In his introductory presser, newly appointed Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Daronte Jones was asked about what scheme he intended to implement. His answer: “It’s not how they line up, it’s how they wind up.”
This left fans wondering what they might see come September.
I know Jones is all about putting his players in the best possible situations to be successful and tailoring his scheme to fit the talent he has. Jones was Brian Flores’ top lieutenant in Minnesota where they ran an aggressive, one-gapping 3-4 hybrid. He does have experience in both even and odds fronts, so I wanted to take a look at where and how our current personnel may best be used.
First, let me start out by saying that although we may not have “ideal” personnel for the 3-4 at the moment, we still have free agency and the draft to add pieces if that’s the direction Jones chooses to go.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at the pieces we do have, and project how they could best fit into a new scheme.
Interior Defensive Line:
- Daron Payne: Payne has played in an odd-front before, both as a zero-technique and as a 4i. That being said, his strength is using his suddenness, strong hands and power to abuse interior offensive linemen. He’s fully capable of taking on double teams and keeping those behind him clean in the run game, but he’s at his best when he’s used in a 3-technique or in a 1i where his up-field burst can take over.
- Javon Kinlaw: Kinlaw is scheme-versatile and can excel in any interior spot across the defensive front, including 4i/5-technique. He has the strength to control two gaps and the athleticism and ability to make himself skinny and shoot a gap. He’s a great chess piece for Jones to move around along this new defensive front.
- Jer’Zhan Newton: Newton is at his best when he’s in an attacking, one-gap system, that allows him to use his quickness to penetrate the gap and cause havoc in the opposing backfield. He would not be used as effectively if he’s asked to 2-gap or play as a zero-technique over the center. I don’t think he’d do well as a 4i/5-technique defensive end in an odd front.
- Ricky Barber: At 6’1” 295, Barber in an undersized 3-technique who relies on speed and quickness to penetrate gaps. He can be easy to control when opposing offensive linemen get their hands on him and he lacks the lower-body strength to effectively take on double-teams. He’s best in a one-gap, up-field attacking defense that doesn’t expose his weaknesses inside.
EDGE:
- Dorance Armstrong: At 6’4” and almost 260 lbs, Armstrong has the look of a 4-3 defensive end. His long arms and almost 7’ overall wingspan lend itself to the position. There have been times where he’s been asked to drop into coverage, but let’s not kid ourselves – that’s not his strong suit. He lacks the fluidity, hip flexion and awareness to effectively drop. He’s best when pinning back his ears and getting up-field.
- Javontae Jean-Baptiste: Jean-Baptiste is built very similarly to Armstrong. Both are long, linear athletes with decent burst. Like Armstrong, Javontae doesn’t have very fluid hips, so asking him to drop into coverage may be taking away from his strengths as a pass rusher. He’s best suited in an even front where he can play as a 7 or 9-technique defensive end.
Linebackers:
- Jordan Magee: Magee is a prototypical run-and-hit WILL linebacker who can play sideline-to-sideline, shoot gaps, drop into zone and carry the seam. He lacks awareness in zone drops but that could come with more time and better coaching. He’s a solid tackler but is not great at shedding blocks at the point of attack.
- Frankie Luvu: Luvu is a tweener. He’s not great in the open field but excels on blitzes (something Jones likes to do with his linebackers). He will struggle at times getting outside the C-gap on zone runs but will flash in the gaps on interior runs. He could be best used as a situational SAM.
- Kain Medrano: Medrano was known for his coverage coming out of UCLA and had some concerns pre-draft about his tackling. Those concerns showed up a bit in the preseason as he was outplayed by his former Bruin teammate Ale Kaho. He has a ton of athletic upside and if he can come into camp with some much needed added weight, he may see an increase in playing time.
- Ale Kaho: Kaho really impressed me with his play in the preseason. he showed great striking ability, excellent open-field tackling and looked extremely comfortable in coverage. He has a different body type than Medrano, but similar athleticism. He has the ability to stack the point of attack and shed blocks to get to the ball carrier.
What I believe would work best:
I absolutely expect us to add parts to this defense both in free agency and the draft. However, if Daronte Jones wishes to incorporate guys like Payne, Kinlaw, Newton, Armstrong, Luvu and Magee into his new scheme, I feel they fit much better in a base 4-3 than they would a 3-4.
I can see a hybrid even-front where Payne and Kinlaw are both interchangeable as the 1- and 3-techniques. Newton would be a rotational guy at 3-technique where he could use his quickness to abuse slower, less athletic guards.
Armstrong should slot in as a 4-3 defensive end playing either a true 7-techniue or a wide-9. I think we can expect Jean-Baptiste to do the same on a rotational basis.
Magee should have a pretty prominent role in this new defense. If he earns a starting position, I believe that will be as an 4-3 run-and-hit WILL. Medrano and Kaho are unknowns to me at this point, but both have the desired athletic profile to be contributors.
Luvu is the wild-card here. Jones mentioned him and his athletic traits in his opening presser. He’s at his best when he is going forward, so here is where the hybrid part can come in. I can see some looks where he is walked up to the line of scrimmage in an UNDER front flanking an EDGE. I can also see him in a more traditional SAM linebacker role where Jones will blitz him from all over the formation. What we really don’t want/need is Luvu being forced into coverage too often as defensive coordinators will pick up on this quickly and expose him.
The 3-4 alternative:
If Jones does bring in elements of the 3-4 front, it will require some added pieces – the most important ones coming at EDGE and on the interior where a true space-eating nose tackle is needed.
Some folks have opined that Luvu may be able to act as a 3-4 OLB, but if you remember last season, he did not look good at all when he played as an EDGE.
Below is a look at how our CURRENT personnel could fit into a 3-4 base:
- OLB: Armstrong (dropping into coverage is not his strength)
- DE: Kinlaw
- NT: Payne (he can play here, but not his strength)
- DE: Newton (I don’t like him as a 4i/5 as he lacks the length to play against OTs)
- OLB: Free agent or draft pick needed
- MIKE: Magee
- JACK: Luvu
*Ideally, if we went to a base 3-4, we would need two big-bodied interior defensive tackles to play zer0-technique, at least one more traditional 3-4 OLB, and a defensive end with both length and weight. I also feel we would target a true MIKE linebacker and let Magee play as the JACK. This also leaves Luvu without a true position.
Free agent/NFL draft teaser:
4-3 Hybrid:
- EDGE: Armstrong/Jean-Baptiste
- DT: Payne/Newton
- DT: Kinlaw/Barber
- EDGE: Arvell Reese (RD1 pick #7)/Arnold Ebiketie (FA)
- MIKE: Quay Walker (FA)/Ale Kaho
- WILL: Jordan Magee/Kain Medrano
- SAM/Hybrid: Luvu
*In this hybrid even front I have two players that Daronte Jones can use as chess pieces to move around his defense – Arvell Reese and Frankie Luvu. I can also see some scenarios where Kain Medrano or Tyler Owens are used as that “Big Nickel” ala Nick Emmanwori in Seattle.
It will be fun to watch this staff navigate through free agency and the NFL draft. I think both will give us a better idea of what type of defense we could see come fall.