State of the Roster Update: Commanders Defense
Breaking down where things stand with the Commanders defense post free agency and going into the draft
At the end of last week, I updated my State of the Roster piece for the Commanders offense, analyzing the moves made in free agency and establishing where the roster stands as we approach the draft. Today it’s the turn of the defense. If you missed my post on the state of the defense from a few weeks ago before free agency, feel free to check that post out here. But with that in mind, let’s see how the defense looks now that most of the free agent moves have been made and try to establish where things stand ahead of the draft.
Defensive End
On the roster: Dorance Armstrong, Clelin Ferrell, Efe Obada, Dante Fowler Jr., KJ Henry, Andre Jones, Joshua Pryor, Jalen Harris, Shaka Toney.
Draft urgency: Medium.
Analysis: The Commanders were certainly active in addressing the defensive end position in free agency. Having traded away Montez Sweat and Chase Young at the deadline last season, the Commanders had no starting caliber defensive end on the roster. As I wrote in my original state of the roster piece before free agency, this was a huge need for Washington. Dorance Armstrong was one of the first signings of free agency for the Commanders and one that made the most sense. He was a rotational end in Dallas under Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. that knew the system and the standard expected by them. He is still young enough to improve and could be ready to take the step up into a starting role at one end spot.
Clelin Ferrell and Dante Fowler Jr. also made a lot of sense to bring in. Ferrell was with Adam Peters in San Francisco last season while Fowler has been publicly open about his relationship with Dan Quinn, having been recruited by Quinn in college to Florida originally, then following him to both Atlanta and Dallas. Between the two of them, Washington gets a solid defensive end. Ferrell is a solid run defender that can set an edge and force the run back inside towards the rest of the defense, while Fowler is much more of a situational pass rusher that rotates in on third downs and other obvious passing situations. The Commanders probably won’t be getting extremely high levels of performance out of these two, but between them they could hold down one spot for a year while Washington develops other players behind them.
Efe Obada was also re-signed to join the rotation and fits what Quinn looks for with his pass rushers. Obada is a big, long and athletic rusher that can line up all over the field and rush with his hand in the dirt or from a standing position. That kind of versatility is exactly what Quinn likes as he looks to move guys around and create matchups. How quickly Obada is available remains to be seen given his injury last season was pretty severe, but the fact that the Commanders signed him despite that injury doubt suggests they see something in him.
KJ Henry and Andre Jones are both entering their second seasons. Jones flashed his raw traits in training camp and preseason last year but that didn’t amount to much during the regular season while Henry was the opposite. He flashed a number of times late last season and could potentially battle for some playing time this year. But this is a new regime, so the pair no longer hold the benefit of being draft picks that the current front office invested in. They could well find themselves on the bubble with all the players the team has brought in, but they also have the benefit of Quinn liking to keep a deep rotation of edge rushers that he can rotate in and out of the game through various situations. Guys like Armstrong and Obada can shift inside in pass rushing situations, so that creates space for extra rushers on the edge.
While the Commanders have done well to address the need through free agency, it does feel like it’s lacking something. Obviously an elite talent that could slot in as the top rusher and bump everyone else down a spot on the depth chart would suddenly make the position look pretty good, but finding that type of guy might be out of Washington’s reach. They’re almost certainly going quarterback at number two, which means most of the elite edge rushing talent will be gone by the time they pick again in the second round. Perhaps an athletic freak like Chop Robinson from Penn State falls out of the first round and Washington could add someone like him at the top of the second round. That would be a best-case scenario for rounding out this position group nicely, but it remains to be seen what edge rushers will still be there at picks 36 and 40.
I’m setting the draft urgency at medium here because if Washington had to play a game tomorrow, they have the bodies to do so competently. Armstrong, Ferrell, Fowler and Obada isn’t a terrible rotation and could hold up relatively well but it’s also not one that is hugely threatening to an opposing offense. With the likes of Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne on the inside, and free agent signing Frankie Luvu in the mix from the linebacker spot, the Commanders should still be able to generate some pressure, but they could definitely upgrade and find some better long term solutions in the draft if the right guy(s) fall to them.
Defensive Tackle
On the roster: Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, John Ridgeway, Phidarian Mathis, Benning Potoa’e
Draft urgency: Low.
Analysis: I’m actually really intrigued by how Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. make use of this position group. In Dallas, Quinn’s group was loaded with lots of edge rushers with versatile skill sets that enabled them to move guys around. That often resulted in edge rushers like Armstrong and DeMarcus Lawrence sliding inside to play defensive tackle. Allen and Payne are both extremely talented players that give Quinn something quite different than what he had in Dallas. Sure, the Cowboys had good defensive tackles but they didn’t have guys that forced their way onto the field on all three downs and could rush the passer like Allen and Payne. That could cause Quinn to switch up his style a little bit, but also help make his run defense more stout because he can rely on those two more frequently instead of getting caught out by lighter bodies working inside.
John Ridgeway was of course drafted by and then let go by the Cowboys while Quinn was there. He then was picked up by the Commanders where he developed into a very good rotational defensive tackle that can play nose tackle in three-man fronts and is very stout against the run. He does offer some push as a pass rusher too, certainly more than Phidarian Mathis, but I suspect his role will be more limited to running situations while those versatile edge rushers replace him in pass rushing spots. Mathis, for his part, could well find himself on the bubble. His luck with injuries has been poor and since getting healthy he’s found himself behind Ridgeway in the rotation, who’s been more effective as a run defender than Mathis and offers more as a pass rusher too. I’m not sure this staff will value having two of the same nose tackle profiles as their primary back ups, so I do wonder if Mathis could be in trouble, but with Allen, Payne and Ridgeway likely to take the majority of the snaps, it’s entirely plausible that the Commanders just leave this position group alone this offseason while focusing on far more pressing matters.
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