Rookies Moore, Horton are looking to earn their keep at safety
Chris Horton has been “laying the lumber,” as he likes to call it, for as long as he can remember, since he was half the size of his current 6-foot-1, 216-pound frame.
Kareem Moore, meanwhile, who didn’t even play football until he was a senior in high school, discovered the joy of hitting opponents in the mouth about midway through college.
Despite their contrasting paths to the NFL, both big-hitting rookie safeties — sixth and seventh round draft picks, respectively — are on the verge of busting their way onto the Redskins roster. But each needs that one more preseason game to refine his skills.
“I know Kareem’s got range. I know Chris will hit you,” said Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers. “Them guys, they’re learning a lot. Their heads are still kind of twisted, as it should be as a rookie, putting in a lot of defense. They see the game speed and everything ain’t like practice.”
With ever-talking Fred Smoot as ringleader, the Washington secondary is about personality and results. Horton said he could sit and listen to Smoot all day, and Moore said Smoot’s nicknamed him Nappy O’Grady.
Horton and Moore, who are roommates on the road, have done their best to keep their mouths shut, at least for the time being.
“You’ve just got to come out there, have your own thing, but you gotta kind of be like [the rest of the secondary] because that’s how they want it,” said Moore (5-11, 213). “They’ve got that smooth swagger.”
Horton made two sacks in the Hall of Fame game against Indianapolis, but last weekend was a reality check for Moore, who missed a couple tackles at free safety facing Carolina and wide receiver Steve Smith.
“It was an eye-opening experience for him,” said Redskins safety coach Steve Jackson. “Guys in this league can run. That was his first time really going against game-time speed, not second-string guys and third-string guys. He learned a lot. We’ll put it like that.”
Horton, who has been used solely at strong safety, can boost his stock against Jacksonville with contributions on special teams.
“I just gotta keep showing up on film,” said Horton. “Film does a lot, the good things and the bad things.”
Although the lower rungs of Washington’s depth chart will be the primary display Thursday night, Washington head coach Jim Zorn said second-year safety LaRon Landry, who has been working his way back from a hamstring injury, might play.
