It’s pretty rare that a guy going into his eighth season would be considered a breakout candidate, but that’s exactly what Washington’s new safety, David Bruton, is for me.
After 8 seasons waiting for it, David Bruton is finally getting his chance
He was a special teams guy in Denver until injuries forced him into a bigger role as the nickel linebacker. After signing with Washington in the offseason, Bruton has his first real shot at a starting gig.
In his first six seasons with his old team, the Denver Broncos, Bruton was mostly just a special teams ace. Then last season under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, Bruton found himself with a crucial role to play as a nickel linebacker on passing downs, in addition to his special teams duties. In that role Bruton was matched up a lot with tight ends in man-to-man, something many safeties have to do a lot anyway. He ended up excelling in that role. He also found himself starting at safety a few games due to injury, and acquitted himself pretty well.
By the end of the season, Bruton had tallied 49 tackles, seven pass breakups, two interceptions and a sack to go with three starts, all of which were all career highs. He unfortunately ended the season on injured reserve after fracturing his leg in Week 15 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but what most people will remember about him in that game is that he found a way to finish it on that same fractured leg.
Crazy.
Now Bruton finds himself in good position to be the starting strong safety for Washington. Based on what I saw from him on film last year, he should do a good job in that role.
He has the size at 6’2, 217 pounds to be a physical force in the box against the run. He isn’t necessarily an explosive hitter, but when he goes to tackle guys, they usually end up on the ground. He’s obviously well-versed in covering tight ends now, something Washington will need him to do with the talent at tight end in the NFC East. Bruton is also going to fill a big need for Washington with Dashon Goldson no longer on the roster.
The list of guys who were signed off a Super Bowl team and ended up not living up to the hype is relatively long, but I don’t think you will see that with Bruton. Watching him on film, he looks every bit the part and plays how you want your starting strong safety to play.
I can’t speak as to why he hadn’t played much until last season, but what I do know is he showed that he is ready to play now. As long as David Bruton stays healthy, I expect him to build off last year and have at least an average year for a starting strong safety, which will completely blow his previous statistics away.
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