Survey results!!
The survey
In this week’s Reacts survey, we put forward two questions asking which defensive end and which defensive tackle who aren’t ‘roster locks’ are most likely to make the Commanders roster.
I was mildly surprised by one of the results.
Join our partner FanDuel for all your betting needs
Defensive Tackle
Eddie Goldman has been discussed a great deal by the sports media in the DMV since signing as a free agent back in March. Much has been made of the beef that was added to the line with his signing and that of Javon Kinlaw, with the two of them tipping the scales at an eye-watering combined weight of 641 pounds. It seems as if the freedom that Saquon Barkley and other NFL runners had to romp the field last season made a deep impression. Our own Mark Tyler wrote recently that Goldman was signed because the Commanders wants to get bigger inside to help stop the run, and Goldman does just that, with Mark calling him the perfect 1-tech DT for those heavy under packages Joe Whitt will deploy against Barkley and other NFL runners.
Eddie Goldman Atlanta Falcons NT 2024 Highlights
It appears that Sheldon Day made his own deep impression on at least 28% of Commanders fans in ‘24 despite starting the season on the team’s practice squad. After being promoted to the regular roster in mid-October, he was pretty productive, averaging 2 tackles per game over 12 games and getting one sack for the cherry on top. At 6’1”, 285 lbs, Day plays a different role in the defense than Goldman, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see the two of them on the field together at some point in the ‘25 season.
Defensive End
I confess that I didn’t expect last year’s 7th round draft pick, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, to lead the polling at DE, much less to dominate with 68% of the vote! JJB played just 25% of the defensive snaps last year for Washington, but he played well. Hogs Haven readers seem to be putting a premium on youth and player development with their strong belief in the Commanders ‘home-grown’ DE.
Heart and hustle from Javontae Jean-Baptiste.
First career preseason sack for the seventh-round pick out of Notre Dame. pic.twitter.com/EUxMjnRy7V
— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) August 18, 2024
When it comes to the veterans at the position, Jalyn Holmes, playing for the Jets (5 games) and Commanders (11 games) and Jacob Martin, playing for the Bears (11 games; injury) were comparable in terms of statistical production on a per-game basis a year ago. Martin got a more lucrative contract for the ‘25 season from the Washington front office than the returning Holmes (about double the value). A look at the difference in testing scores when the two players came out of college in 2018 may help explain the difference between the two players.
You can see that Martin is much smaller (currently listed at 242 lbs) and faster than Holmes (still listed at 283). It would seem that the team values his greater speed and agility — and experience.
Jacob Martin Chicago Bears Highlights
While both players were drafted in 2018 — Holmes in the 4th round, Martin in the 6th — Martin has played in 182 NFL games vs 55 for Holmes. While Martin is more of a 3-4 OLB/pass rusher, Holmes has the ability to slide into a 3-tech DT position; in fact, Holmes has played 23% of his 1,391 career snaps at defensive tackle.
Commanders defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes
Similar to Goldman and Day at the DT position, Martin and Holmes are very different types of defensive ends, so again, despite each of them trailing in our survey to Jean-Baptiste, it would not be a big surprise to see the two of them on the field together at some point in the coming season.
A short sampling of comments from the Reacts survey article:
Join our partner FanDuel for all your betting needs