Welcome To The Washington Commanders Percy Butler Safety Louisiana

[Thinking Skins]

1 hour ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

That's Percy Butler for me. I said "HUH" when we picked him. I thought we could go Verone McKinnley. Anyway, I really like what I've read on Butler and think we have a really young and dynamic safety group now. My concern shifts wholly to LB, where we literally did nothing at our biggest position of need this off-season lol.

 

I know this is the Percy Butler thread but I think I had the opposite feeling. Its kinda why I was low key anti-Hamilton. He's slow. Slow safeties to me is like RBs in this league, there are so many of them. We had Everett and Reaves - two UDFAs come in and play better than our big singing in FA, the former first rounder, who can't cover deep. We had to move him to LB so that he was somewhat worth his contract. So now we have guys like Forrest, Holmes, and probably a bunch of UDFAs who will come in as rookies who can be in this hybrid - slow S but fast LB role. Plus there are guys like the UDFA from ND who plays LB who could be a backup. I just really think that the LBs are the part of the defense that matters the least. Its all about the passing game so I'd rather have 3 safeties or 3 CBs on the field than 3 LBs. 

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

1 hour ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

Anyway, I really like what I've read on Butler and think we have a really young and dynamic safety group now. My concern shifts wholly to LB, where we literally did nothing at our biggest position of need this off-season lol.

 

The question becomes that Buffalo Nickel because it will make the lack of LB a little more palatable. 

 

LB is an issue, but it's possible the coaches want to focus much more on Buffalo Nickel this season with their personnel groups.  Defenses can also make up for going lighter by shifting backend coverage.  Going to Cover 3 let's Kam Curl help in Run D more often.

 

1 hour ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

Adding Landon Collins back into the mix really completes the defense.

 

 

He did play far better than expected, but I also think part of his success was from lack of opponents who could really exploit him in his new role.  There were still coverage gaffes, where he couldn't catch up.  They were less often, as teams weren't able to isolate him onto one guy as much.  There's a chance that with a full offseason to plan for Landon Collins in that role, offenses in 2022 would have some plays up their sleeves to get Landon into areas of coverage where they can exploit him.

 

I don't think Landon Collins is going to play like we assume if he comes back.

[Skinsinparadise]

Bullock

 

 

[terpfan]

I really liked the Butler pick at the time. Didn’t seem like the scouting reports matched up to where he was being projected. His weakness is tackling, yet he is universally touted as a hard hitter and a special teams ace? Something doesn’t add up there. If all you have to do is teach him to wrap up… that feels very doable. Much harder to teach speed, physicality or natural coverage ability and he seems to have all that. 

[KDawg]

2 minutes ago, terpfan said:

I really liked the Butler pick at the time. Didn’t seem like the scouting reports matched up to where he was being projected. His weakness is tackling, yet he is universally touted as a hard hitter and a special teams ace? Something doesn’t add up there. If all you have to do is teach him to wrap up… that feels very doable. Much harder to teach speed, physicality or natural coverage ability and he seems to have all that. 

You'd be surprised how hard it is to break old bad habits and to do it while keeping the rest of his qualities in tact.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[terpfan]

5 minutes ago, KDawg said:

You'd be surprised how hard it is to break old bad habits and to do it while keeping the rest of his qualities in tact.

Fair. But no 4th round pick is going to be perfect. I’d gladly take the guy with a correctable “bad habit” than someone who doesn’t have the traits. 

[Skinsinparadise]

Listening to his coack talk abut him on air right now, says he's really smart dude, good student football wise and academically, also had a really high Wonderlic, too.  Sounds like a boisterous/character type kind of like how Phadrius Mathis is described.   So feels like the are bringing some personality to a unit that has very few outgoing personalities. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Skinsinparadise

[KDawg]

3 minutes ago, terpfan said:

Fair. But no 4th round pick is going to be perfect. I’d gladly take the guy with a correctable “bad habit” than someone who doesn’t have the traits. 

I don't disagree one bit. 

 

I think my angst with the pick is people thinking he's the best center fielder safety in the draft and expect him to day 1 be that guy. He has the ability to do it. Has to fix his tackling (for his health more than for the team) on defense. But on specs he doesn't dip his head and plays fast. It's a habit on defense. It's hard... but not impossible... to coach guys out of that.

 

I think he has the tools and maybe he does fix it quick and maybe he does challenge McCain early. Lord knows I'd love that.

 

I'm not down on Butler at all. But having watched the film I don't see a stud FS. I see a guy with the ability to be a damned good one with some coaching and being receptive to it, though. And by what I've read he will be receptive so.... I have a lot of hope for this one down the line. 

