Dan Quinn highlights one player he believes will take biggest leap in 2026, but now we have to see it
The Commanders need their young players to step up, and Dan Quinn thinks one defender will have his best season yet in 2026.
The Washington Commanders have been active this offseason, and they added a lot of new talent to help turn the team around, with even more work to do in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Even after adding new players, the Commanders still need their existing players to bounce back, including former draft picks who are hitting the next stage in their development. Head coach Dan Quinn spoke at the NFL Annual League Meeting and highlighted one younger player he believes is poised for a breakout season, and it would help a lot.
Dan Quinn says DT Johnny Newton will take the biggest leap in 2026
The Commanders are expecting a lot of players to step up from last year after the many coaching changes, but Quinn thinks DT Johnny Newton is ready for the biggest leap when he was asked.
“The first one that comes to mind when you said that was defensive tackle Johnny Newton,” Quinn said. “His first year was injuries, you know, the foot injuries to come in. I think he’s a guy that’s about to just absolutely take off. As a defensive tackle, man, is he quick. So beating somebody on the spot. So I think his ability as an interior rusher, I think he’ll be somebody that you’ll say, okay, I remember talking to Dan back in, you know, March or April, whatever it was, and said, this guy turned into a heavy hitter.”
Newton is heading into his third year in the NFL, and this is realistically the year that he has to show that he could be part of the future for the Commanders, with a lot of uncertainty at the position. It’s one thing for Quinn to say he’ll take a leap as he did for Quan Martin, who played his worst in 2025, but now we need to see it.
Johnny Newton has to perform as expected this season
Newton showed flashes in his first two seasons, but we haven’t seen the consistency from him or the ability to play all three downs. He only had two sacks and 18 pressures in his rookie season with 264 pass-rushing snaps on the field, and 2025 was an improvement. Newton actually played almost 100 fewer snaps total in 2025, and even had fewer pass-rushing snaps with 228, but saw an uptick in production.
He finished 2025 with six sacks and 27 pressures, but four of his sacks came against the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day, so he just needs to play close to that level more consistently.
2026 is very likely Daron Payne’s last season with the Commanders, and Newton was drafted to be one of the starters for the future. Now’s his time to show it under a new defensive coordinator and a new defensive line coach in Eric Henderson.
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