Hogs Haven
Does Marshon Lattimore instantly make Washington a serious contender in the NFC?
The Washington Commanders acquired New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore hours before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday. Adding Lattimore was necessary from a depth standpoint and for several long-term reasons. The Commanders primarily used three cornerbacks for the first nine weeks: Mike Sainristil, Benjamin St-Juste, and Noah Igninoghene. Third-year safety Percy Butler has played 123 more defensive snaps than former first-round draft pick Emmanuel Forbes, who has just played 107 snaps on the season. Additionally, St-Juste is a solid cornerback but is very handsy and can run into issues going up against premier receivers weekly while accumulating penalties in coverage against them. Lattimore won’t prohibit St-Juste from facing up against number one wide receivers, as Washington will have plenty of talented receiver cores on their schedule moving forward. However, it allows defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr to have much more schematic flexibility with this trade.
Lattimore is under contract until 2026, and with Jayden Daniels quickly ascending as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks as a rookie, it is evident that GM Adam Peters recognized that this risk was worth the reward. A window has opened for Washington to become serious conference contenders, but does the trade immediately make them conference contenders in 2024?
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