[Die Hard]

17 minutes ago, terpfan said:

I really liked the Butler pick at the time. Didn’t seem like the scouting reports matched up to where he was being projected. His weakness is tackling, yet he is universally touted as a hard hitter and a special teams ace? Something doesn’t add up there. If all you have to do is teach him to wrap up… that feels very doable. Much harder to teach speed, physicality or natural coverage ability and he seems to have all that. 

I’ve learned that there’s typically these kinds of inconsistencies exist for every player’s scouting report.
 

“Player X has a high motor…. but tends to take plays off.” 😂

 

That’s why I take them all with a grain of salt.

 

Also, another thing I’ve learned watching football over the years….. tackling never improves. Makes no sense…. but if he’s a bad tackler in college, he’ll be a bad one in the pros. Taking bad angles, not wrapping up… I rarely see those habits change.

 

 

[HigSkin]

 

The Washington Commanders used the No. 113 overall pick to take Louisiana safety Percy Butler. Here are five things you need to know about the newest member of the Commanders' secondary, presented by Grubhub.

1. He's been called the best pure safety in the draft.

 

Not long after it was officially announced that the Commanders started Day 3 by taking Butler, NBC Sports’ Chris Simms took to Twitter to give a bold statement about the former Ragin' Cajun.

 

"The [Commanders] got the best pure free safety in the NFL draft in Percy Butler," Simms wrote. "Dude has tremendous range in center field. He is very good in all areas of coverage."

 

That's a big statement to make, but there is precedent to back up the claim. Pro Football Focus noted that he's recorded an overall grade of at least 77 since 2019. Quarterbacks had a passer rating of 56.1 when targeting him, and he had a cover grade of 83.5.

 

It's also a moniker that Butler agrees with, because he's able to do everything required of modern safeties.

"The game is changing," Butler said. "Like it's evolving to a passing game. Every team wants running backs, even running backs, to be able to catch the ball now. So, I feel as a safety now, the safety is evolving from like a run stopper."

 

2. Offenses have trouble scoring against him.

Butler also pointed out that he's more than just a run-stopper. He's also an exceptional player in the passing game, and the numbers show that he gave quarterbacks fits in the Sun Belt Conference.

 

Over the course of 866 career cover snaps with the Ragin' Cajuns, Butler only allowed one touchdown and a 52.75 allowed completion percentage. Last year, he had eight coverage stops to go with four forced incompletions.

 

PFF notes that Butler has the kind of athleticism "to make staying in receivers' hip pockets effortless." And to drive that point home even further: Butler has never allowed more than 200 yards in a season, two of which were less than 100.

"He's a guy that has a specific skillset that we really feel is very intriguing," said Ron Rivera.

 

 

3. He's enthusiastic about being a special teams contributor.

Part of being a rookie is contributing wherever the coaches need him. Not only does that involve contributing on their respective sides of the ball, but it also means chipping in on special teams.

You won't catch Butler complaining about that.

 

"I feel like I can play every special team, all four of them," Butler said.

Butler was a special teams star for the Ragin' Cajuns. According to PFF, he earned a collective 90.3 special teams grade during his college career. Of all the special teams groups, though, his favorite he's to work with the punter to put the ball exactly where he needs it to be.

 

"I feel like I just understand how to get releases on like guys who try to hold me up," Butler said. So, I'll take what the defender gives me. And then I'll take control after that basically."

So, Butler already has the right attitude for how to get the most out of his rookie season.

 

4. He has the speed to keep up with receivers.

Butler loves the physicality of the game, but being a safety in the modern NFL requires defensive backs to use their speed as well. Butler doesn't have any issues in that area, either.

 

"Nobody matches my speed, '' Butler toldThe Athletic's Ben Standig. "I run fast and I play fast."

In an NFL Scouting Combine that featured multiple receivers running a sub-4.4 40-yard dash, Butler was able to match that speed with a 4.36, which was tied for the eighth-fastest time regardless of position and the second-fastest for a safety.

"He has got tremendous speed and quickness," Rivera said.

 

There are plenty of quality wideouts on the Commanders' schedule, and whenever Butler is matched up against one of them, he at least has the speed to keep up with them.

 

5. Rivera expects him to contribute early.

The Buffalo Nickel position on the Commanders' defense is one that has received plenty of attention since the season began, and with the release of Landon Collins, there has been some speculation over who will fill that role in 2022.

To Rivera, it seems like Butler will have a strong chance to make it his own.

 

"Percy just adds to help add to the mix and, and we can do some things I think with the right personnel on the field."

When Washington's defense was at its best last season, it was using a healthy dose of three safety looks to confuse quarterbacks and get as much talent on the field as possible. Butler will be part of that equation as well as other spots on the field.

