Commanders' defensive back among NFC's 'most underappreciated' players

When it comes to underappreciated players, the Washington Commanders' most is on defense.

Jan 18, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Washington Commanders defensive back Quan Martin (20) celebrates a touchdown after an interception during the second quarter against Detroit Lions in a 2025 NFC divisional round game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders' defense got a lot of attention last year and has gotten even more this offseason.

Unfortunately, it hasn't been for the greatest of reasons. Despite the fact the unit was part of a team that won 12 regular season games and made a deep run in the playoffs, there wasn't a unit left unscathed when it came to outsiders pushing for the Commanders to make sometimes drastic changes.

When it came to the secondary, there were those who believed outside of cornerback Mike Sainristil that the whole unit needed to be replaced, including safety Quan Martin. When NFL.com's Gennaro Filice sat down to put together his list of the most under-appreciated players in the NFC, Martin landed at the top of his list from the roster in Washington.

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Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

"Martin took over as a full-time starter in Washington last season, acquitting himself quite well at free safety. He stuffed the stat sheet with 87 tackles, three forced fumbles, three passes defensed, one interception … and two separated shoulders? Yup, apparently, he played most of the year with janky joins in each arm before undergoing offseason surgery. I appreciate your preposterous pain tolerance, Quan."

The third-year safety was no stranger to donning the non-contact practice jersey during the 2024 NFL season, but it was not known to what extent the pain he was dealing with was until after the year ended.

Despite the injuries, Martin consistently performed up to task for defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.'s expectations and started 16 of the team's 17 games as a result, up from five in his rookie season.

As one of the few players from the past era of Washington leadership to thrive under the new regime, Martin certainly deserves more praise than he's received thus far. So too, says Filice, does the Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back pipeline.

"While we’re talking about underappreciated players, how about an underappreciated NFL pipeline? The Illinois secondary has churned out a bevy of ballers in recent years. The 2021 draft brought Nate Hobbs, who established himself as one of the game’s better nickelbacks in Las Vegas before signing a $48 million deal with Green Bay in March. The 2022 draft offered Kerby Joseph, who just signed an extension with Detroit that made him the highest-paid safety in league history. And then the 2023 draft provided a trio of talents: Devon Witherspoon (a Pro Bowler in each of his first two seasons), Sydney Brown (a projected starter for the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles), and Jartavius Quan Martin."

With the addition of veteran safety Will Harris it appears Martin will be like most of his teammates and have some competition for playing time this coming year, but if he can come in healthy and build off a solid 2024 campaign, you'll likely see No. 20 running around the Commanders' defensive backfield for at least another year, if not longer.

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