Ball-hawking Safeties the Commanders Must Draft

Prospects who arrive violently and turn the ball over

In the previous roundup of Ball-hawking cornerbacks, I mentioned that Joe Whitt Jr. sees generating more turnovers as a key area for improvement of his defense. He succinctly articulated his defensive philosophy in his introductory press conference:

3-4, 4-3 … everyone plays the same coverages. Structure doesn’t matter. The main thing that matters is are we going to arrive violently and turn the ball over and disrupt these quarterbacks.

The defense failed to deliver the take-aways he was hoping for in his first season as defensive coordinator. The Commanders finished the season ranked 20^th in the league in defensive turnovers, and 26^th in interceptions. The lack of playmakers in his secondary was clearly a source of frustration for Whitt, early in the season. He came back to the need for his defense to generate more take-aways nearly every time he spoke to the media.

Whitt’s focus on taking the ball away was not misplaced. Few individual plays have greater impact on game outcomes than turnovers. In the 2024 regular season, like every year, teams won 50% of games in which they had as many giveaways as takeaways. Teams that enjoyed a +1 turnover differential won 70.6% of their games. Adding a second defensive takeaway, to increase the turnover differential to +2, increased the win probability to 82.6%.

Players who can regularly make turnovers are game changing talents. Adding more of those types of players is the biggest need facing the Commanders, as Adam Peters builds a championship-level team around Jayden Daniels.

This article continues the search for players who can help the Commanders assemble a defense that arrives violently and generates turnovers. The next article in the series will shift the focus to disrupting those quarterbacks.

In case you missed them, here are my previous 2025 draft roundups:

Late Round Running Backs

Offensive Linemen to Improve the Run Blocking

Ball-hawking Cornerbacks

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Pass Defense Stats

To help identify players of interest, I filtered PFF’s NCAA player database using three metrics of coverage performance, which I’ll list as MiBV Stats. Interception Rate and Pass Defense Rate helped identify safeties with exceptional ballhawking production or potential. Yards Per Coverage Snap was used to filter out CBs who make plays on the ball at the expense of giving up yardage in coverage.

Interception Rate (INT%): This is simply the rate at which the player intercepted the ball, expressed as a percentage of targets in coverage. Correcting for playing time gives a clearer picture of how players compare to one another than raw interception counts. Since this metric will be unfamiliar to most readers, here are the ranges of values among 259 draft-eligible safeties who played more than 10 coverage snaps in 2024:

Max: 33.3%

Top 10%: 10.3%

Top Quartile: 6.7%

Median: 3.2%

Bottom 40%: 0

Pass Defense Rate (PD%): Interceptions are fairly rare events, and not all safeties make them in a given season. Interceptions are usually proportional to pass breakups, which provide a better sample. To get a broader measure of safeties’ ballhawking potential, I also calculated PD%, which is simply interceptions and pass breakups as a percentage of targets. Ranges for this metric were as follows:

Max: 47.8%

Top 10%: 24.0%

Median: 12.1%

Bottom Quartile: 6.25%

Bottom 10%: 0

Yards Per Coverage Snap (Yds/Cov Snap): This is a catch-all metric which measures how well defenders do at preventing receivers from gaining receiving yards. It measures the net effect of preventing targets, defending passes and preventing yards after the catch. It helps to weed out safeties who were too leaky in coverage to be effective, despite being good ballhawks. It is also a good metric to identify exceptional safeties who excel at lockdown coverage and taking the ball away.

Ranges are as follows:

Min: 0.008

Top 10%: 0.341

Median: 0.612

Bottom Quartile: 0.868

Max: 1.934

Classic Stats: For each player I also listed the usual pass defense stats – interceptions (INT), interceptions returned for TDs (INT TD) if any, pass breakups (PBU); reception rate, yardage, TDs and opposing QB passer rate (Rat) allowed in coverage.

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Top 50 Prospects

Nick Emmanwori, Junior, South Carolina

6-3, 220 lbs | 4.38 sec 40 | 1.53 sec 10-yd | RAS 10.0

Classic Stats: 4 INT | 2 INT TD | 3 PBU | 63.2% rec | 200 yds | 0 TD | Rat 37.1

MiBV Stats: INT rate 10.5% (20) | PD Rate 18.4% (53) | 0.480 Y/cov snp (71)

Consensus rank: 26

Commanders Meeting: Team Pro Day

Emmanwori has some resemblance to one of the greatest Redskins’ draft picks of the Snyder era. He is about the same size, and plays with a similar punishing demeanor as the late, great Sean Taylor, but with a better athletic profile.

Emmanwori would be a massive upgrade to the box safety/big nickel role that Jeremy Chinn played last season. He is a strong run defender and remarkably good in coverage for a player his size. In 2024, Emmanwori’s interception rate was just outside the top 10% of draft-eligible safeties (n = 255, min 190 def snaps); and he led the FBS with two interceptions returned for touchdowns. He has 6 interceptions and 10 PBU over the past two seasons. He also made the 9^th most tackles (73) among 255 draft-eligible safeties, while tallying the 21^st lowest missed tackle rate (7.2%).