 

"I think the biggest thing as far as his role is here's a guy that's gonna get an opportunity to compete," Rivera said. "Nickel will be one of them and safety will be the other one because of his skillset and the things that he does."

 

Assuming Butler can fill one of those spots, it would answer at least one big question about the defense ahead of the season.

[Skinsinparadise]

Standig

 

 

[Fresh8686]

I could have sworn I heard Ron mention something along the lines of Butler was playing hurt last year. I wonder if that had an impact

on his tackling ability? Did anyone else hear or read about something like that?

[Skinsinparadise]

5 hours ago, Fresh8686 said:

I could have sworn I heard Ron mention something along the lines of Butler was playing hurt last year. I wonder if that had an impact

on his tackling ability? Did anyone else hear or read about something like that?

 

Yep he did say he played hurt last season. 

 

 

 

[Forever A Redskin]

There are wildly different reports about Percy depending on who you listen to. Some say he has fluid hips, some say he looks stiff.

 

I think playing hurt answers a lot of that.

 

PFF grades are super encouraging. Obviously, not playing against elite talent but Billy Napier got a job at Florida for a reason. He built some really, really, sound teams in Lafayette.

 

 

[Going Commando]

Looks like a definite deep safety to me.  Guessing we want to run split safety coverages with him and McCain back there and we don't have a lot of bodies for our deep safety rotation so he has a chance to play early.  I noticed the tackling issue too, so you don't want to be giving him box duty or short zone responsibility.

 

I was a little disappointed because I thought he might be a candidate to play the hybrid role that Collins played last season but that is definitely not a good fit for him.  He'll be playing at depth and my guess is we're expecting Curl to get a ton of snaps as the hybrid defender.

 

I'm glad we got two smart defensive players with our picks in the first half of the draft because we needed some brain power on D.  Butler should be a way better communicator and more reliable field reader as McCain's deep half/quarters partner.  Sounds like he has the kind.of.make.up to eventually be a leader in the secondary somewhere down the road, which is what you want from your deep safety.  Guys like Kurt Coleman and McCourt and Malcolm Jenkins can really firm up your pass defense with their leadership and hopefully Butler can become that kind of cerebral presence back there.

[DWinzit]

7 hours ago, Going Commando said:

Looks like a definite deep safety to me.  Guessing we want to run split safety coverages with him and McCain back there and we don't have a lot of bodies for our deep safety rotation so he has a chance to play early.  I noticed the tackling issue too, so you don't want to be giving him box duty or short zone responsibility.

 

I was a little disappointed because I thought he might be a candidate to play the hybrid role that Collins played last season but that is definitely not a good fit for him.  He'll be playing at depth and my guess is we're expecting Curl to get a ton of snaps as the hybrid defender.

 

I'm glad we got two smart defensive players with our picks in the first half of the draft because we needed some brain power on D.  Butler should be a way better communicator and more reliable field reader as McCain's deep half/quarters partner.  Sounds like he has the kind.of.make.up to eventually be a leader in the secondary somewhere down the road, which is what you want from your deep safety.  Guys like Kurt Coleman and McCourt and Malcolm Jenkins can really firm up your pass defense with their leadership and hopefully Butler can become that kind of cerebral presence back there.

Post draft reflections I found myself thinking we need another CB, LB and most important, we missed on a true leader

 

Your post gives me hope the leadership could be on the team.

 

How great it would be if the stars and leaders of the defense turn out to be 4th and 7th round safeties! 

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

I recall listening to the interviews last year of the guys they drafted.   It hit me how smart and ambitious those players consistently sounded.  The only two that didn't jump out to me were Forrest and Dyami Brown.  Brown IMO didn't sound bad, but came off ordinary, judging purely based on how he described himself versus some of the other guys they drafted.  Nothing really stood out to me.  Not that it matters probably.

 

But the interview that stuck me the strangest was Forrest.  He somewhat downplayed his ability as a safety.  Among other thiings, when asked whether he could play free versus strong, he more or less said he doesn't think so and he's more comfortable at strong.  Then sort labeled himself more as a special teams player than he is a safety.    Just hit me odd at the time.  Especially juxtaposed to the other interviews including guys that weren't touted that much like Bates who came off confident and ambitious as heck.

 

My point is I like Butler's bravado. Maybe it amounts to nothing. But I listened to him yesterday on 106.7, came off impressive and ambitious as heck. 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Skinsinparadise

[method man]

28 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

I recall listening to the interviews last year of the guys they drafted.   It hit me how smart and ambitious those players consistently sounded.  The only two that didn't jump out to me were Forrest and Dyami Brown.  Brown IMO didn't sound bad, but came off ordinary, judging purely based on how he described himself versus some of the other guys they drafted.  Nothing really stood out to me.  Not that it matters probably.

