The Commanders finally gave one young player a chance and the results should have the coaching staff fired up
This player could be next up for the Commanders.
We’ve been looking for more young players to get their chances this season, and many have made the most of their opportunities already.
Some, however, have still been waiting on their name to be called, whether it was due to injuries or just being buried in the depth chart because of the starters. We saw one glaring issue over the first four weeks of the season, and a common theme.
The Commanders’ defense was getting gashed on obvious passing situations, and something needed to change, including Jordan Magee getting playing time.
Give the young players you drafted a chance
The Commanders couldn’t stop explosive plays, and teams were taking advantage of bad communication and matchup problems for the defense. Veteran Bobby Wagner is a force when it comes to stopping the run and blitzing this season, but his coverage has been a problem early on.
After Wagner played 100% of snaps against the Atlanta Falcons and gave up big plays against Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts, the coaching staff finally decided to increase the snap count for Magee on Sunday. He played 12 snaps against the Los Angeles Chargers, which might not seem like a lot, but that’s more than he had all of his rookie season, and matches what he’s had all season so far. Magee made the most of each snap, including a blitz that led to a sack and a tackle for loss in the red zone.
A performance that can lead to more opportunities
Magee showed his athleticism, speed, and ability to make big plays, which also led to trust in big situations with the coaching staff. Head coach Dan Quinn spoke about Magee’s performance on Monday, and it sounds like more opportunities could be coming for the second-year linebacker.
“You know, we’ve talked about him as a special teams player,” Quinn said. “But in this game, we would see some other plays where he would be playing in some different packages. He just played so square
behind the ball that that’s where he’s at his best. He can see it, he can tackle, he can accelerate.
Thought he did a good job disrupting on the blitz. I think he missed on his sack; he was upset about
that, but it was really good to get him going.
“You have heard me talk about him and with Frankie [Luvu] and Bobby [Wagner] here, we haven’t seen as much. So, I thought it was a good design by Joe [Whitt Jr.] and the staff to have a package that allowed him to really make his impact felt.”
The coaching staff needs to lean into the younger players more and see what they actually have in the players the current regime drafted. We’ve already seen players like Luke McCaffrey, Ben Sinnott, and Bill Croskey-Merritt get increased roles, and hopefully Magee can be the next one to trend upward in his playing time.
Washington Commanders News
One play changed the game for the Washington Commanders on Sunday, and potentially altered the rest of the season
The Commanders needed a big play, and they got one.
