the early 1980s. Mark Murphy played all eight of his NFL seasons in Washington and was the starting free safety in every game between 1979 and 1982.

Murphy was an excellent ball hawk who ended his career with 27 interceptions, tied for seventh in franchise history. He had his career high with nine picks in 1983 and was rewarded with first-team All-Pro honors. He is one of just three Washington safeties to attain that honor.

Free safeties are often like coaches on the field. They play deep and take in the entire flow of the game. The good ones see everything. That’s where Murphy excelled.

His Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs said about him, “He’s the player who was too smart for me to coach.” He would rely on Murphy to let him know the temperature of the team. The defensive presence would use that intelligence both on the field and later in the front office, where he would become among the most successful former players in league management.

5. Sean Taylor

The story of Sean Taylor is one of the true tragedies in team history. Most fans remember it very clearly.

While recuperating from an in-season injury during his fourth year, Taylor was murdered during a failed robbery attempt at his Florida home. He left behind his fiancée and young daughter.

From a human standpoint, it was devastating. From a football standpoint, it robbed the franchise of a player who seemed destined to be among the best in the league - perhaps of all time.

Taylor played a bit recklessly during his first couple of seasons but was a force nonetheless. As he matured, he became among the league’s elite. His combination of size and speed made him an ideal free safety.

He could lay out receivers over the middle with crushing hits. With his speed, Taylor could patrol the deep middle as well as anyone, either breaking up or intercepting shots downfield. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his last two seasons - the final 2007 selection was posthumous.

The former Miami star was also chosen second-team All-Pro that season, despite playing in just nine of 16 games. He had five picks in those contests, which was tied for the league lead when injury struck.

Taylor’s career accomplishments were impressive but cut short. When you consider his meteoric rise in his final two seasons, it is not a stretch to argue that he was at the beginning of what might have been a Pro Football Hall of Fame career when tragedy struck.

4. Sammy Baugh

Three men who played safety for Washington are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But there are caveats attached to two of them.

Sammy Baugh, as you probably know, was Washington’s quarterback from 1937-1952. He was among the best passers in the league. He is still legitimately considered as one of the best signal-callers in league history.

This was during the days when NFL rosters were smaller and players routinely played both offense and defense. The offensive backs typically flipped and played in the defensive backfield. Quarterbacks, who developed their abilities to see the entire field, would use that skill to play safety on defense. That’s what Baugh did.

The greatest quarterback in the league had 31 career interceptions as a defender, including 11 in 1943 alone. More than 70 years after he called it quits, Baugh ranks third on Washington’s all-time interception list.

Baugh was a tall, lean Texan who didn’t look like he’d be as tough as he was. He was never afraid to mix it up with players who outweighed him by 50 pounds. Eventually, his coaches realized he was far too valuable on offense to continue using him as a regular defender.

Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Baugh was also among the best punters in franchise history.

3. Paul Krause

The only reason Paul Krause didn’t win Rookie of the Year in 1965 was because his teammate, running back/wide receiver Charley Taylor, entered the league at the same time. He finished second in the voting.

Safeties don’t usually win Rookie of the Year. Krause’s case? A league-leading 12 inceptions in 14 games along with a couple of fumble recoveries. This meant the first-year pro averaged one turnover in every game of his debut season.

Krause was a first-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl. It was no fluke. He repeated both honors in his second season.

After four seasons in Washington, during which Krause snagged 28 total interceptions and recovered eight fumbles, he was traded by coach Otto Graham to the Minnesota Vikings. The decision-maker reportedly didn’t think he was a very good tackler.

The move incensed veteran linebacker Sam Huff, who said he would make all the tackles of the team just let Krause do what he did best. What he did best was use his rangy body and great speed to snag 53 more interceptions with the Vikings over the next 12 seasons. He made the Pro Bowl six more times and retired as the league leader in career interceptions.

His 81 picks and 19 fumble recoveries gave him an even 100 turnovers for his career. Most of them did occur with another team, but the four years he spent in Washington - with 36 total turnovers - still make him among the greatest in franchise history.

What Champ Bailey was to Washington cornerbacks, Krause was to the team’s safeties. He also made the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

2. Brig Owens

Brig Owens played 156 games over 14 seasons in Washington. Until his final year, he never missed a game.

He retired with 36 interceptions, second only to Darrell Green on Washington’s all-time list. Tackles were not an official statistic when Owens played in the 1960s and ‘70s, but fans who watched him knew he was as sure a tackler as there was on those teams. He was a smart, tough leader who was a constant from the lean years of the 1960s to the glory years of the 1970s.

Owens came to Washington in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys that involved the safety he essentially replaced, Jim Steffen. It was a very good deal for the team from D.C.

The dynamic playmaker would go on to a career in law and hold a position in the players union after retiring. There’s one other thing about Owens that makes him a crucial part of Washington’s football legacy, and it didn’t involve any on-field play.

For much of his career, Owens was roommates with, and best friend of, Washington tight end Jerry Smith. Some players knew that he was homosexual, but he was deathly afraid of the news leaking out to the public.

When Smith was suffering from the effects of AIDS in 1986 - the disease that would take his life at age 43 - Owens visited him in the hospital every day.

1. Ken Houston

Pro Football Hall of Famer Ken Houston is the greatest strong safety in NFL history. You can make good arguments for others, but I’m sticking with that.

After making the Pro Bowl in five of his six years as a member of the Houston Oilers, Washington traded five players to obtain the safety before the 1973 season. Houston started every game for six consecutive seasons following the switch.

Injuries began taking their toll in 1979 when he was 35 years old. But that didn’t prevent Houston from his 12th consecutive Pro Bowl (his seventh for Washington), and being selected second-team All-Pro. He earned two other first-team All-Pro selections while playing in D.C.

Houston was tall and fast, a ferocious hitter with excellent coverage ability. He went down in franchise lore with one play from his first season in town.

The Dallas Cowboys were trailing Washington by seven. They faced a 4th-and-goal from the four-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Craig Morton rolled right and hit running back Walt Garrison in the flat just outside the end zone. He was as tough as they come. But on this play, Houston proved to be tougher.

Houston essentially lifted the Cowboy off the ground just short of the goal line and pulled him backward before throwing him to the ground, preserving the victory. A legend was born.

The 10 best safeties in Washington Commanders franchise history by interceptions

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