Commanders Sign UDFA Safety After Bizarre Combine Comments

Getty Texas Tech safety Tyler Owens.

The Washington Commanders may have got mid to late-round draft value at undrafted free agent prices when they signed Texas Tech safety Tyler Owens after he didn’t hear his name called in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Owens was projected as a player who would be selected in the mid to late rounds, but a bizarre interview at the NFL combine may have tanked his stock, according to Whiskey Riff’s Matt Fitzgerald.

“I don’t believe in (outer) space,” Owens said at in February. “I’m very religious, so I think we’re just, like, alone right now. I don’t think there’s other planets or stuff like that.

“I used to believe the heliocentric stuff, that the Earth revolved around the Sun, but then I started seeing some flat-earth stuff and that was kind of interesting, then they started bringing up some valid points.”

Openly stating you disagree with the tenets of modern science isn’t going to endear a player to most NFL teams.

“Look, NFL locker rooms are not full of boy scouts. Some seriously dubious characters get paid millions upon millions of dollars to play a child’s game for a living,” Fitzgerald wrote. “You don’t need to be some transcendent intellectual to make it in the league, either. But I can only go so far. Giving credence to Flat Earth Theory and insisting there is no space, nor are there other planets? Sorry. That’s a bridge, nay, a galaxy too far.”

Tyler Owens Posted Elite Combine Numbers

Owens tested out in the highest percentile for defensive backs at the NFL combine with a 12-foot, 2-inch broad jump that was just one inch short of the world record — not the combine record — and his 41-inch vertical leap was the highest for any safety.

Owens was expected to run the 40-yard dash in the 4.2-second range before he pulled his groin on his first attempt.

At 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds, Owens could eventually become a reliable safety/linebacker hybrid but should be an instant plug-and-play on special teams.

“Traits-based safety with limited in-game experience and bumpy tape but impressive flashes,” wrote NFL analyst Lance Zierlein, who had a 6-7 round projection for Owens. “Owens simply hasn’t played enough football for one to determine whether or not his apparent mental busts and issues with positioning in the run game will subside with more experience. He’s big, physical and rangy with a temperament for striking near the line of scrimmage.

“He’s not ready to handle high safety responsibilities but can be a tough out when he’s in position to contest a throw. His A+ special teams potential could buy him time as he continues his schooling as a hybrid linebacker/safety with a higher floor and lower ceiling.”

Commanders Had NFL-Worst Defense in 2023

The Commanders ranked last in the NFL in team defense in 2023 and went heavy on the defensive side of the ball in the offseason, from hiring Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their new head coach to free agency.

Five of the Commanders’ picks in the 2024 NFL draft were defensive players, led by Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton and Michigan cornerback Mike Sainistril in the second round.

Washington also selected Temple linebacker Jordan Magee and Washington safety Dominique Hampton in the fifth round, and Notre Dame edge rusher Javontae Jean-Baptiste in the seventh round.

If Owens is looking for a success story he can pattern his career after in the NFL, he won’t have to look far when he gets to Washington. Sixth-year safety Jeremy Reaves is one of the NFL’s best special teams players and went undrafted out of South Alabama in 2018. Reaves was an NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 2022.