Daronte Jones is prepared to fix Commanders’ biggest issue, which will also help boost their offseason
New defensive coordinator Daronte Jones has created individual plans to help players develop under his coaching, which has been lacking.
The Washington Commanders introduced new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, and fans are already excited to see him improve the defense.
Jones spoke on what his new scheme will look like, but he also said the scheme doesn’t matter if you don’t have your players prepared for it or playing in their strengths. We can talk about the missed tackles, the busted coverages, and everything else, but there’s one glaring need that needs to be addressed this offseason, and Jones is ready to fix it.
Daronte Jones is ready to develop players on the Commanders’ defense
The Commanders have a long list of defensive issues, but the biggest is how often players underperform. We saw a massive step back in players like Quan Martin and Mike Sainristil in 2025, and both look like wasted draft picks now. Johnny Newton also hasn’t lived up to the hype of a second-round pick, and still needs to be tapped into.
Those are just a few of the younger players, and the same can be said about veterans like Daron Payne, Javon Kinlaw, and Frankie Luvu. The scheme Jones installs won’t matter if the players aren’t playing at their potential. Jones talked about how he built individual learning plans for each player to work on
“I’ve had a chance to watch the tape on just about everyone here in the building, on the team,” Jones said. “Here’s the teaching background. I’ve developed an IEP for each player. An individualized education program, but just for football, in a way that these are the things that I see on tape that they do well, and things they can improve in.”
“How can we as a staff assist them in that improvement?” Jones added. “And then when you meet that player and that player comes here, and you start to get to know that guy, you may have to tweak it a little bit in terms of, again, their learning style. All right. Is it more of a walkthrough? Is it more film-based? Is it more auditory? So, then we can tweak it, but at least the overall 30,000-foot view plan of how to improve that individual player has already been assessed.”
The Commanders’ roster can receive a massive boost if players are developed
General manager Adam Peters has a lot of work to do this offseason with 32 pending free agents and only six draft picks to work with. The defense alone needs a starter at just about every single position, but Jones can maximize the current roster with his developmental plans.
This will improve the defense before the season even starts, and see the full potential of players Peters has already signed or drafted over the last two offseasons. Peters will also need to take swings on free-agent players to add to the defense so Jones can get the most out of his scheme.
Jones needs high-IQ players in the secondary who can be aggressive and force turnovers, and not allow explosive plays behind them as we’ve seen in the past. He also asks a lot from his linebackers and EDGE players, who have to be able to do it all, including dropping into coverage.
Jones already said he won’t run a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense, but instead a “multiple” scheme, so versatility and adaptability will be needed. Luckily, multiple players on defense can be versatile, and Jones will look to develop the young players and the veterans and play to their strengths next season.
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