Playing below their potential has become the standard for members of the Washington Commanders’ defense, but Quan Martin can be a breakout player under new head coach Dan Quinn and a staff who anticipate a “traditional do-it-all” position for the second-year defensive back.

Justin Melo of the Draft Network confirms this. He said that while former head coach Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio saw Martin as a slot corner, the new regime sees him as a do-it-all safety. Peters selected former Michigan cornerback Mike Sainristil as the nickel. He’ll join Benjamin St-Juste and Emmanuel Forbes at cornerback.

According to Quinn and new DC Joe Whitt Jr., the 47th-overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft will play safety with Jeremy Chinn.

Melo said Quinn and Whitt saw Martin and free-agent addition Jeremy Chinn as starter safeties. Martin is ideal for this job due to his versatility and football IQ.

He can play safety, defensive backfield, or box down at the line of scrimmage. Sometimes he lines up at nickel if Sanristil kicks outside.”

The altered position has already proven success in some outstanding efforts from Martin this summer. Those efforts have only increased to the excitement surrounding the former Illinois ace emerging as a breakout star this year.

Moving from slot cornerback to a regular free safety role doesn’t necessarily imply less duties closer to the line of scrimmage for Martin.

He’ll still have chances to assault the line of scrimmage, the way he did to earn this tackle for loss against the New York Jets in Week 1 of the preseason, highlighted by Mark Tyler of SB Nation’s Hogs Haven.

Martin’s previously demonstrated he can thrive closer to the ball, but what’s different this season is how long he’ll spend in the deep third. The 24-year-old will be asked to be the last line of defense more often than not, with how often Quinn has favored single-high safety looks, dating back to his days as defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks and the renowned ‘Legion of Boom.’

Fortunately, Martin adjusted to prolonged time playing deep during the 20-17 setback to the Jets. Martin “played 100% deep,” according to Jon Macri of Pro Football Focus.

Macri displaying how Chinn spent 71.4 percent of his snaps in the box indicates how Quinn and Whitt Jr. plan to employ their safeties. The coaches might get more inventive with other personnel in sub-package scenarios.

More variation is needed on defense after Rivera and Del Rio’s strategies become predictable. As film analyst Mark Bullock wrote, “Under the previous regime, the Commanders pretty much lived in the same five packages; base 4-3, nickel, buffalo nickel, dime and cinco (five defensive lineman).

It was rare to see them escape away from those packages or have much diversity inside them. New Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. both used a lot more personnel packages in Dallas and are set to do the same here in Washington.”

What a more creative scheme will look like will evolve for the balance of preseason, but a lot will rely on how Quinn deploys versatile personnel.

One conceivable new twist is a 3-3-5 front, because P.W. McDonnell of DMV Sports pointed out how “Quinn has experience running looks like this in his odd-man fronts in Atlanta and Seattle.”

The defenses Quinn and Whitt Jr. developed for the Dallas Cowboys also “employed some of these packages in the recent past.”

Fortunately for Quinn and Whitt Jr., Martin isn’t the only wandering playmaker at his disposal. Linebacker Frankie Luvu can emulate an All-Pro and rush the quarterback from numerous angles, while safety Chinn can play in the box at the linebacker level or rotate into the slot.

A defensive based on shifting pieces can work, but it will help to have Martin quarterback the unit on the back end.