Commanders have a perfect Will Harris replacement staring them in the face

The only silver lining to Will Harris' recent injury is that the Washington Commanders have a lot of depth at safety. That was strengthened further by the signing of Darnell Savage Jr.

Harris, acquired as a free agent this offseason from the New Orleans Saints, had made a decent transition to his new team. He was brought in to replace Jeremy Chinn in part because he was a more complete all-around safety. It hasn't been perfect, but his performances overall were encouraging.

He may not be the hitter that Chinn is, but Harris is better in coverage — especially in deep situations. Now that he is out with a fractured fibula, Joe Whitt Jr. may need to rely on several players to fill his shoes.

The Commanders do have options. Jeremy Reaves stepped into Harris’s spot last week and made several nice plays. As the game wore on and the Las Vegas Raiders began throwing on almost every down, Whitt used cornerback Noah Igbinoghene as a deep safety on a lot of plays.

Commanders have options, but Tyler Owens comes with the most long-term upside

Even though he seems to have fallen out of favor right now, Percy Butler is less than two years removed from serving as Washington’s starting safety after Darrick Forest’s injury in 2023. Savage might take time to adjust, but he's another with legitimate starting experience.

Then, there is Tyler Owens.

The undrafted free agent made quite an impression in the 2024 preseason and was a strong presence on special teams during his rookie campaign. Owens entered his second campaign with the goal of making a bigger impact on defense. That was already happening before the Harris injury. Now, the process may be accelerated.

Washington’s safeties often line up in the box. Harris was nominally a strong safety playing alongside Quan Martin at free safety. Still, regardless of the nomenclature, both players might man a traditional strong side linebacker spot depending on the particular situation.

Since the Commanders typically employ just two linebackers, either one of the safeties or slot cornerback Mike Sainristil is almost always playing near the line of scrimmage. Owens has been taking that position more than Reaves or Butler, who have tended to play deep when they have been on the field. However, the former Texas Tech star has also played the deep zone on some plays.

If Owens shows he is comfortable covering in space, he may vault over Reaves and take over as Harris’ primary replacement.

That won’t be easy. Reaves has been making plays from his deeper position. And now that the Commanders have signed Savage, there are a lot of bodies capable of stepping into the safety spot.

But Owens offers rare athletic talent.

It sometimes seems as if he was designed in a lab to be the perfect NFL strong safety. At 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds, he looks like a tall, thin linebacker when playing in the box. His extraordinary speed allows him great range, while his broad jump and vertical leap scores are among the best seen from a safety at the NFL Scouting Combine. That measures his explosiveness.

If that's not enough, Owens has an enormous wingspan, which helps both in coverage and tackling.

The problem thus far has been marrying that athleticism to on-field production. Owens did not play very much in college and never dominated games the way coaches may have expected, given his gifts. He has landed in an ideal situation with the Commanders, where Whitt has assembled some outstanding position coaches. The coordinator has a stellar track record of developing tall, rangy defensive backs into stars.

In the immediate aftermath of Harris’ injury, look for Washington to approach the spot with a committee. Reaves may be the nominal starter at first, with Owens, Butler, Savage, and perhaps Igbinoghene all logging snaps based on the situation.

But if any one of those players begins taking on more of a consistent role, don’t be surprised if it's Owens. He offers the most upside across the board.

The hope is that Harris will return in the second half of the season, but he is out for at least the next four weeks, and quite possibly longer. This is a chance for one of Washington’s younger backups to earn a bigger role on the defense.