What DT Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton brings to the Washington Commanders

Breaking down what the Commanders are getting from their second round defensive tackle.

The Washington Commanders made a surprise pick in the second round of the NFL Draft by selecting defensive tackle Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton. Defensive tackle isn’t an immediate need for the Commanders, with stars Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne still on big contracts. But general manager Adam Peters clearly felt the value was too good to pass up on as Newton was widely considered a first round talent and one of the best defensive players in this draft. 

The 6-foot-2, 304 pound Illinois defensive tackle fell all the way to 36 thanks to an unusual first round of the draft that included a record six quarterbacks drafted in the top 12 picks and no defensive players drafted until the 15th pick. Having now watched Newton, there is no way he should have fallen to 36. He is absolutely worthy of being a first round pick and it’s clear to me that the Commanders got great value here, which is why they picked him over a more immediate need like offensive line or cornerback. 

So what exactly does Newton bring to the Commanders? Let’s take a closer look. 

Pass Rush

Newton’s “super power”, as Commanders head coach Dan Quinn likes to say, is his pass rushing ability. He’s so quick and has terrific burst that interior offensive lineman struggle to just stay in front of him, let alone try to execute any form of actual block. He consistently gives guards issues with his burst and acceleration up the field.

Here’s a cut up of plays that show off Newton’s quickness. In all of these clips, you’ll see Newton burst up the field quicker than any other defensive lineman. He’s typically level with the guard’s outside hip by his second or third step, which is just too fast for most guards to be able to stay with. You’ll also notice Newton uses violent hands, chopping the outside hand of the guard to prevent them from cutting off his rush to the edge. He follows that up with a rip move with his inside hand that helps him burst through the block and penetrate into the backfield. From there, he’s able to close quickly on the quarterback. In the first clip, it leads to him getting a sack. In the second, the quarterback feels the immediate pressure and steps up into a sack for the defensive end. In the third and fourth clips, the quarterback has to speed up his process and get the ball out immediately, with Newton getting his hands on the quarterback both times. 

Newton isn’t just a one-trick pony though, far from it. He has an arsenal of moves to go with his quickness and burst that makes him a real threat to offensive lineman. He also won’t just attack the same gap constantly. You’ll regularly see Newton stunt inside of a guard to give them something else to think about. 

This clip shows a cut up of Newton stunting inside of guards. It’s one of his favored rushes when a guard attempts to use a quick set against him. Lots of guards like to use a quick set, where they step towards their defender instead of sink backwards, to try and get hands on early and disrupt their initial rush plan. Many defensive lineman get caught out with this tactic, but Newton uses it as an opportunity. With the guard stepping towards him, it opens up a gap inside, so Newton uses his quickness to burst inside into that gap. Three of the four plays in this clip, the first, third and fourth, are all quick sets by the guard and Newton uses it to his advantage and bursts past them to the inside. But just like in the previous clip, it’s not all about his quickness. He uses good hands to help him win these reps. That chop and rip combination that we saw before is used, as is a nice club and swim combination on the final play of the clip. 

Those violent hands are another huge part of Newton’s game. Having speed and quickness is great but it can only take you so far. Newton’s ability to win with his hand fighting on top of his quickness is what makes him such a threat.