Commanders are treating one of the NFL's most important positions in a weird way and their luck could easily run out in 2025
News Flash: I'm not a general manager in the NFL. I'm not close to being whatever you call the lowest of the lowest-level scouts. Even then, I'm miles away from whatever the lowest of the low is in that context, as well.However, I don't need any of that experience to be able to say the […]
News Flash: I'm not a general manager in the NFL. I'm not close to being whatever you call the lowest of the lowest-level scouts. Even then, I'm miles away from whatever the lowest of the low is in that context, as well.
However, I don't need any of that experience to be able to say the Washington Commanders failed to address their need for a pass rusher in the draft. They weren't able to find the right guy in free agency either and the player that had a lot of success for them last year, Dante Fowler Jr., left for the Dallas Cowboys in free agency.
The Commanders have guys who can rush the quarterback, but they don't have "the" guy that teams have to account for on a weekly basis. Now that the draft is over, the options are as limited as ever and the ceiling is too.
However, Washington likes what it currently has on the roster even without a bonafide pass rusher.
"We like what we have in that room," Newmark told reporters. "I think we're always looking to add, if we can/if the right situation with the right opportunity presents itself. I don't think we would have not added it. There was never a situation where we're not going to add that every time we got to where we were picking – these players made the most sense for us. It wasn't [like] we weren't going to address edge at any point. There was never any conversations of that, you know, of that mindset. It was, these players made the most sense for us. And like I said, we like that room, and we like what we have there.
"[The door's] certainly not closed, we have a lot of time between now and the season. So there's other opportunities to potentially add there, but these particular picks, we did what we thought was best for us."
It's rare for teams to come out and say they're desperate for talent, but it's tough to sit there and objectively say the group of pass rushers is "fine", because it's not. Especially if a guy like Deatrich Wise or Dorance Armstrong go down, which is totally plausible. Frankly, the Commanders should be searching high and low for a versatile, athletic pass rusher that can move around the defense and create mismatches like Fowler Jr. did.
In all, the Commanders have been weird when it comes to approaching this role. I get last year's approach in paying Fowler Jr. a little more than $3 million to come in and play. He knows Dan Quinn's defense, he's capable of executing the role, and he helped build the culture. Even with his struggles in the back half of the season, he largely outplayed his contract by racking up 10.5 sacks on just 52% of defensive snaps.
And yet Adam Peters wasn't willing to pay him the $6 million he received from Dallas. Based off what Fowler Jr. did in 2024 and what he can do in Quinn's defense in general, that price point shouldn't have been the issue it was.
Then, there's free agency in general, as the Commanders opted to pay Javon Kinlaw $30 million guaranteed. He's an average player, at best, through this point in his career and rushing the quarterback certainly isn't his strength. Peters then followed up that move by bringing in Wise, who is OK, and Jacob Martin, a rotational guy. Clelin Ferrell, who racked up a grand total of 3.5 sacks last year, is back, too.
It's clear the Commanders have taken a step back in the pass rush department and that will come back to haunt them at some point in 2025. Sure, Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. are excellent defensive minds who can scheme up pressure on any given down, but the key with scheming things up is you need everyone to do their job. That, and there's the fact teams will eventually catch on to what's happening and they'll come up with game plans/blocking adjustments to offset the effectiveness/impact.
Having a guy who can just go out and beat the dudes in front of him – or free other guys up to where they aren't reliant on the job of others to get home to the quarterback is a priceless commodity that spans all eras of the NFL.
But the Commanders haven't prioritized that, thus far, under Peters and Quinn and it's honestly strange. Especially considering Quinn's a defensive mind and how important this position is when it comes to the overall functionality of his defense. It worked for them last year because they had a guy who could play the position, but they don't have that guy this year and it could easily lead to a step back from a unit that desperately needs to move forward in 2025.
Commanders’ way-too-early 53-man roster projection: Jayden Daniels and the offense are elite but the defense still has questions
The 2025 NFL Draft has officially come and gone. The Washington Commanders, like many other NFL teams, answered some key questions and now it's all about putting the puzzle together. So, which veterans' jobs are on the line and which late-round/undrafted free agents are projected to make the final cut in August? Let's go ahead […]
