Will Commanders implement a three safety package?

Looking at how the Vikings used a three safety package and how Washington could look to use one

There has been a lot of excitement around the Commanders fanbase with the hiring of Daronte Jones as the team’s new defensive coordinator this offseason. Much has been made about the transition to a more aggressive defense in the Brian Flores style and the depth and versatility the Commanders now have in the front seven both on the defensive line and at linebacker. But an overlooked position is safety.

One of the key parts of the Vikings defense under Flores and Jones last year was the use of a three safety package. The Vikings were one of the few teams that stayed in their base defense most of the time, but when they did go to a sub-package, they typically went for a big nickel, three safety package rather than a typical slot corner. There’s a few reasons for doing that. The first is personnel. The Vikings had three safeties that they wanted on the field, so it makes sense to build a package around that personnel.

But the Vikings had other reasons too. Going with a third safety over a slot corner is a way of matching up against the modern trend of offense. Many NFL offenses are looking to run the ball a lot more often and one of the best ways to run the ball right now is to get the defense into a nickel package and force the slot corner into the run fit as a linebacker. We’ve seen this with the Commanders in recent years when a smaller corner like Mike Sainristil goes into the slot and then the offense lines up their slot receiver tight to the formation, forcing Sainristil to play almost as a linebacker, where his size is attacked.

To counteract that trend, the Vikings use a bigger body instead of a typical slot corner. They put one of their bigger safeties in the slot, giving them the flexibility to fit the run better than a slot corner, but still drop into coverage better than a typical linebacker. The Vikings also protect that third safety by using a lot of zone coverage. So instead of having a third safety have to match up against some of the league’s best receivers in the slot, they drop into zone coverage instead.

So what exactly does this look like and how might Jones look to implement it in Washington? Let’s dive into it.

One of the unique things the Vikings did with their three safety package was change up who was being substituted off the field for the third safety. The Vikings ran a base 3-4, which we’re expecting Jones to run in Washington too. In a 3-4, typically the defense would take off one of their three interior defensive lineman when they switch to a nickel sub-package, but not the Vikings. The Vikings liked to keep all three interior defensive lineman on the field as much as possible to help them control the run game. So instead of taking off an interior defensive lineman, the Vikings had to substitute one of the four linebackers.

The Vikings would often switch up which of the four linebackers they would substitute for the third safety. They had two main variations; a 4-2-5 package and a 5-1-5 package. They often looked very similar, as you’ll soon see, but there are some subtle differences.

On this play against the Packers, we see an example of the Vikings 5-1-5 big nickel package. The Vikings keep their three interior defensive lineman and their two outside linebackers on the field, giving them a five-man front. That leaves just one inside linebacker in the middle of the field with a safety replacing the other inside linebacker.

With the Vikings in a nickel sub-package, the Packers think they can have success trying to run the ball, especially with all three safeties back deep prior to the snap. However, the Vikings anticipate that a run is coming, so they use a run stunt to help disrupt the blocking scheme. The defensive tackle lined up on the inside shoulder of the right tackle stunts inside across the face of the right guard into the A gap. The solo remaining inside linebacker then scrapes outside of the stunting defensive tackle to replace the gap lost by the stunt. To complete the stunt, one of the three deep safeties jumps up from deep to replace the linebacker lost to the stunt.

Run stunts can be risky as they can often miss and when they do, they can expose big gaps behind the stunt. But with the Vikings replacing the stunter with a linebacker and having the third safety drop in from deep to replace the linebacker, they have the stunt well covered. That makes the stunt even more effective. The defensive tackle beats the right guard across his face and immediately penetrates into the backfield. The back has nowhere to go and the defensive tackle brings him down for a loss of a yard.

So that’s one three safety package, but the Vikings had multiple variations while Daronte Jones was there. Here’s another common one.

This time, we see a slightly different personnel group from the Vikings. They’re in a big nickel sub-package again with three safeties on the field, but on this occasion the Vikings take one of their outside linebackers off the field instead of one of their inside linebackers. This leaves the Vikings with just one edge defender. They could, and sometimes do, shift one of their defensive tackles to the edge and use them as a big/heavy end. But more often, they use the flexibility of their inside linebackers to replace the lost edge defender.

We can see here before the snap, the Vikings have one of their two inside linebackers shifted to the edge, acting as an outside linebacker. We’ve seen the Commanders do this a ton over the last two years with Frankie Luvu. This leaves a gap inside and like before, a safety has to fill that gap. In fact, the Vikings have two of their three safeties down in the box prior to the snap. This is a somewhat confusing look for the offense but because they are in 12 personnel and the Vikings have two safeties in the box acting as linebackers, they still try and run the ball. However, they have a big issue.

Just before the Eagles snap the ball, the Vikings shift their front. The other inside linebacker that initially started the play in the middle of the field suddenly shifts to the edge, alongside the other inside linebacker. This gives the Eagles a lot of problems. With two inside linebackers lining up outside the left tackle, the blocking scheme is suddenly thrown off completely. Offensive lines look to identify the Mike (middle) linebacker and set the run blocking target to him so that everyone knows their assignment, but with both candidates to play the Mike linebacker role suddenly lined up on the edge, the offensive line has to adjust and reset their target to one of the safeties in the box, both of which are now acting as inside linebackers.

Because the Vikings can trust both safeties in the box as faux linebackers, it gives them the flexibility to move pieces around and get into funky looks like this. With the two inside linebackers on the edge, the Eagles are overloaded on their left side. They technically have the bodies to pick things up, but none of them are easy blocks. The left tackle has to fan out wide to reach the outside defender. The left guard has perhaps the toughest matchup to try and reach over a gap to get the other inside linebacker. He actually makes up ground well and picks up that block, but because he had to commit to that to make the block in time, he left the center incredibly vulnerable.

The center has to try and reach across to a defensive tackle in the B gap at the start of the play. That’s never an easy block, but it’s nearly impossible when the ball is being run on an outside zone to that side. The defensive tackle penetrates quickly into the backfield before the center can really do anything about it. Running back Saquon Barkley secures the handoff but is immediately met by the penetrating defensive tackle for a loss.

So the Vikings make the most of their personnel flexibility, not only with their three safety package, but also with their linebackers. Having inside linebackers that can flex down to the edge, as well as multiple safeties that can shift down into the box and play almost as an extra linebacker gives them so much versatility. It enables them to get into these funky looks and create tough looks for blocking schemes

For the Commanders, Daronte Jones has a ton of flexibility to do much of these same ideas in Washington. Frankie Luvu has plenty of experience shifting to the edge, so too does newly signed Leo Chenal. Even first round pick Sonny Styles has done it on occasion. But the Commanders also have depth up front and on the edge, so Jones has so many options.

We’ve seen how the Vikings were able to maintain a strong run defense with a three safety package, but what about the passing game? Some of the core principles of the Vikings pass defense while Jones was there involved heavy blitzing and disguised zone coverages. The Vikings showed they could do both of those things with a third safety on the field.