Washington Redskins: Who starts at strong safety?

By Andrew Long | Jun 15, 2015

The Washington Redskins made a concerted effort to improve their struggling secondary this offseason. General manager Scot McCloughan brought in a number of familiar faces with the hopes of changing the mindset and overall talent of the unit. It’s safe to assume that Dashon Goldson will inherit the starting role at free safety, and Chris Culliver will take over duties as the Redskins starting cornerback. While free safety and cornerback are all but settled in terms of starters, the same cannot be said about Washington’s strong safety position.

When it comes to strong safety, the Redskins will have to choose between Duke Ihenacho and Jeron Johnson. Both are young and promising talents, but, at the end of the day, only one can be named the starter. Neither player will blow you away with their statistics, so projecting the starter is a little rough.

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Ihenacho is only 25 years old, and started 14 games in his career. Obviously 14 starts isn’t a whole lot of experience, but it’s worth noting his starts came during the 2013 season with the Denver Broncos in the midst of a playoff run. During his short stint as the starting strong safety for the Broncos, Ihenacho recorded 67 total tackles, nine passes defended, three forced fumbles and two recoveries.

Ihenacho was solid during his time in Denver, but he only managed to record one tackle for the Redskins last season. Whether or not he’s capable of returning to form is up for debate, but his starting experience will undoubtedly help his cause. I say this because Johnson, who has been a career backup, has only cracked the starting lineup once in four years.

The fact that Johnson hasn’t started shouldn’t come as a surprise and it definitely isn’t a knock on his playing ability, as he’s been playing behind a pair of All-Pro safeties in Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. I actually think it helps his cause, and drastically. I say this because most players aren’t afforded the luxury of developing their skills behind such quality players.

Sitting behind Thomas and Chancellor killed Johnson’s statistics, there is no questioning it. In four seasons with the Seahawks, the 27-year-old safety recorded just 28 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Even though his stats weren’t great, Johnson still has a strong chance to succeed because of the mental reps that he has taken over the years in the Seattle secondary.

On top of learning from a pair of All-Pro safeties, Johnson also has the advantage of having previously played for a franchise that Scot McCloughan had a hand in building. He also benefits from being brought in by the new regime, as they likely signed him with the intentions of him starting.

While it’s possible that Ihenacho can outplay Johnson and win the job, I foresee Johnson securing the starting strong safety spot for the Washington Redskins this upcoming season. We’ll have to see if he’s capable of holding it long term, but I believe that he’ll end up being the starter on opening day.

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