Commanders to Get Excited About

Last chance for preseason hype! Don’t’ miss out

In just two days the Washington Commanders will take to the field against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This will be our first chance to see where they are up to, just six months into the most comprehensive rebuild I have witnessed in over 50 years of being a fan.

While others may be nervous about some of the weaknesses that couldn’t be addressed in the first offseason, I am genuinely excited to see the new players and coaches in action, as well as some holdovers from the previous regime whose fortunes might improve under Dan Quinn’s leadership.

Of course, I will be happy to see what returning players like Terry McLaurin, Jon Allen and Sam Cosmi can do with better coaching and supporting casts. But this article will focus on new additions and some players who have languished during Ron Rivera’s tenure who have got new opportunities to turn things around.

I counted 17 players who I am excited to see make the most of their opportunities this season. I can’t remember an opening day since the end of Joe Gibbs’ first stint in DC when there were 17 causes for excitement on a Redskin’s roster. Let me tell you who they are.

Commanders to Get Excited About

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

QB Jayden Daniels

6-4, 210 lbs, RAS – did not participate

2023 Passing Stats: 236 rec/332 att (71.1%), 3,811 yds, 40 TD, 4 INT, 10.5 yd ADOT

2023 Rushing Stats: 120 att | 1,250 yds | 10.4 YPA | 10 TD | 3 fumbles| 41 runs > 10 yds

After more than three decades of wandering the QB wilderness, the Washington football franchise finally did the smart thing and used a high first round pick to draft a top rated, NFL-ready QB prospect. It only took an ownership change to get us there.

Throughout the draft process, I made a conscious effort to not get emotionally invested in which QB they would draft. I have barely managed to maintain that through the preseason. By any measure, to this point in the process it appears that doing the obvious right thing paid off. Who would have guessed? Other than the DraftBot, that is I’m not going to jinx it by saying anything more.

TE Ben Sinnott

6-4, 250 lbs, 4.68 sec 40, RAS 9.73

2023 Stats: 73 Tgt | 43 Rec (58.9% Rec) | 669 yds| 6 TDs | 31 first downs | 6.8 YAC/rec| ADOT 10.1 yds | 2.02 Y/RR

Draft: Commanders 2^nd round, pick 53

I have already shared my excitement about Ben Sinnott.

So I’m just going to share another film clip of people trying to tackle him after the catch.

I could watch these all day.

OT Brandon Coleman

6-4.5, 313 lbs, RAS 9.97

2023 Stats: 11 games | LT 465 snaps | LG 255 snaps | 4.5% pressure rate

Draft: Commanders 3^rd round, pick 67

Following the draft, I estimated the probability of drafting an OT after the first round who was better than Washington’s 2023 starters in his rookie season. Only one out of 16 (6.3%) rookie OTs drafted in the third round from 2019 through 2023 started and allowed pressure in pass protection at lower than Andrew Wylie did last season. Few fans gave Coleman much of a chance to make it two when he was drafted. A lot of analysts projected him to guard in the NFL. He took the first step toward proving his doubters wrong by winning the starting job from Cornelius Lucas in training. If he can win it back, after recovering from injury, and actually upgrade the Commanders’ edge protection this season, he will have beaten the odds. I will be cheering loudly for the rookie from TCU.

DT Jer’Zhan Newton

6-2, 304 lbs, RAS – did not qualify

2023 stats: 33 tackles | 32 stops | 43 pressures | 7 sacks | 2 PD | 2 FF

Draft: 2^nd round pick 36

I highlighted Newton as a player who might appeal to Joe Whitt in my roundup of draft prospects who arrive violently. At the time, it didn’t seem realistic that the Commanders would draft him, with their first round pick earmarked for a QB and desperate needs at OT, CB and Edge after that.