At just 21 years old, Emmanwori is a relative youngster for this draft class. He is a player I can see Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr pounding the table for.

Xavier Watts, Senior, Notre Dame

6-0, 204 lbs

Classic Stats: 6 INT | 1 INT TD | 4 PBU | 53.1% rec | 179 yds | 0 TD | Rat 30.1

MiBV Stats: INT rate 18.7% (3) | PD Rate 47.8% (8) | 0.354 Y/cov snp (28)

Consensus rank: 46

Commanders Meeting: None

If the Commanders don’t pick a ballhawking safety at #29, there is a slim chance that they could draft the premier ballhawk of the FBS in the second round. Watts is more likely to come into play for Washington if Adam Peters trades back into the early second round or has him ranked higher than consensus.

Watts was second in the NCAA with 6 interceptions in 2024, and topped the Independents with136 INT return yards and 1 TD. In 2023, he won the Bronko Nagurski award for NCAA’s most outstanding defensive player for tallying an FBS-leading 7 interceptions and again leading the Independents with 137 INT return yards.

Watts could be the rangy deep cover safety Washington has largely lacked since the first tenure of Ryan Clark. But he is more than that. His elite instincts and ball skills, combined with his twitch and pre-snap recognition make him one of the rare truly-interchangeable safeties. He is the type of game-impacting playmaker that the Commanders’ defense needs.

I think it’s unlikely he’ll last to the Commanders’ current second round pick, and would not be surprised if he’s drafted on opening night.

Rounds 3 to 4

Billy Bowman Jr., Senior, Oklahoma

Hogs Haven draft profile by dg28

5-10, 192 lbs, 4.42 sec 40, 10-yd 1.52 sec, RAS 7.52

Classic Stats: 2 INT | 2 PBU | 56.3% rec | 131 yds | 4 TD | Rat 79.6

MiBV Stats: INT rate 6.2% (67) | PD Rate 12.5% (117) | 0.325 Y/cov snp (23)

Consensus rank: 85

Commanders Meeting: Senior Bowl, Combine, Team Pro Day

Bowman played a hybrid FS/slot CB role for the Sooners. His ballhawking numbers were down in 2024, because teams avoided targeting him. Over the past three seasons, he has recorded 11 interceptions and 8 pass breakups. In 2023, he led the FBS with 6 interceptions, 238 return yards, and 3 TDs.

Bowman is instinctive and opportunistic in coverage, with good speed and oily hips to stick to receivers in man coverage. He would upgrade the pass coverage on the back end of the Commanders’ secondary while providing versatility for Joe Whitt to move him around the backfield. He is a willing, and sometimes overeager tackler, but his size and technique could impose some limitations in run support at the NFL level. But maybe not – check out the film clip below.

Can an undersized player like Bowman succeed as an NFL free safety? Well, consider that two of the top four highest paid NFL safeties are Antione Winfield Jr (5-9, 203 lbs) and Budda Baker (5-10, 195 lbs). Whether Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. would support Adam Peters drafting Bowman is another question.

Judging by the meeting schedule, the Commanders appear to enjoy Bowman’s company.

Andrew Mukuba, Senior, Texas

5-11, 186 lbs, 4.45 sec 40

Classic Stats: 5 INT | 7 PBU | 43.5% rec | 74 yds | 0 TD | Rat 12.1

MiBV Stats: INT rate 21.7% (1) | PD Rate 47.8% (1) | 0.185 Y/cov snp (5)

Consensus rank: 88 (Mock Draft Database; The Athletic – unranked)

Commanders Meeting: None

Mukuba finished a close second to Xavier Watts for the title of the top ballhawking safety in the draft class. In 2024, he led the SEC in interceptions, while smothering receivers on the back end of the field.

Mukuba split time between free safety and the slot in his first three seasons with Clemson. He jumped the transfer portal to Texas for his senior year and switched to playing predominantly at free safety, with 18% of his snaps in the box. He seems to have found his role with the Longhorns, since the switch corresponded to a huge improvement in his coverage and ball production figures.

He actually finished ahead of Watts, and topped the safety class, in Interception Rate, which adjusts for numbers of opportunities to make plays on the ball (not exactly, because safeties frequently make opportunistic plays on other defenders’ targets, but close enough). Mukuba intercepted an astounding 21.7% of passes thrown to receivers in his coverage, while breaking up 7 more. In total, he intercepted or deflected 43.5% of targets, resulting in a 12.1 Passer Rating for QBs throwing into his coverage.

Mukuba’s thin frame places some limitations on his value in run support. But, like Bowman above him, there is precedence for safeties his size to succeed in the NFL. He projects as a deep cover free safety for the Commanders, who could impact games as a robber safety by providing lockdown coverage of receivers on deep routes.

