Could the Commanders adjust their defensive fronts this season?

The Commanders use a base 4-3 defense, but could they adopt more 3-4 principles in 2025?

When studying the Commanders run defense and the various signings the team has made this offseason, I’ve been wondering if a potential scheme change could be on the cards. I don’t think it will necessarily be a huge scheme change, more of a package that they did use last year but one that could become much more of a staple for them this season. The Commanders are a base 4-3 team, meaning when they line up in a base defense, they have four defensive lineman and three linebackers on the field. But I’m wondering if head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. might be considering using more three-man fronts that look more like a 3-4 defense.

This was something I first wondered about last offseason when the team drafted Johnny Newton in the second round. Newton joined Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen as notable defensive tackles and I wondered if the Commanders might try and get all three on the field at once. They did do that at times last year, but that package was heavily restricted, first by Newton’s injuries that held him out during the offseason and then by Allen’s injury that kept him out for a good chunk of the season too.

So without being able to use all three of Allen, Newton and Payne for a good chunk of the season, the Commanders had to stick to their normal four-man fronts. But the run defense was really struggling, especially on the edge. That led to the Commanders trying out some different ideas to help sure up the edges, including using Daron Payne as a defensive end in those four-man fronts.

On this play against the Steelers, Payne aligns as the defensive end outside of the left tackle. The Commanders have a four-man front with four defensive lineman on the field, but three of those four are typically defensive tackles. Dante Fowler is the defensive end on the other side of the line while Sheldon Day and Phidarian Mathis line up at the normal defensive tackle spots. Payne is the third defensive tackle on the field, but he just shifts outside and plays defensive end on this play. He does well too, with the Steelers running a zone run to his side. Payne uses his power to stack up the Steelers left tackle, who wouldn’t be used to facing such a big and powerful body on the edge in the run game. With the tackle stacked up, Payne gives himself a two-way go and forces the running back to cut his run inside before peeling off the block to make the tackle.

Against good rushing teams, the Commanders employed this tactic more frequently down the stretch, often using Jalyn Holmes at the other end spot too. Holmes is a bigger defensive end, listed at 6-foot-5, 283 pounds. That’s getting closer to undersized defensive tackle than defensive end type of size.

Here’s an example of Payne and Holmes playing the end spots against the Falcons, with Newton and Allen inside. Again, this is a four-man front but with three defensive tackles on the field, and the fourth defensive lineman is almost an undersized defensive tackle rather than a typical defensive end. Payne plays on the strong side of the offense, meaning he has to contend with both the left tackle and the tight end. But being a defensive tackle that is used to double teams from guards and centers, a double team from a tackle and tight end is light work for him.

At the snap of the ball, Payne is super aggressive with the tight end, driving him backwards to try and establish an edge. He successfully creates that edge, forcing Robinson to cut his run back inside. Bobby Wagner fills the lane inside but Payne also does a great job working across the tight end and left tackle to fill the lane himself and assist the tackle for a one-yard gain.

That is certainly one way the Commanders can get three of their defensive tackles on the field at the same time and be a bit more stout against the run; simply playing someone like Payne at defensive end instead. However, that significantly lowers your pass rush threat on the edge. Payne isn’t an edge rusher and lacks the pass rush ability to provide much of a threat off the edge there, so if a team spots him at defensive end, they could simply have a gameplan call built in to shift into a passing play to take advantage of that matchup. So what alternatives do the Commanders have? Well, they showed another variation last year too.

On this play against the Eagles, the Commanders are in their base defense with four defensive lineman and three linebackers on the field. Like we’ve seen with the plays above, Daron Payne is playing as a defensive end here with Holmes on the other side, enabling the Commanders to get three defensive tackles on the field in Payne, Newton and Carl Davis. But to avoid having Payne on the edge in any potential passing situation, the Commanders shift their front. Holmes and Newton line up as they would in the normal 4-3 front, but Davis and Payne shift inside. Davis aligns head up on the center, like a 3-4 nose tackle would, while Payne is more of a three-technique defensive tackle playing on the outside shoulder of the right guard.

With those two shifting inside slightly, the Commanders need to replace Payne on the edge. Fortunately, they have a very versatile linebacker in Frankie Luvu, who shifts down from his linebacker spot to play on the edge. With this shift, the Commanders defense is using their 4-3 base personnel, but the formation is much more like a 3-4 defense. In fact, the only real difference between this front and a 3-4 defense is that Holmes has his hand in the dirt as a defensive end, rather than standing up on the edge like Luvu does.

Before the ball is even snapped, this just looks a lot more secure against the run. When the play unfolds, you can see the outcome for yourself. The Eagles attempt a counter scheme to the right with the left guard pulling to kick out Luvu on the edge and the tight end following him to wrap around for the first second level defender he can find. But Luvu reads the run well and blows up the pulling guard, while Daron Payne beats the downblock from right tackle Lane Johnson. Between those two winning their blocks, the back has nowhere to go and eventually he’s wrapped up in the backfield by a pile of Commanders defenders.

That front resembled a 3-4 defense but with Holmes having his hand in the dirt instead of standing up. That’s more of a personnel thing. Holmes is a bigger defensive end that is trusted against the run in obvious running situations. The Commanders can be very flexible with this type of look due to the personnel they have.