ST-JUSTE EMBRACES CHALLENGE OF TOP WRS
Young cornerback holds his own vs. Vikings’ Jefferson
Benjamin St-Juste knew what was coming. It was third down with about two minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Minnesota Vikings stood at the Washington 4-yard line with a chance to win the game. Justin Jefferson, their two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, split out wide beyond the numbers and ran a quick double move before breaking to the outside.
The Vikings ran a similar play near midfield earlier in the game, and St-Juste had prepared for this specific situation months ago. So the second-year cornerback played it just as he remembered. Using inside leverage, St-Juste forced Jefferson toward the back corner of the end zone on a fade route.
“At 6-3, I’ll take those jump balls,” St-Juste said. “I’d rather give up the outside release than the inside release because I can always make it up.”
And he did. Vikings quarterback Kirk
Cousins lobbed the ball to Jefferson’s back shoulder, but St-Juste leaped to tip it out of his reach, thwarting what would have been a winning touchdown.
“Just playing the bottom hip and playing through the hands,” said Aire Justin, a defensive backs coach who works with St-Juste in the offseason. “We worked on that exact same situation this offseason, and he was able to execute it perfectly in a critical moment of a game against one of the best receivers in the league.”
Earlier in the game, which Washington lost on a last-second field goal, St-Juste deflected another pass intended for Jefferson in the end zone that was intercepted by teammate Danny Johnson, and in the fourth quarter, he blitzed and notched his first career sack.
“I love those opportunities,” he said Sunday eveningatFedExField.“…Jeffersonisprobably inthetopfiveintheleaguerightnow,sothefact thatI’mabletogotoe-to-toewithhimthewhole gameandfollowhim—Iknewitwasgoingtobe a dogfight. I knew he was going to make some plays, so I just had to keep my head up and my chest up and come back and make some.”
After a strong showing in training camp as the Commanders’ new slot corner, St-Juste has proved to be much more this season. His consistent improvement and attention to detail have seen him now often tasked with covering an opponent’s leading wideout.
Since Week 6, when the Commanders benched veteran William Jackson III (whom they later traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers), St-Juste has been a full-time starter at cornerback, and his versatility has been a boon to a defense predicated on position flexibility.
“We saw growth, and we moved him inside, and [he] didn’t bat an eye,” defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said. “Really learned a lot. Now we moved him outside. Again, he just kind of goes about his business, doesn’t say a whole lot. He’s very professional and works the right way.”
Washington drafted St-Juste in the third round in 2021, believing his size (6-3, 202 pounds), length (78⅝-inch wingspan), speed (4.5-second 40-yard dash at his pro day) and quickness (6.63-second threecone drill) were traits that can’t be taught.
“He had the fastest three-cone drill of all the DBs at the combine, which is rare,” defensive backs coach Chris Harris said in
June. “It’s rare, and it’s even [rarer] for a guy at 6-foot-3 to have the quickness that he has, so that’s a plus.”
“A lot of times you see big corners and they are not as aggressive at the line as they could be; this guy utilizes his length at the line of scrimmage, quick trigger against the run,” Commanders General Manager Martin Mayhew said in 2021. “He brings a lot to the table as far as his skill set and overall size, so our defensive coaches were very convinced about him and very excited about him to join us.”
Perhaps St-Juste’s greatest qualities as a young defensive back are his coachability and desiretolearn.Stillguiltyofoccasionalmisreads and penalties in coverage, St-Juste said he has spenthoursonhisiPadreviewingtapeandregularly picks the brains of experienced players.
On Sunday, he was flagged for pass interference on a third-down catch by Jefferson, a call Coach Ron Rivera still disputes. St-Juste, however, remembers immediately switching his focus.
“Next play. Next play,” he said. “By the time you start thinking, ‘Oh, what can I do?’ Boom. They’re going to hit you with the next play. I forgot about that play and got me a sack.”