Adam Peters surprised everyone with his remarkable commitment to picking the best players available when Newton unexpectedly fell to the Commanders at the fourth pick of the second round. Some fans are still puzzled about why Peters would pick a DT this high to join a roster with Jon Allen and Daron Payne as starters. What Adam Peters knows that they don’t is teams like the 49ers and Ravens didn’t build stacked rosters by allowing talents like Newton to fall to others.

Unless Joe Whitt runs a different scheme from Dallas last season, Commanders fans can expect to see Newton fit right into the rotation, disrupting the pocket and running lanes from the interior and off the edge. I am excited to see Johnny Newton “arrive violently and turn the ball over and disrupt these quarterbacks.”

LB Frankie Luvu

6-3, 236 lbs, 4.84 sec 40, RAS 3.91

2023 stats: 84 tackles | 47 stops | 20 pressures | 7 sacks | 3 PBU | 74.5% rec

6 year vet, UDFA Jets 2018, Washington State, Tafuna High School, American Samoa

Speaking of defenders who arrive violently, Frankie Luvu is a heat seeking missile at the second level of the Commanders’ defense. Luvu is an ascendant player, whose production has been steadily rising through 6 years in the NFL. His addition this offseason solves a few problems that have plagued us for eternities. Who’s going to contain mobile QB’s? Whose going to cover RBs and TEs underneath? Can we tackle runners before they get a first down?

Let’s watch his work against Miami:

CB, Mike Sainristil

5-9, 182 lbs, 4.47 sec 40, RAS 8.33

2023 Stats: 15 games | 29 tackles | 18 stops | 11 pressures | 2 sacks | 2 FF | 58% rec | 6 PD | 6 INT

Draft: Commanders 2^nd round pick 50

When I prepare for draft season, I like to read up on draft prospects who are projected to exceed their draft status. This year, Mike Sainristil appeared in just about every list I found. There are two knocks on Sainristil. He is a couple of inches shorter than the preferred size for his position. So was Redskin’s great Darrell Green, who is the same height and played two pounds heavier. He also plays nickel corner. Unbelievably, people are still calling that a subpackage position 12 years after nickel overtook the base packages to become the most used NFL defense.

It often amuses me how people find ways to overlook good players. But not Quinn and Peters. John Harbaugh credits Sainristil with being the heart and soul of the 2023 FBS Champion Wolverines’ defense. Quinn and Peters were impressed in equal parts by his leadership and the ball skills he developed as converted WR. Despite his size, ESPN rated him as the best secondary blitzer in college football. Sainristil established himself as the best CB on the Commanders roster in training, admittedly not the highest bar, and is ready to take on the NFL’s slot receivers. I would not be the least bit surprised if he is starting on the boundary by the end of the season.

DE Dorance Armstrong

6-4, 255 lbs, 4.87 sec 40, RAS 5.90

2023 Stats: 17 games | 20 tackles, 9 assists | 23 stops | 34 pressures | 9 sacks |1 PD

6 year vet, Cowboys

Huh? Dorance Armstrong? You might have heard that the Commanders’ edge rush was downgraded when Josh Harris traded away his starting DEs and Dan Quinn and Adam Peters brought in replacement level players from their former teams. There might be some truth to that at RDE, but maybe not at LDE.

That’s the kind of mistake you can make when you compare total sack counts between players with very different amounts of playing time. To make meaningful comparisons, you really need to adjust gross production stats by numbers of opportunities. To show you what I mean, here’s a graph of QB pressures as a percentage of pass rush snaps throughout Dorance Armstrong’s and Montez Sweat’s respective careers.

Throughout his career, Dorance has averaged about half the playing time as Montez. When the number of pass rush opportunities is taken into account, the difference in volume of QB pressures generated magically disappears.

Pass rushers are really judged by sacks, so let’s see what happens when we do the same thing with sack counts.

It would appear that everyone has been sleeping on Dorance Armstrong. Armstrong’s pass rush productivity in limited opportunities has been steeply rising over the past three seasons. It took him longer in his career to get there, but last season Armsrtong had the same pass rush productivity as the Commanders’ departed star edge rusher. He just got less playing time.

