Washington Commanders Will Live and Die By Defense

Despite a new quarterback, defense will be the reason Washington wins and loses in 2022

When a team like the Washington Commanders goes out and pursues a quarterback like Russell Wilson, and eventually trades for Carson Wentz, it’s easy for the outside focus to turn towards the offense.

But with more than half the starting defense consisting of players drafted in the first rounds of their respective NFL Drafts, the Commanders are still a defensive team first.

Which is why the team’s strength resides in the only starting group made up completely of first round picks.

“Even with depth being chipped away with the losses of Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis in free agency, Washington’s defensive front remains the strength of this team,” PFF wrote when evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s squad. “The likes of Jonathan Allen, DaRon Payne and Chase Young ensure the defensive line has plenty of players that will cause problems for opposing offenses…Washington was top-seven last season in pressure rate and did it with an underwhelming season from Young.”

As much as the defensive line could be a strength for the Commanders, the linebacker group is being eyed by just about everyone as the team’s weakness.

That trend continued here as well.

“Jamin Davis needs to take a big step forward in his development after struggling as a rookie on his way to an overall PFF grade of 46.8,” says PFF. “Davis has the athletic profile of a star at the position, but you could see the processing time during his rookie season. Transitioning to the NFL as a linebacker has become extremely difficult in today’s game, and how far he goes in Year 2 is an unknown.”

With both the strength and weakness of the Commanders residing with the defense, quarterbacks may get a lot of attention, but it’ll be the other side of the ball that attracts the wins and losses.