Commanders’ new defensive coordinator will bring an aggressive style and a welcome change to Washington’s defense
Commanders’ new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones will bring a different look to Washington’s defense with more blitzes and a 3-4 base.
The Washington Commanders ended their search for their new defensive coordinator, and head coach Dan Quinn showed us one key thing.
We all expected a retread coach or someone he’s worked with in the past, but he decided to take a swing at potential by hiring Daronte Jones from the Minnesota Vikings. This also showed that he’s willing to take on a new defensive scheme that has proven results and bring in fresh ideas. Jones will be bringing over a Brian Flores defense that was one of the best in the league, and it’ll consist of some features Washington isn’t used to.
What to expect in Daronte Jones’ defense in Washington
The Vikings ran more of a 3-4 base look on defense, which means they use three defensive linemen and four linebackers. The two outside linebackers are usually your pass rushers who can also drop into coverage and confuse defenses on certain plays. The two inside linebackers are your fast and physical tone-setting players who have a key role in stopping the run, but also covering a lot of ground. You have to be able to do a lot of different things in this defense, and not just one role.
I asked A to Z Sports Minnesota beat writer Tyler Forness about what Commanders fans should expect, and he named one player who will thrive in the system.
“Daronte Jones has experience with multiple defenses, including Mike Zimmer and Vic Fangio’s under Ed Donatell. However, he’s likely to run the Brian Flores stuff, as it’s the defense he maximized the last three years. The one thing with the defense is that they don’t care about size. It’s based mainly on intelligence and a baseline of athleticism. Experienced cornerbacks are also a big thing, and it’s important with how they disguise their coverage structures consistently. One last element the defense loves is versatility, especially with their pass rushers. Frankie Luvu is going to eat.” – Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Minnesota
They also like to use three safety sets and big nickel subpackages as well, so don’t expect to see 3-4 on every play. Jones will mix up multiple looks, but the main takeaway is that he needs defenders who can do more than one thing and not become the weak link in the defense by getting stuck in a single role. The Vikings also did one notable thing that the Commanders lacked last season; blitzed early and often.
The Commanders will blitz a lot more than they have
One thing that really stood out was how much the Vikings blitzed compared to the Commanders, especially on earlier downs. The Commanders blitzed around 26% on both first and second downs, while the Vikings blitzed around 48% on first and second downs.
Jones loved to run zone and match coverages behind the blitzes, and it caused problems for quarterbacks having to diagnose who was dropping, and who was coming hot on the blitz. Match coverage is a zone defense with man principles, where defenders adapt to the receiver’s routes. It also helps defend the run while covering the deep routes. It’s a well-balanced defense that doesn’t lean too much on one area, but is more of a strong overall unit.
Overall, fans should be excited about how the defense will look next season, and now they need to add talent to fit the defense, which is what I’ll be focusing on a lot after the Senior Bowl. Expect more of a 3-4 look, which will help with blitzes, disguised looks, and also the flexibility to do a lot of different things with your linebackers and safeties. Expect to be more aggressive and play the violent but disciplined defense we wanted to see.
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