Dan Quinn has quietly spirited away an ascendent player from Dallas for a fraction of what it would have cost to extend Sweat. I expect Armstrong to seize the opportunity he has been given to step out from the shadow of Dallas starters DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons and take the NFC East by storm.

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The Battle for WR 2 and 3

The competition for WR positions after Terry McLaurin on the depth chart wasn’t really settled in the preseason. It will be exciting to watch it play out during the regular season. Each of the players competing for targets has something different to offer.

Olamide Zaccheaus

5-8, 193 lbs, 4.49 sec 40, RAS 6.18

2023 Stats: 17 games | 1 start | 20 tgt | 10 rec | 164 yds | 2 TD | 0.53 Y/RR |

OZ was a productive receiver with the Falcons, splitting time between slot and outside WR. In 2021, he flashed potential as a kick and punt returner. Last year he made a mistake by signing with the Eagles and his receiving productivity plummeted as he found himself buried in a deep WR room. He will be playing with a chip on his shoulder as he makes a claim for the wide open WR2 position. He is currently penciled in as the #2 punt and kick returner on the unofficial depth chart. The Commanders could use a spark in the return game.

Noah Brown

6-2, 225 lbs, 4.56 sec 40, RAS 6.88

2023 Stats: 16 games | 7 starts | 54 tgt | 33 rec | 567 yds | 2 TD | 6.7 YAC/rec | 1.94 Y/RR | 12.7 yd ADOT

6 year vet with Houston and Dallas

The Commanders have needed size in the WR lineup for as long as most fans can remember. Peters and Quinn took advantage when the Texans reluctantly let Brown go at roster cutdowns to add a “dog-ass competitor” to the receiving room. Quinn knew what he was getting because he had worked along side Brown in Dallas. He adds a big target to move the chains and stretch the field. Brown’s overall receiving productivity of 1.94 Yards per Route Run last season was higher than any WR on Washington’s roster. Commanders’ leader Jamison Crowder topped out at 1.75 YRR.

Dyami Brown

6-0, 195 lbs, 4.45 sec 40, RAS 8.38

2023 Stats: 17 games | 1 start | 23 tgt | 12 rec | 168 yds | 1 TD | 6.4 YAC/rec | 1.01 Y/RR | 16.9 yd ADOT

3 year vet, Commanders 2021 3^rd round pick

A year ago, I wouldn’t have imagined I’d be writing this. Dyami has got a new lease on life with Jayden Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury coming to town and he has made the most of it. Brown developed chemistry with Daniels and emerged from camp as the favorite for the WR2 position. I’m not sure if that has really changed since Luke McCaffrey moved ahead of him on the unofficial depth chart. Dyami provides a deep threat to stretch the field, which is a key element in Kingsbury’s offense. I had been down on him because of his low catch rate. But that was before I realized the importance of adjusting for ADOT. It turns out the low catch rate was just a function of being asked to run the longest route tree in the NFL. I am hopeful that Dyami will be able to take advantage of a fresh start and realize his potential as the deep threat we thought he’d be when he was drafted. Pairing him with a QB with pinpoint accuracy on deep balls gives him the best chance to succeed.

Luke McCaffrey

6-1.5, 198 lbs, 4.46 sec 40, RAS 9.44

2023 Stats: 12 games | 110 tgt | 68 rec | 963 yds | 12 TD | 6.0 YAC/rec | 2.20 Y/RR | 10.9 yd ADOT | 60.7% contested catch rate

McCaffrey has come a long way in a short time after switching from QB to WR in 2022. McCaffrey has a good combination of size and speed with elite agility and exceptional play strength to win contested catches. When evaluating what McCaffrey has done to date, it is important to realize he is still learning the position. Who knows how good he can become. It’s going to be a fun ride finding out.

