Dan Quinn is stressing out a group of Commanders players in order to answer a key roster question during the offseason
One of Dan Quinn’s tasks for 2026 is figuring out who wears the green dot on the Commanders defense. He has a smart plan that should help him do just that over the coming months.
The addition of Sonny Styles and Leo Chenal over the offseason have basically crossed out the idea of a third year with Bobby Wagner running the second level of the Washington Commanders defense.
Or running the defense as a whole, actually.
That’s because Wagner wore the green dot for the Commanders over the last two years, which is an important role. The player wearing the green dot is responsible for communicating plays from the sideline to the defensive huddle and is also the one who ensures everyone is lined up in the right place.
They’re essentially a second coach on the field, which requires in-depth knowledge of the playbook. To the point where the player not only knows what he needs to do – he knows what everyone else has to do, as well.
So, it’s easy to see why replacing that is a big deal. The Commanders certainly have options in Sonny Styles, Leo Chenal, and Frankie Luvu, among others. Dan Quinn has to make sure whomever he picks is 100% ready to go, however, and his method in doing so is a very smart approach.
“I think you have to have demonstrated communication skills,” Quinn told reporters during rookie minicamp. “… There has to be confidence. There’s got to be belief. It’s got to be firm, because that voice is used in a lot of ways, sometimes to give the call, sometimes, is to also let somebody know this is not how things are going to go.
“… Like, [the] demonstrated ability to think under pressure, [in] real time.”
Dan Quinn is stressing out Commanders players in a good way to figure out who gets the green dot
Quinn’s comment about thinking under pressure and in real time is clutch. We all know everything changes once the lights come and the snaps actually matter. There have been plenty of historical instances across the NFL where players shine in practice just to fall flat on game day.
So, figuring out how to copy that element as much as possible in practice is a key factor in determining the right player worthy of the green dot.
Quinn has a plan for that and it’s a smart that one the will definitely help him solve the puzzle.
“Quite often, we try to make practice as stressful as we can, like, the game,” explained Quinn. “If we can create as many training scenarios for them, you know, what happens when the green dot doesn’t come off? When it doesn’t work, there are plenty of times in practice I, you know, don’t have a call, so they have to, like, feel the stress of [it]. [They’re] like, ‘Okay, you didn’t call anything. What am I going to do?’
“You’re at your best when they’re already finishing the call, like you’re starting to make a call, you know, through the headset, and before you’re done, you see the person turning and starting the conversation. So, it takes a while to get to that spot where you can be in concert. But the more you do it, the more connected you become with the play caller and that helps, too.”
Sonny Styles makes the most sense for the green dot
He’s just a rookie, but Styles makes the most sense. He’s only a rookie, but he has the intelligence to quickly soak up the playbook and he also demonstrated plenty of leadership skills at Ohio State. Styles is also an effective communicator, as we’ve seen in interviews.
His skill set also allows him to stay on the field for every snap. Leo Chenal has never been an every-snap player and that should continue in Washington. Frankie Luvu makes sense as a close second to Styles, but Styles’ over skill set should give him the edge over Luvu.
The Commanders deploy two linebackers, typically regardless of the defensive formation, but we don’t know if that’ll be the exact case under Daronte Jones. It likely will be the case, but at the same time, it makes this selection even more important if he does take a linebacker off the field more than we’ve seen in the past.
Either way, this will be a fun and important storyline to monitor up until the official decision is made.