Benjamin

St-Juste

After spending the first four years of his career with the Commanders, St-Juste joined the Chargers in a backup role. The 356 snaps he appeared on, per PFF, were his fewest since his rookie year, but he earned the highest coverage grade of his career (77.1) while holding opposing receivers to 19-205-1 on 38 targets. St-Juste is a solid fifth-year vet with 47 games of starting experience under his belt.

St-Juste started 42 games for the Commanders over the last three seasons, totaling just one interception but 31 pass break-ups over that span. Last season, he registered 71 tackles while playing in all 17 games and starting 14. The Chargers will bring him in to help bolster a secondary that seems likely to lose Asante Samuel Jr. to free agency.

St. Juste, Washington’s top corner, will be a big loss against the run-heavy Falcons. His absence is a small upgrade for Drake London, who could see a target bump with Kyle Pitts (knee) sidelined.

St-Juste will miss at least three games and could be shut down for the season after dealing with multiple concussions. The third-round rookie has appeared in nine games (three starts) but had been losing playing time with Kendall Fuller moving to the outside and Danny Johnson playing the slot. Washington activated CB Darryl Roberts off IR to take St-Juste’s roster spot.

The deal includes a $1.069 million signing bonus. St-Juste (6'3/202) sports a long, lean frame that allows him to corral receivers at the line of scrimmage, as well as bring skill players down when tackling. St-Juste also timed a stellar 6.63-second three-cone drill at his Pro Day, an absurd number for a player his size. That flexibility does not always show up on film, though, in part because St-Juste’s eye discipline can run hot and cold, leaving him slow to transition in some instances. The Football Team didn’t have a pressing need a corner but extra depth at one of the most important positions never hurts. The signing of former Bengals corner William Jackson should keep St-Juste as a rotational player in his rookie season.

St-Juste (6'3/202) looks the part. He sports a long, lean frame that gives him a much easier time corralling receivers at the line of scrimmage as well as bringing skill players down when tackling. St-Juste also timed a stellar 6.63-second three-cone drill at his Pro Day, which absurd for a player his size. That flexibility does not always show up on film, though, in part because St-Juste’s eye discipline can run hot and cold, leaving him slow to transition in some instances. St-Juste will be best off in a zone scheme, preferably Cover 2, and allowed to press often, sort of like a lesser Bryce Hall. Washington rode a dominant defense to a playoff berth last year and has doubled down on that strategy in the draft by adding defenders in the first and third round. The Football Team didn’t have a pressing need a corner but extra depth at one of the most important positions never hurts. The signing of former Bengals corner William Jackson should keep St-Juste as a rotational player in his rookie season.

St-Juste (6'4/200), a lightly-recruited player out of Montreal, began his college career at Michigan before transferring to Minnesota ahead of the 2019 season. The move within the Big Ten paid dividends for the cornerback, who now finds himself on the verge of hearing his name called at this spring’s draft. And while St-Juste is viewed as a Day 2/3 prospect, in time he could prove to be a steal especially when taking his showing at the Senior Bowl into consideration. “Throughout his career and particularly at the Senior Bowl, he demonstrates that he can be sticky in coverage,” Hodgkinson wrote. “He has loose hips and also exhibits good short-area speed to rapidly close on the intended target. This combination allows him to recover well if required.”

St-Juste is one of the Gophers’ starting cornerbacks, so not having him against Iowa could make things tricky. The Minnesota defense as a whole has been having a down season and losing St-Juste will only serve to make things worse. Burns adds in his report that Terrell Smith or Phillip Howard should be the ones expected to play in place of St-Juste.

St-Juste (6'3/193) appeared in 3 games as a freshman in 2017 before missing all of last year with a hamstring injury, one significant enough for St-Juste to medically “retire”. Now out of “retirement”, St-Juste has three years of eligibility left at Minnesota -- he enters the program as a graduate -- where he should grab a starting job as long as his injury doesn’t slow him down. This is a great flier for the Row the Boaters.

Because St-Juste was able to graduate in 2.5 years, he’s going to be the rare graduate player who has three years of eligibility left. The 6-foot-3, 193-pound corner played in 12 games in his freshman year, but missed the entire year in 2018 and was believed to have medically retired. This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen this status change for a player, however. Evan Petzold of Central Michigan Life reports that St-Juste would consider Central Michigan if offered a spot on the team by new HC Jim McElwain. Stayed tuned.