Washington Football Team: Benjamin St-Juste a rookie starter?
The Washington Football Team boasts what is quickly becoming one of the most talented defensive units in the entire NFL from the inside out. Getting Chase Young with the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has really amplified every other part of the talented Washington defensive front, and the team has added even more freakish athleticism with their first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, linebacker Jamin Davis.
Washington had one of the best pass defenses in the NFL last season, thanks largely to Ronald Darby, who departed for the Denver Broncos in free agency.
Darby led Washington with 1,002 snaps played in 2020, followed by Kendall Fuller at 893 snaps and Jimmy Moreland at 599 snaps.
Fuller was outstanding all of the 2020 season along with Darby, and the two combined for 27 pass breakups with Fuller picking off four passes.
After the departure of Darby, Washington acted quickly to bring in former Cincinnati Bengals first-round cornerback William Jackson III, who will undoubtedly be the other starting outside corner opposite Fuller. When Ron Rivera wants to run his nickel package, which most teams do nowadays at least 60 percent of the time or more, who will be his third corner?
He might have a new name to throw in the mix in third-round pick Benjamin St-Juste out of Minnesota.
St-Juste was the 74th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and has a fascinating blend of size and speed at 6-foot-3, 202 pounds.
Although he wasn’t running in the 4.3s like many other prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft circuit, St-Juste plays fast and has good recovery ability not only with his long speed but with his size and length being a factor on downhill plays.
One of his most outstanding athletic traits is his short-area quickness, posting a 6.63 in the three-cone drill which ranks him in the top 7 percent of all players at his position.
That kind of short-area quickness could help St-Juste earn an early role with the Washington Football Team in their nickel package as a defensive version of a “big slot”, something you don’t see a whole lot of unless it’s a safety or linebacker lining up in the slot.
Washington could also put Fuller on the inside and have St-Juste playing on the outside depending on the matchup they get but with his ability to make plays on the ball regardless of alignment, St-Juste could be best served matching up in man coverage on the inside and reacting to the play rather than having to read it from the outside at this point.
St-Juste opened his college career at Michigan, and suffered an injury in the 2018 season. Michigan essentially forced St-Juste to sign retirement papers after not clearing him medically, so he transferred to Minnesota where he immediately led the team in passes broken up.
Despite playing in 18 games at Minnesota, St-Juste didn’t have a single interception, and you can make of that what you will.
He will be 24 years old as a rookie and while he should still be afforded patience, the Washington Football Team did not take him in the top 75 picks just to take him. This guy has got to play, so the smart money is on him being in the lineup sooner rather than later.
Even if he’s not a “starter” over Kendall Fuller or William Jackson, St-Juste could wind up as Washington’s CB3 and playing starter snaps.