The Washington Commanders defense has a lot to prove heading into the 2026 season. After a brutal 2025 campaign on that side of the ball, head coach Dan Quinn oversaw a significant makeover, headlined by the selection of linebacker Sonny Styles with the 7th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The question now is whether that investment, combined with other additions, can transform a unit that bled points a year ago into something respectable.

One of the more fascinating dynamics of this preseason has been the way Washington deployed Styles. During preseason action, Styles took heat from some observers after a Josh Dobbs touchdown run, but the blame appears misplaced.

Quinn himself confirmed the coaching staff has not yet shown the public how they plan to use Styles during the regular season. The preseason version of Styles was intentionally vanilla: a traditional, conservative linebacker asked to read and react, flow to the ball, and make the tackle.

That restraint is worth respecting. Washington does not want to tip its hand to the rest of the league. Will Styles be an A, B, or C gap rusher? Will they line him up on the edge outside of a tackle in a wide 9? Will they green dog him, keeping him on a running back and then turning him loose to rush when the back stays in to block?

The versatility for an athlete of his caliber in Quinn’s defense is enormous. Washington kept it under wraps throughout the preseason, and the patience should pay off once the real games begin.

The deeper defensive concerns

Quinn is a defensive coach by trade, which makes the 2025 collapse on that side of the ball even more alarming. The unit was bad. It was a significant reason for the roster makeover this offseason, which included bringing in Leo Chenal and investing draft capital in Styles.

The problems run deeper than one offseason can fix.

Washington put itself in a hole by drafting defensive linemen over the years who didn’t pan out and are no longer with the team. Those misses prevented the front office from fleshing out other parts of the defense. The secondary has been miss after miss, and the Commanders are still trying to piece that group together.

Linebacker is probably the deepest position group. The defensive line is a collection of big bodies, but there is no obvious 10-sack-a-year pass rusher in the group.

For this defense to succeed, all 11 players need to do their jobs on every snap. There is no individual star power capable of carrying the unit alone.

Realistic expectations for the 2026 defense

The baseline trajectory is a passable defense. The optimistic outlook is a group that can win against bad offenses and suffocate struggling units. The reality of facing elite offenses, however, is that the Commanders will likely need their own offense to score.

This defense is not built to keep up with the Los Angeles Rams, the Seattle Seahawks, or any of the high-flying attacks Washington will face in its schedule.

That brings the conversation to the Dallas Cowboys, a rivalry that carries extra weight this season. If Dallas hangs 40 points on Washington, it becomes a true panic button moment.

The Commanders had the leg up on the Cowboys just two years ago. Before last season, Washington looked like the team trending upward in the NFC East while Dallas was bleeding money into bad contracts. Then the Cowboys made moves that shifted the balance, and Washington now looks like a team that has stagnated.

The Commanders cannot get embarrassed by Dallas. Somebody needs to score for Washington, and the defense needs to make a stop against a Cowboys offense that will be tough to contain.

If the coaching staff can maximize what they have, a league-average defense might be enough. If the same issues from 2025 resurface, no amount of schematic creativity with Styles will bail them out.