Commanders' Benjamin St-Juste Playing 'With Confidence' Says Ron Rivera

The Washington Commanders are deep into the grind of training camp, but one player that has caught the eye thus far has been cornerback Benjamin St-Juste...and not for his scuffle with Terry McLaurin.

Entering his third NFL season, St-Juste has been improving and now, as one of the staples of Jack Del Rio's defense, the corner has an air of confidence about how he goes about his business.

And head coach Ron Rivera has noticed.

“He's now into the system three seasons, and you see him play with confidence," Rivera said. "You see how sure he is of his technique. How much stronger he is. He's a good physical corner for us with good length, and so that's, that's kind of cool. I think it'll be very helpful.”

The offseason is one of the most worrying times of the season for teams. There is a "hope" that players will stick to their programs, stay out of trouble and do everything in their power to show up ready to work when OTAs begin.

With a key emphasis being on looking after his body, St-Juste has been working tirelessly with the Commanders staff this offseason and is now reaping the rewards of his hard work.

“I think this year he came in and worked with our strength and conditioning staff," Rivera said. "[He] Has worked with our training staff. He's been working on formulating plans in terms of workout plans, warmup plans, recovery plans, just to keep himself in the best position health-wise to stay on the field, and that's important.”

Del Rio's defense was a top-10 unit last season for points allowed per game (20.2), with Chase Young returning and now St-Juste being a key member of the secondary after showing improvement; we can understand why many are bullish on Washington this season.

The Commanders will likely be a defense-first football team as Sam Howell learns the ropes in his first season as the starter, and with a player like St-Juste keeping everyone in line, maybe, just maybe, Washington might surprise a few teams this season.

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