2017 NFL Draft: Washington Redskins 7-round mock
Marcus Williams
Safety, Utah
The passing defense continues to get an upgrade with Marcus Williams. The biggest need on the Redskins is most likely safety. However, Reddick is likely a better value in the first round than any safety that will be on the board. In the second round, the Redskins should definitely be looking for one of the better players from the second tier of safety to be around. In Williams, they get just that.
Williams is of the ideal size at 6-foot-1 and 202 pounds. He is a rangy safety who can play in a Cover-1 and a Cover-3 and defend the deep part of the field. He tested as a great athlete and it shows with his breaks on balls and ability to close gaps to defend passes.
Josh Norman was always best in a Cover-3, and giving Williams the deep third as a rookie is a possible situation due to is range. He will likely fall to the second round because of some issues with tackling and angles, but in the right scheme, he would thrive. The Redskins signed D.J. Swearinger this offseason, and he profiles more of a tackling in the box safety. The combination of Swearinger and Williams is a major upgrade from last season and takes players like Donte Whitner, and Deangelo Hall off of the table as relied on options.