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…back to our regularly scheduled programming…

DT Phidarian Mathis

6-4, 312 lbs, RAS – did not qualify

2023 Stats: 10 games | 0 starts | 7 tackles | 3 stops | 3 pressures

Third-year Commander

Big Phil is another Rivera era holdover who has taken advantage of a fresh start with the new regime. I was high on Mathis as an DT depth option in the third or fourth round of the 2022 draft. His stock among fans has suffered from being over drafted and getting injured in the first game of his rookie season. After a dismal showing in 2023, he seems to have bounced back in camp this year. Perhaps he was still dealing with the after-effects of the injury last season. He had a strong showing in preseason, which gives me hope that he will become a quality run stuffer and a solid addition to Joe Whitt’s DL rotation.

DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste

6-5, 239 (260?) lbs, 4.66 sec 40, RAS 9.22

2023 Stats: 12 games | 28 tackles | 13 assists | 28 stops | 38 pressures | 6 sacks | 2 PD | 1 FF

Draft: Commanders round 7, pick 223

If the Commanders’ website is to be believed, Jean-Baptiste has gained 21 pounds since the Combine. I have to admit, I was about the only Commanders fan who didn’t get the pick at the time, because his listed weight is about 20 lbs lighter than Dan Quinn usually likes his DEs. Jean-Baptiste was a productive pass rusher for the Fighting Irish. He had a solid showing in preseason, with 5 pressures and a sack on 55 pass rush snaps and good grades on special teams. It seems possible that Adam Peters might have unearthed a solid depth piece at a position of major need in the 7^th round.

LB/S Dominique Hampton

6-2, 215 lbs, 4.51 40, RAS 9.20

2023 Stats: 15 games |107 tackles |10 stops |2 INT |7 PBU |60% cov rec

Draft: Commanders round 5, pick 162

Hampton is a player I became excited about early in draft process. Once it was announced that Dan Quinn was the HC hire and he was bringing Joe Whitt with him as DC, it became clear how the defensive roster would be retooled. Hampton fits the prototype as a large super athletic secondary player who arrives at ball carriers with violent intentions. Adam Peters made him one of three Bris Vegas Little Board players currently on the roster, along with Phidarian Mathis and Quan Martin.

The Commanders gave Hampton an extended audition at LB in the preseason games, with 82 snaps at the position, compared to just 20 at free safety. He also played 34 snaps on special teams, which is where I expect to see him get the most playing time in his rookie season. I will be very interested to see how Joe Whitt deploys Hampton as a hybrid LB/S as he develops at the NFL level.

S Tyler Owens

6-2, 216 lbs, RAS – did not qualify

2023 Stats: 10 games | 38 tackles | 4 assists | 9 stops | 2 PD | 57.1% rec | 1 pressure

2024 Commanders UDFA

Owens is another big defensive back with elite athleticism, who played all over the defensive backfield in his final two college seasons with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. He made headlines during the draft process when he came close to the broad jump world record at the Combine, and again when he revealed that he doesn’t believe in outer space. I don’t see that as a major limitation, since it’s outside his coverage responsibilities.

Owens is somewhat enigmatic, since there is not a lot of college tape on him. But what’s more important is that he stood out in camp and preseason. If his preseason utilization is any indication, the Commanders are eyeing him off for an eventual role at safety. I expect him to get his start as a mainstay on special teams, where he was the Commanders’ highest graded player in preseason, according to PFF.

S Quan Martin

5-11, 194 lbs, 4.46 sec 40, RAS 9.29

2023 Stats: 16 games | 5 starts | 28 tackles | 9 assists | 15 stops | 3 PD | 2 INT | 84.6% rec | 2 pressures | 1 sack

Second-year Commander

Quan is another player I really wanted the player to draft, just a round later than they eventually did. Quan got off to a rocky start in his rookie season, with no thanks to his coaches assigning him to cover Tyreek Hill. He improved dramatically as the season progressed, and that upward trajectory seems to have continued through the 2024 offseason with a new coaching staff.