 

But the interview that stuck me the strangest was Forrest.  He somewhat downplayed his ability as a safety.  Among other thiings, when asked whether he could play free versus strong, he more or less said he doesn't think so and he's more comfortable at strong.  Then sort labeled himself more as a special teams player than he is a safety.    Just hit me odd at the time.  Especially juxtaposed to the other interviews including guys that weren't touted that much like Bates who came off confident and ambitious as heck.

 

My point is I like Butler's bravado. Maybe it amounts to nothing. But I listened to him yesterday on 106.7, came off impressive and ambitious as heck. 

 

 

 

I hated the Forrest pick because he was a guy that got great coaching at Cincy and the light bulb never turned on for him as a S. If you want to feel depressed, look at the DBs taken right after him. Nate Hobbs was a total steal and beast for the Raiders last year

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

 

That seems to put the nail in the coffin of Landon Collins coming back.

[Burgold]

Pitching Butler as a candidate to be the buffalo nickel seems odd to me. Maybe I misunderstand the position. It reads like he's a center fielding coverage safety not a in the box blitzing safety who's half linebacker.

[KDawg]

4 minutes ago, Burgold said:

Pitching Butler as a candidate to be the buffalo nickel seems odd to me. Maybe I misunderstand the position. It reads like he's a center fielding coverage safety not a in the box blitzing safety who's half linebacker.

 

His tackling on defense would indicate he's not a buffalo nickel candidate, either.

 

I like him better as a rangey CF FS than I do as a hybrid as well. But... we'll see.

[Warhead36]

If Butler really is the end all be all than we probably move Curl to Buffalo Nickel, even though I prefer him as a natural SS.

 

Personally I think the need for a BN is overblown. We basically invented the position last year to accommodate Collin's..."unique" skillset. 

[Going Commando]

 

27 minutes ago, DWinzit said:

Post draft reflections I found myself thinking we need another CB, LB and most important, we missed on a true leader

 

Your post gives me hope the leadership could be on the team.

 

How great it would be if the stars and leaders of the defense turn out to be 4th and 7th round safeties!

 

I don't know that I would project stardom, but leadership doesn't always have to coincide with stardom.  Ryan Clark is the quintessential leader FS type and it was more about him just being super smart and confident and gregarious and able to get people on the right page, even with guys who were better than him and authentic members of what I call "the warrior elite."

 

We've got warrior elite guys in Allen and Chase.  Daron's got a little bit of that in him too.  But you need a Gandalf to go along with your Gimli and Legolas.  I don't really know anything about Butler's personality, but it sounds to me like he's extroverted and confident and smart.  And he's super fast, which is a good source for confidence.  So he could have the ingredients for leadership once he gets experience.

 

6 minutes ago, Burgold said:

Pitching Butler as a candidate to be the buffalo nickel seems odd to me. Maybe I misunderstand the position. It reads like he's a center fielding coverage safety not a in the box blitzing safety who's half linebacker.

 

I agree that it sounds odd, but maybe we're pigeon-holing that nickel hybrid defender incorrectly?  We're thinking of the guy as a press-man or short zone defender who will spend his time near the line of scrimmage, but this doesn't have to be the case. 

 

I watched a video about Jim Knowles's defensive philosophy and now I'm watching Oklahoma State's defensive cut ups and they usually play their nickel defender at depth.  It's basically a three high look where they will often drop the nickel into a deep half with one of the safeties and roll the other safety down from depth so that, as a QB, you can't tell which two DBs are going to be the deep zone defenders.  Or the nickel will have the short zone responsibility, but you can't tell prior to the snap because all three DBs are lined up at nearly equal depth.  Check out this game to see what I mean:

 

 

It's a really clever scheme because it makes it pretty easy to rotate/disguise your zone responsibilities and it makes it really hard for the QB to tell who is going to be guarding things like slants.  I could definitely see Butler being a fit for this kind of role because the keys to playing it well are being smart and being fast and able to close on shallow breaks in the middle of the field from depth.

 

Side note: Malcolm Rodriguez (#20) is such a stud.  Elite athlete for a LBer, elite production, best player on a kickass defense.  I think we're going to regret picking Cole Turner over him.  Harper (#16) is nice, really annoying that the Cowboys got him.  Their LBer room is ridiculous: Parsons, Vander Esch, Cox, plus now Harper and Damone Clark.  Probably the best in the NFL at the position.

[KDawg]

4 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

We basically invented the position last year to accommodate Collin's..."unique" skillset. 

 

No we didn't.