Late Draft Rounds

Photo by Jason Clark/Getty Images

Malachi Moore, 5^th yr Senior, Alabama

5-11, 196 lbs

Classic Stats: 2 INT | 7 PBU | 43.3% rec | 132 yds | 2 TD | Rat 51.0

MiBV Stats: INT rate 6.7% (52) | PD Rate 30.0% (11) | 0.312 Y/cov snp (20)

Consensus Rank: 164

Commanders Meeting: Team Pro Day

If the Commanders don’t take a safety on the first two days of the draft, Moore is a safety with ballhawking ability they could consider to bolster the depth ranks later on Day 3.

Moore played the nickel safety role during his first four seasons with the Crimson Tide, before switching to free safety in his final year, which corresponded to an uptick in ball production. He appears to have average athleticism, and missed out on Combine and Pro Day testing while recovering from sports injury hernia surgery.

He is strong in coverage but needs to improve in run support. He projects as a rotational/backup safety for the Commanders, who could compete for Percy Butler’s position on the depth chart in his first training camp and potentially provide a succession plan for 2026.

R.J. Mickens, 5^th yr Senior, Clemson

6-0, 199, 4.49 sec 40, RAS 8.59

Classic Stats: 2 INT | 7 PBU | 72.4% rec | 100 yds | 1 TD | Rat 59.6

MiBV Stats: INT rate 6.9% (49) | PD Rate 31.0% (10) | 0.228 Y/cov snp (9)

Consensus Rank: 199

Commanders Meeting: East West Shrine, Team Pro Day

Mickens is the son of longtime Jets CB Ray Mickens. He is an instinctive defender who plays faster than his timed speed. He is strong in zone coverage and a good run defender near the line, with 10 TFL in the past two seasons. He only intercepted 2 balls in 2024, but had the 10^th highest Pass Defense rate in the safety class. He was also very good at containing receivers deep, ranking 9^th in the class in Y/cov snp.

Players are listed in order of their consensus ranks, but I like Mickens a lot better for the Malachi Moore as a depth addition to the Commanders’ safety stable. He profiles as a player who could earn playing time on special teams early in his career, while pushing for a position on the defensive depth chart.

Seventh Round/UDFA

The pass defense snaps turned up a few lesser known to practically unknown prospects who might be worth a flyer in the seventh round or as UDFA signees, as well as one who is known to Commanders fans.

Maxen Hook, 5^th yr Senior, Toledo

6-0.5, 202 lbs, 4.55 sec 40, RAS 8.43

Classic Stats: 2 INT | 4 PBU | 68.0% rec | 248 yds | 2 TD | Rat 93.4

MiBV Stats: INT rate 8.0% (34) | PD Rate 24.0% (22) | 0.543 Y/cov snp (93)

Consensus Rank: 302

Commanders Meeting: Senior Bowl

Hook is a versatile safety, who can play near line or in deep coverage. He profiles as a core special teamer who could carve out a rotational/backup role on defense in time.

Will Brooks, Redshirt Senior, Tennesse

6-1, 206 lbs, RAS 7.86

Classic Stats: 4 INT | 1 INT TD | 3 PBU | 66.7% rec | 218 yds | 2 TD | Rat 83.7

MiBV Stats: INT rate 16.7% (5) | PD Rate 29.2% (13) | 0.677 Y/cov snp (151)

Consensus Rank: Unranked

Commanders Meeting: None

Brooks makes a great story as a former walk on who worked his way up to being a team captain. Despite his average athleticism, he picked off 4 passes in 2024, returned one for a score, and led the SEC with 152 interception return yards. His ceiling might be capped as a backup strong safety in the NFL. But he has the mentality to claw his way onto a roster with grit, tenacity and hard work. Proving he is not a liability in coverage will be the key to making an NFL roster.

Tyrone Lewis Jr., Redshirt Senior, Louisiana

5-11, 198 lbs

Classic Stats: 4 INT | 3 PBU | 45.0% rec | 87 yds | 1 TD | Rat 34.8

MiBV Stats: INT rate 20.0% (2) | PD Rate 35.0% (7) | 0.215 Y/cov snp (7)

Consensus Rank: Unranked

Commanders Meeting: None

The Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns have become the DB factory of the Sun Belt Conference. Lewis was their top ballhawk in 2024, with 7 INT and 5 PBU over the past two seasons. He was also very good at blanketing receivers in coverage. Prospects from outside the Power 5 always face questions about level of competition. Lewis stats’ showed dominance of offenses at his level, which is what you want to see. That’s no guarantee that his skills will translate to the NFL. In his favour, it might not cost a draft pick to find out.

Gabe Taylor, 5^th yr Senior, Rice

5-10, 193 lbs

Classic Stats: 3 INT | 5 PBU | 47.8% rec | 222 yds | 2 TD | Rat 49.4

MiBV Stats: INT rate 6.5% (63) | PD Rate 17.4% (59) | 0.671 Y/cov snp (148)

Consensus Rank: Unranked

Commanders Meeting: None

Gabe is the younger brother of Redskin great Sean Taylor (RIP). He doesn’t have is elder sibling’s measurables, but he has great ball skills and was a consistent ball producer in the Owls’ secondary, tallying 10 INT, 27 PBUs and one pick-6 in five seasons.

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