Could the Commanders take a DE at 16?
Taking a closer look at two pass rushers, Nolan Smith and Lukas Van Ness, that could be potential options for Washington at 16.
Throughout this draft season, I’ve primarily focused my draft profiles on offensive lineman and defensive backs as those are the two main needs for the Washington Commanders. While I still think one of those two positions is the most likely pick for Washington should the team remain at 16 and not trade back, there is another dark horse position that could be in play for the Commanders if the right player is available. At defensive end, the Commanders face the possibility that both Montez Sweat and Chase Young are entering the final year of their contracts if they decline the fifth-year option on Young’s contract.
It would of course be hard to extend and keep both Young and Sweat beyond next year should both have strong seasons, especially with the money already allocated to the defensive line with Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. So while defensive end might not appear like a big need for the Commanders on the surface, with some future planning in mind an early pass rusher could be a smart pick up for Washington in this draft. It would follow what they did last year by drafting Phidarian Mathis in the second round with Payne going into his contract year, it further strengthens the best unit on the defense and gives them cover for a year from now should they have to move on from either Young or Sweat.
So yes, I certainly still expect an offensive lineman or defensive back at 16, but who are some pass rushing options should the Commanders opt to try and future proof their defensive line? Here’s a quick look at a couple that could be available.
Nolan Smith
Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith is very much a traits-based projection rather than being picked off his production, which was minimal. He registered just three sacks last year, but that was largely down to the scheme Georgia runs. They focus far more on coverage and using the big interior bodies to rush and contain, rather than letting guys like Smith pin their ears back and work over a tackle all game.
At 6-foot-2, 238 pounds, Smith’s frame probably suits standing up as a 3-4 outside linebacker rather than having his hand in the dirt as a 4-3 defensive end, but actually his technique is sound and he’s a stout run defender that can hold his own on the edge. While his production in terms of sacks was lacking, he showed the traits of a potentially elite pass rusher when working in the run game.
Here we see Smith align outside the right tackle on a run play to the left side of the offensive line. Smith has another linebacker outside of him, so the right tackle knows Smith is likely to try and stunt inside. The right tackle comes off the snap trying his best to aggressively attack Smith and seal him off on the back side of the run. However, we see the flash of traits that make Smith so appealing. He has a great jump off the snap and bursts inside the right tackle before he can really get his hands on him. On top of that, we see Smith’s ability to dip and get low while bending around the tackle at speed, which enables him to slip by almost effortlessly and penetrate into the backfield.
That was obviously a strong play against the run, but the traits seen in that play can translate to pass rush. Being able to dip and bend at speed like that is an extremely useful trait to have when working on the edge. It makes it so much harder for a tackle to cut off a speed rush to the edge and allows the defender a tighter angle to the quarterback. Having that first step quickness and acceleration helps a lot too.
On this play you can see Smith beating the left tackle with his burst on the edge. He accelerates to top speed so quickly that the left tackle struggles to keep up. Smith smartly throws his inside hand to the chest of the tackle, selling a potential conversion to power or a long-arm rush. That causes the tackle to hesitate just for a moment, which is all Smith needs to beat him outside. Smith drops his hands and shows that speed and dip again as he turns the corner before the tackle can even really get a hand on him. The quarterback just manages to get the ball out before Smith closes on him, but like before, the traits are what's more important here.
Now, while Smith does have some elite traits in terms of his athleticism with his burst and bend, he does lack a pass rush plan and an arsenal of moves. Quite often in the games I watched, if he didn’t immediately beat the tackle for speed on the edge, he’d get stonewalled and have no other option to go to.
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