When the Washington Commanders agreed to terms with defensive tackle Daron Payne on a new four-year, $90 million contract in March, they clearly had some decisions to make.
Signing Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen to a four-year extension in 2021 meant the Commanders were paying a hefty price for two players in the same position group. That’s not entirely unusual, but it would mean that Washington would likely choose between one of two edge rushers, Chase Young or Montez Sweat.
The Commanders surprised everyone two weeks ago, trading Young and Sweat. After all, Washington still had Payne and Allen.
Payne had a breakout season in 2022, recording a career-high 11.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. His previous career-highs were five and seven, respectively. Meanwhile, Allen dominated again, going to his second consecutive Pro Bowl.
But Allen and Payne haven’t been nearly as dominant in 2023. One such stat that measures pass-rush effectiveness is ESPN’s pass-rush win rate. And those numbers don’t fare too well for Allen and Payne.
Last year Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne ranked 9th and 12th in pass rush win rate at defensive tackle, respectively.
This year they rank 26th and 42nd (out of 52).
(ESPN Analytics / NFL Next Gen Stats)
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) November 14, 2023
Their lack of impact is even more pronounced now with Young and Sweat gone. Head coach Ron Rivera was asked about his star defensive tackles on Wednesday.
“They have been for the most part,” Rivera said. “They’ve done the things that we’ve needed them to do up front. They’ve held the line. I mean, we’ve done a nice job keeping things inside. Their interior push has been pretty good, and they’ve been fairly consistent. They really have.”
The numbers don’t lie. Washington’s defense has underachieved and is one of the NFL’s worst. Allen and Payne have also taken a step back. For the Commanders to improve defensively over the remaining seven games, they’ll need Allen and Payne to begin making impactful plays again.