Our way-too-early 53-man projection for the Washington Commanders began with Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin and the offense. Now, the roster competition discussion shifts to the defense, where all three levels underwent significant turnover. It’s the same with special teams, other than punter Tress Way, but even the team’s longest-tenured player experienced change this offseason.
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Defensive line (9)
Edge — Dorance Armstrong, Clelin Ferrell, Dante Fowler Jr., KJ Henry
Tackles — Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Johnny Newton, John Ridgeway III, Phidarian Mathis
Others — Efe Obada, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Andre Jones Jr., Jalen Harris, Benning Potoa’e, Norell Pollard, Haggai Ndubuisi (International Player Pathway Program)
Armstrong, Allen and Payne are the for-sure starters, with Ferrell likely leading the rotation at the other defensive end spot. That’s among those listed in this section. Expecting linebacker Frankie Luvu to play extensively as an outside edge rusher could lead to keeping one fewer pure lineman.
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Five tackles are plausible, but let’s not write that in pen just yet. The Dallas Cowboys drafted Ridgeway but lost the 2022 fifth-round pick on waivers due to a roster numbers crunch. He’s flashed country-strong power in the trenches, whereas the oft-injured Mathis hasn’t stood out in limited action.
Keeping this year’s seventh-round pick (Jean-Baptiste) or Jones over Ridgeway would be notable but perhaps not surprising by cutdown day. Obada, an experienced lineman with end and tackle capabilities, has yet to participate in team activities following last season’s significant leg injury. He could start the season on the physically unable to perform list.
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Linebacker (4)
Frankie Luvu, Bobby Wagner, Jordan Magee, Anthony Pittman
Others — Mykal Walker, Jamin Davis, Keandre Jones, Brandon Bouyer-Randle, Bo Bauer
This isn’t about playing linebacker and learning the edge rusher position for Davis. The 2025 free agent never plays special teams (34 career snaps), and that’s a requirement for most non-starters. Davis would be a reserve based on the current options at linebacker and defensive end unless the athletic specimen shocks the world by thriving off the edge this summer.
Otherwise, the 2021 first-round pick isn’t a lock to be part of either rotation. Luvu and Wagner will likely play close to every defensive snap, and he’ll compete with ends who naturally play the position. The $4.38 million cap hit isn’t a worry for a team nowhere near any form of cap concerns. Davis won’t need to fret if he impresses on defense and special teams. That Mathis’ contract runs through 2025 might be a tiebreaker in a head-to-head showdown with Davis.
“He’s a big, strong, fast man that has the ability to bend,” defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said of Davis. “We wanna make sure we get our best players on the field in whatever capacity we can. We have a history of playing guys in positions that they might not normally be used to. We’re just trying to build our best 11 guys on the field. And he’s a big, fast, willing guy that’s excited about doing it.”
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Whitt warned reporters that asking about starters would go nowhere: “We have 17 to 18 guys.” Do the math. Getting there without Davis isn’t complicated.
Magee, a rookie who has fans around the scouting community, is Wagner’s backup. Pittman, a free-agent signee with ties to assistant general manager Lance Newmark, played at least 79 percent of special teams snaps in his final three seasons with the Detroit Lions. Walker is a onetime special teams staple with 25 career starts at linebacker. He and Jones might be better fits at LB5 than Davis with special teams in mind. Defensive backs Jeremy Chinn and Darrick Forrest can play closer to the line of scrimmage in nickel or dime looks.
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Cornerback (6)
Benjamin St-Juste, Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Mike Sainristil, Michael Davis, Noah Igbinoghene, Chigozie Anusiem
Others — Christian Holmes, James Pierre, Tariq Castro-Fields, Nick Whiteside II, Kyu Blu Kelly, A.J. Woods
There are justifiable questions about the top of the depth chart until we see if Forbes recovers from a trying rookie season or how the coverage plan meshes with the pass rush. Sainristil’s addition should enhance the slot cornerback options, and we might collectively be sleeping on a St-Juste breakout season. From there, at least five corners are in play for the next two to three spots.
Giving Anusiem a hefty $350,000 signing bonus expressed the level of interest in the undrafted free agent with impressive size and tackling chops. Igbinoghene gets the inside lane over other veterans for one slot. The 2020 first-round pick by the Dolphins started only five of 32 games during his time in Miami. He was also among the ex-Cowboys who followed Dan Quinn and Whitt to Washington.
Pierre, another free-agent signee, is here for special teams. Castro-Fields, drafted by Adam Peters in San Francisco but released before playing a regular-season game, and Holmes should benefit from the new coaches. Keeping seven isn’t crazy, even if six safeties stick.
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Safety (6)
Jeremy Chinn, Quan Martin, Darrick Forrest, Percy Butler, Jeremy Reaves, Dominique Hampton
Others — Tyler Owens, Ben Nikkel, D’Angelo Mandell
Another group with clear improvement thanks to the presence of the hulking Chinn and Martin’s continued growth.
“Quan’s got experience at playing nickel and down by the line of scrimmage. Jeremy can come from the top down and play over the tight end,” Quinn said. “There are unique things that they have. That’s what this part of the year is for — to find those unique things. But I’ve been really impressed by the two of them and their communication together, but they’re not the only ones. You’re seeing different guys and different combinations and we’ll continue to do that.”
We’ll see who joins those two in three-safety looks. Forrest and Butler are apparent names, but Hampton matches Chinn’s measurables and isn’t afraid to use his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame. It would be nice to see Reaves have a shot on defense rather than strictly used on special teams.
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Special teams (3)
Kicker — TBD
Punter — Tress Way
Long snapper — Tyler Ott
Brandon McManus’ sudden exit put the Commanders in the hunt for a new kicker. They have looked at Ramiz Ahmed, the lone kicker on the 90-player roster, and Lucas Havrisik in practices. Others will come through. The final choice might not arrive until teams with multiple kickers — last year’s starter Joey Slye is one of two with the New England Patriots this summer — make training camp cuts.
Final tally: These projections have an equal number (25) of offensive and defensive players. There’s a better chance the defense ends up with more since viable linemen, cornerbacks and linebackers will not make the roster. Perhaps that occurs if Washington keeps three tight ends or can remove the sixth wideout (Jamison Crowder) if another player (Sainristil? Jahan Dotson?) handles punt return duties.
(Photo of KJ Henry and Quan Martin: Mark Schiefelbein / AP)
