What type of job does ESPN think Ron Rivera, Martin Mayhew and Marty Hurney have done in constructing the Washington Commanders’ current roster?
How good is any NFL team’s roster?
Are the offensive and defensive lines deep enough to endure a grueling 17-game regular season?
Are there enough skill position players providing an offense opportunity for some big plays each week?
Does your secondary have enough players that can not only run well enough in pass coverage, but also physical enough to come up and play the run well?
There will be close games, so how is your kicker under pressure?
The most important position is never ignored in this discussion: Who is your starting quarterback? In addition, the game is so brutal. Do you have a capable backup?
If you wish to read the entire article, here is the link as ESPN this week took all 32 NFL teams and attempted the impossible: to evaluate all 32 and then rank them in order.
Of course, there is MUCH subjectivity and, frankly, much guessing. NFL rosters change every season. There are different teams making the playoffs each NFL season. There are teams that go from worst to first. The fall of an NFL team can occur rather quickly.
Take the NFC East. It seems unfathomable, but there still has been no repeat divisional champion since the Eagles in 2005. It is the longest such streak in NFL history. The Eagles are the overwhelming favorite in 2023. Will this be the year the streak is finally broken?
Here’s what ESPN said about Washington’s roster, which it ranked No. 24:
Strongest unit: Defensive line. Washington’s starting defensive line is comprised of four first-round picks, with Jonathan Allen (2017) and Daron Payne (2018) inside and Montez Sweat (2019) and Chase Young (2020) on the edge. The first three rarely left the field and combined for 27 sacks last season. Young has flashed superstar upside, but he has appeared in only three games since tearing his ACL in Week 10 in 2021.
Weakest unit: Quarterback. Washington seems to have an eyebrow-raising amount of confidence in Sam Howell — a 2022 fifth-round pick who attempted 19 passes as a rookie. Perhaps the Commanders have found a diamond in the rough, but he’s an unknown. Jacoby Brissett was brought in as veteran competition, and while he’s coming off a career year, the 30-year-old is more a “stopgap” than a “solid starter.”
If you wish to avoid all of the explanations describing each roster, Commanders Wire now provides you with the bare skeleton, the roster rankings alone.
- 1. Chiefs
- 2. Eagles
- 3. Bills
- 4. Dolphins
- 5. Bengals
- 6. Cowboys
- 7. Chargers
- 8. 49ers
- 9. Browns
- 10. Jets
- 11. Ravens
- 12. Seahawks
- 13. Broncos
- 14. Steelers
- 15. Jaguars
- 16. Vikings
- 17. Lions
- 18. Giants
- 19. Saints
- 20. Patriots
- 21. Raiders
- 22. Bears
- 23. Packers
- 24. Commanders
- 25. Panthers
- 26. Falcons
- 27. Buccaneers
- 28. Titans
- 29. Texans
- 30. Colts
- 31. Rams
- 32. Cardinals