Whitt and Quinn have moved Quan to free safety and have shown absolute confidence in him to man the back end of the Commanders’ backfield. He only played a total of 28 defensive snaps in two preseason games, so we will have to wait until the opening game in Tampa to see how looks in the new role. I am excited to see him put in a position to succeed.

TE Colson Yankoff

6’3”, 233 lbs, 4.61 sec 40, RAS 9.56

2023 Receiving: 1 Tgt, 1 Rec, -2 yds; Rushing: 13 Att, 83 yds, 1 TD

2023 Special Teams: 216 snaps (115 coverage), 10 tackles, 2 missed tackles, 0 penalties

2024 Commanders UDFA

I saved the best for last. Colson Yankoff was the biggest surprise addition to the roster at final cutdowns and is the most intriguing players on the roster. He was a four star QB recruit to Washington State after a record setting high school career in Idaho. His college career was fraught with setbacks and he finally settled on a role at UCLA as role player at RB and special teams ace

The excitement lies in seeing the Commanders figure out how to put his exceptional athleticism and feel for the game as a former QB to best use. The Commanders have listed him as a TE, but he is a bit small for the position and has no experience playing it. I expect him to be a standout on special teams early in his career, and suspect that the Commanders’ brain trust of fullback afficionados will ultimately decide that his best fit is at the noblest and most enigmatic of positions on offense.

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Honorable Mention

RB Michael Wiley

5-10.5, 210 lbs, 4.51 sec 40, RAS 7.18

2023 Rushing: 10 games | 70 att | 307 yds | 4.4 Y/att | 3 TDs | 3.4 YAC/att

2023 Receiving: 34 tgt | 28 rec | 5 TD | 2.21 YRR | ADOT 0.8

2024 Commanders UDFA

I was surprised when it was announced that Yankoff had made the roster at final cutdowns, because I thought the final spot would go to Wiley. Kliff Kingsbury’s last pro offense was demanding on RBs in all phases, and Wiley seems to fit the spec. At Arizona, Wiley was effective as a pass catcher out of the backfield and graded highly in pass protection. That seemed to carry over into the preseason with the Commanders when Wiley caught everything thrown his way and rushed for two TDs as well as grading highly as a blocker. It is hard to get that excited about a player who probably won’t see the filed, but I am hopeful he’ll get an opportunity.

The Commander I Will Be Cheering Loudest For

RT Andrew Wylie

6-5, 309, RAS 9.04

2023 Stats: 15 games/starts | PB Pressure Rate 6.06% | RB Blown Block Rate 2.2%

Eric Bieniemy brought Andrew Wylie with him to Washington from Kansas City, when he took over as OC in 2023. Throughout that failed experiment, Wylie copped an unfair share of the blame for Washington’s systematic failure to protect first year starting QB Sam Howell.

In fact, Wylie wasn’t even the biggest issue on the Commanders OL. Contrary to claims that Wylie was the worst starting RT in the league, he actually allowed pressures in pass protection at a lower rate than 12 other teams’ starters, including a few that people had been screaming for the FO to replace him with. A simple value over replacement analysis revealed that the biggest issue contributing the number of sacks Sam Howell took was Sam Howell himself, followed by Bieniemy calling plays to maximally expose Howell’s weakness in pocket awareness, both of which were trailed at a considerable distance by OL blocking deficiencies, which were plentiful.

The actual blocking productivity stats show Wylie to be a little below average in pass protection among starters at his position. He isn’t great, but he was good enough to protect Patrick Mahomes’ right side in two AFC Championship victories and one Super Bowl win. Unless someone magically reveals themselves to be better, he is the best player we’ve got at RT. We need him to be good for the offense to succeed, so as long as he’s our OT I will be cheering loudly for him to play to the best of his ability. Hopefully he gets some help this season from an improved offensive scheme and supporting cast.

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