What DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste brings to the Washington Commanders

Breaking down what the Commanders are getting from their seventh round defensive end

The Washington Commanders used their final draft pick to select edge rusher Javontae Jean-Baptiste in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Notre Dame prospect comes out of college with plenty of experience having spent his first five years in college at Ohio State before transferring to Notre Dame this past season for his sixth and final year in college football. Measuring in at 6-foot-5, 239 pounds, Jean-Baptiste stands out immediately for his length with nearly 34-inch arms that can be a great asset for him. 

He could learn to use that length better, but when he does use it well it can cause blockers a lot of issues. 

On this play, Jean-Baptiste aligns outside the left tackle with the offense running to his side. On an outside zone play. Initially, Jean-Baptiste gets shoved outside by the left tackle when ideally you’d like him to be squeezing the edge to force the runner to cut back inside early. But after getting knocked outside, we can see the advantage of having that length. Jean-Baptiste recovers well by extending out his arm and using his length to hold off the tackle, stand him up and get his eyes into the backfield to locate the running back. The back looks to cut inside of the left tackle, so Jean-Baptiste simply sheds the block and works inside to make the stop. 

Run defense was generally a strength of his game. He typically read run plays well and looked to squeeze gaps shut and peel off to make tackles when he could. 

Here’s a good example of Jean-Baptiste defending the run well against a different type of scheme than what we just saw. Before we saw an outside zone run at him, this time we see a counter scheme, with the left guard pulling across to the right side of the line to try and kick him out and clear a lane inside for the running back. Jean-Baptiste is quick to recognize the scheme and works up the field and down the line to squeeze the pulling guard. That proactiveness in taking on the block means he meets the guard in the hole rather than letting the guard kick him out of it. The back attempts to work inside of the pulling guard, but like before, Jean-Baptiste is able to use his length to stack up the blocker and peel off to work inside and make the stop. 

Despite only being 239 pounds, Notre Dame were confident enough in his run defense to shift him inside and let him work against guards quite often. You’ll often see edge rushers kick inside to try and use their quickness to beat guards, but if the offense runs the ball they can get overpowered. Jean-Baptiste, despite surrendining a significant weight advantage to most guards, held his own on the interior.