Rookie safety Percy Butler impresses against Cowboys
Breaking down how safety Percy Butler performed against the Cowboys.
When the Washington Commanders drafted safety Percy Butler in the fifth-round of the 2022 NFL draft, many fans and media picked him as someone that might be able to make a significant contribution in his rookie season. As it turned out, Butler found himself caught behind a strong group of safeties. Kam Curl is an essential part of the defense, Bobby McCain filled various roles and Darrick Forrest developed into a key contributor as the season progressed.
That left Butler with very little snaps. In fact, he only had double-digit snaps on defense in two games: the tied game against the Giants where he had 19 snaps and the season finale against the Cowboys, where he played 58 snaps as the Commanders gave some younger players an opportunity after missing out on the playoffs. Having been a favorite draft pick of many, a lot of you asked how he performed in his extended opportunity against the Cowboys. So, let’s take a closer look.
The first thing that stood out with Butler was his willingness and intent to play the run, even when starting from deeper spots. A lot of safeties, especially the more typical coverage/deep safety types, are often slow to react to the run and lack urgency in getting down to the line of scrimmage to support the run defense. But that wasn’t the case for Butler, who was prepared to be physical and initiate contact whenever possible.
This is a prime example of not only his willingness, but determination to be involved in the run defense. He starts the play as the deepest defender and on the far hash with the ball being tossed to the running back working to the other side of the field. Many safeties would take this as an opportunity to take a play off and slowly jog up to the line of scrimmage while waiting for someone else to make the play, but not Butler.
The Commanders’ front do a good job adjusting to the run outside and take away his ability to get the edge, forcing him to cut back inside. As soon as Butler sees the quarterback tossing the ball to the running back, he takes off. He charges down to the line of scrimmage from deep and closes in on the runner like a missle. Yes, there were other defenders around him that likely would have made the play, but the fact he came from 10 yards deep and on the back side of the play says a lot about his desire to make an impact and he was rewarded for his efforts with a big tackle for loss.
It wasn’t just one play either, he consistently was active in looking to help support the run defense whenever the opportunity presented itself.
This time, the Cowboys look to work a run up the middle, however the Commanders linebackers both stunt inside and quickly fill the lane. The back then is forced to bounce his run to the edge to try and make something happen himself. Fortunately for Washington, Butler was alert to the play and already working his way up to the line of scrimmage. The back surprises him a little with the burst to the edge, forcing Butler to adjust his path, but Butler still makes up the ground and brings the runner down at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
Run support for a safety, especially in a scheme such as this one where the Commanders play a lot of two deep safety coverages, is very important and often overlooked. With two safeties deep, the front is often at a disadvantage from a numbers perspective. Keeping two safeties deep means the defense can’t account for every gap in the run game. There’s things they can do to work around that, with certain stunts designed to win a gap back, or just someone like Jonathan Allen completely wrecking a play by penetrating into the backfield quickly, but those safeties also need to be willing and able to trigger quickly on the run and join the front in filling gaps as soon as they can. It might appear easy and simple, but not every safety does it, so that’s a big plus for Butler.
But obviously, as a safety his primary responsibility is to defend the pass. Butler had a few interesting reps worth discussing when it comes to the coverage aspect of the game.
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