Washington Commanders GM Adam Peters Must Replace Pass Rushers

Will Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters draft edge rushers to replace Chase Young and Montez Sweat?

Chase Young and Montez Sweat / Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

When the Washington Commanders (then the Washington Football team) made the playoffs back in 2020, one of the main reasons was the team’s stacked defensive line, which featured first-round edge rushers.

Now, one of the biggest question marks surrounding the Commanders is the team’s lack of pressure on the edge, but general manager Adam Peters could solve that in this year’s NFL Draft. 

Chase Young and Montez Sweat / Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

“Chase Young and Montez Sweat were supposed to team up with Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne to form one of the scariest defensive lines in the league. Now, they don't have Sweat or Young, but they do have a whole stash of draft picks,” Bleacher Report writes. “They need to target at least one promising edge-defender at the top of the second round to rebuild the pass rush.”

Washington has the No. 36 overall pick and the No. 40 pick from the Chicago Bears, which it acquired when the team traded away Sweat at last season’s trade deadline. Peters may be a new general manager for the Commanders, but he was involved in building some of the top defensive lines in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. 

In this draft, Peters will have the opportunity to show that he has what it takes to rebuild Washington’s identity, and one of his top priorities should be drafting an edge rusher like Washington’s Bralen Trice with one of those, who has had 16 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons.

With Dan Quinn as the Commanders’ new head coach, Peters could look to establish the team’s identity defensively in this year's draft, so expect the team to take an edge rusher early.