The Future of the Redskins Secondary: Safety

The Redskins have struggled for a long time to produce a talented secondary. They have had a pass defense ranked above 20th only once in the past 5 years. Last year was their worst year where they ranked 30th in the league. If this team wants to be a Super Bowl winner then it is the main area that needs to drastically improve.

It can be debated as to which position is more at fault for this but the reality is that since the tragic loss of Sean Taylor the Redskins have not had a reliable safety. LaRon Landry was the close but had too many injury problems and while he was a fierce hitter he often struggled in coverage. Last season the likes of Madieu Williams, Reed Doughty, DeJon Gomes, and Jordan Pugh were all the Skins had. Frankly, it wasn't a very impressive unit.  Before them there were other fillers like Kareem Jackson who were also massive failures. Now after the 2012 draft the Redskins have drafted Phillip Thomas and Bacarri Rambo. Rambo almost immediately became the starting free safety and while Thomas progressed he ran into the same problem many Redskins safeties tend to hit and is out for the season with an injury. Brandon Meriweather will be the other starting safety if he can figure out his own health problems and suddenly the safety position looks slightly less abysmal. However, even though Meriweather and Rambo have question marks.
Meriweather was cut by both the Patriots and the Bears before signing with the Redskins. He did have 2 Pro Bowl years with the Patriots in 2009 and 2010 but there were obviously aspects of his game that were unimpressive. Last year he was set to be the starter for the Redskins but was out the entire season with an injured knee. He did play one half of a game against the Eagles and for that half he looked like a star but again was injured. So, if that one half is an indication on how he will play for the entire season then the Redskins seem set at starting strong safety. However, that is a big "if."

Rambo on the other hand won the competition for free safety quickly which generated a lot of buzz and praise. However, despite what many Redskins fans will tell you, Rambo dropped to the 6th round of the draft not only because of off the field issues but on the field ones as well. This became apparent as soon as he hit the field it was obvious that he is just a rookie. He has struggled with taking proper angles and had hesitation issues causing him to miss the tackles. It seems as though he has started to improve on that problem but it is still something he need to work on if he is going to be a legitimate starter in the NFL. The other aspect that causes some doubt in Rambo's ability to succeed is that the competition he won to become the starting free safety was not a very difficult one. The Redskins have very little talent on the roster at free safety and it probably would have been worrisome if Rambo couldn't become the starter. Ultimately, only time will tell how well Rambo will adjust to the NFL and if his college success will translate. In all honesty the likelihood of Rambo becoming a star in this league seems unlikely at this point, but he could become a viable starter for at least a few years.

What's next?
The Redskins will have to wait and see how Meriweather and Rambo play this year. If they like what they see and both players can stay healthy it will probably mean the Redskins are set at safety for the time being. However, if Meriweather and Rambo fail to impress the Redskins may end up looking to free agency or the draft again in the next few years. The Skins don't have a first round draft pick next year so it is unlikely they will be able to draft a top rated safety in the immediate future. In either scenario they will continue to develop Phillip Thomas at strong safety, who probably has a higher ceiling than Rambo.