The Washington Football Team signed two unheralded players to its roster this week.
Neither player – interior defensive lineman Gabe Wright and offensive guard Najee Toran – seems likely to make the final roster. Wright, who has not played in an NFL game since 2018, has 11 tackles in his four-year career. Najee Toran has even less of a track record.
These moves generally fall under the heading of “deep depth.” But I have come to realize that you can learn a lot about a team’s philosophy if you think just a bit more about such moves.
The question is “why these two guys?” There are a great many marginal talents floating around out there who you could snap up as “deep depth.” Teams do it every year.
So why did the Washington Football Team choose Wright and Toran?
I’ll admit right up front, I have no clue why they opted for Wright. I can understand why they may have shied away from a more productive free agent like David Irving, who has been suspended during his career, or former standout Jurrell Casey, who might still demand a higher salary despite being past his prime.
Washington obviously sees something worth a look in Wright. With four quality interior linemen in the fold, and Devaroe Lawrence waiting in the wings, Washington can afford to take a flyer.
The Toran signing, though – that one continues a very clear progression in the way in which the offensive line is being built.
What we know about Najee Toran
There are only two things I know about Toran. He put up an alarmingly low 17 bench presses at his Pro Day back in 2018. I also know that some very good minds in San Francisco and New England thought enough of his football IQ and his mental toughness to give him a look despite that number.
On the surface, 17 bench presses is disqualifying for an interior lineman. Todd McShay once compiled average results for the various combine drills. The low-end average bench press for an interior lineman was 26. As a point of comparison, Aaron Donald put up 35 at the combine in 2014.
I’m no math whiz, but I can see the problem in a guard like Toran attempting to block a defensive tackle like Donald when Donald has literally twice as much upper body strength.
Still, Kyle Shanahan, whose San Francisco 49ers would have to play Donald’s Rams twice each year, decided to sign Toran as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Toran did not stick. Nor did he stick in New England, the team that picked him up in 2019.
But at both stops, coaches and teammates spoke very highly about how quickly Toran picked up schemes, and about how he showed the mental toughness of a grizzled vet.
What we know about Washington Football Team’s O-Line preferences
Consider the changes the Washington Football Team has made along the offensive line as Ron Rivera and Scott Turner embark on their second season at the helm. Despite a reasonably solid performance in 2020, it seems likely that Washington will have two new starting tackles in 2021.
Morgan Moses is already gone, and Cornelius Lucas may give way to recently acquired free agent Charles Leno, Jr. Moses’ right tackle position would seem to be 2021 draftee Samuel Cosmi’s spot for the taking. Lucas could still figure in on either side, as could 2020 draftee Saahdiq Charles.
But I think the smart money is on Leno and Cosmi. Neither is as physically powerful as the men they would be replacing. Moses and Lucas are very large men. Neither moves especially well, though, to my eyes, Moses was moving in short areas as well in 2020 as I had ever seen him.
More from Commanders Depth Chart
- 3 Commanders position groups that improved most in 2023 free agency
- How Cole Holcomb loss impacts Commanders plans at LB in 2023
- 4 Commanders who could tumble down depth chart after free agency
- Previewing the Washington Commanders offensive line in 2023
- 4 thinnest Commanders position groups heading into 2023 offseason
Leno and Cosmi are clearly more athletic. They play better in space. Neither may be able to collapse the line as well as the 2020 tackles, but both should be better able to pull and reach the second level on running plays. And both have quick enough feet to be reasonable pass protectors, even if neither puts up a wall the way Lucas did in the second half of 2020.
In other words, Leno and Cosmi are in Washington because they can excel at the zone blocking concepts that figure into so many running games in the modern NFL.
Zone blocking, as perfected by Mike Shanahan with Denver back in the ‘90s, and then tweaked by teams like San Francisco, Seattle, and Atlanta, does not require massive road graders who dominate one-on-one matches along the line.
It relies on mobility and coordinated movements. Linemen have to read defenses the same way a quarterback does and make adjustments.
Zone blocking suits Najee Toran well
Najee Toran is a zone-blocking type of player. So is Keith Ismael, another 2020 draft pick. So is Beau Benzschawel, another recent free-agent pickup, who is more athletic and less powerful than you might expect given his size.
Geron Christian fit this profile as well, and in hindsight, it doesn’t seem so surprising that Rivera and Turner gave him the first shot at grabbing the starting left tackle spot in 2020. But Christian was never able to translate his raw athleticism into on-field production. The team has moved on.
The Washington Football Team also brought back guard Ereck Flowers, presumably to compete with 2020 surprise Wes Scwheitzer at left guard. Though Flowers does not exactly fit the mold I have been describing, he has always moved rather well for a big man.
With some uncertainty surrounding the future of right guard Brandon Scherff, I assume Washington felt comfortable adding an experienced starting guard who at 27, could stick around for a while.
Barring a spate of injuries, I assume that players like Wes Martin and David Sharpe will be released at some point this offseason. They are bigger, slower blockers who have never been particularly productive in their roles. With this trend toward more mobile athletic linemen, it seems unlikely they will have a place on the roster.
And I really don’t think Najee Toran will have a place either. But his arrival is another clear sign of the type of offense – particularly the type of running game – that the Washington Football Team would like to employ under Rivera and Turner.
Several years back, under Jay Gruden, Washington rarely used zone blocking schemes, and they were not very effective when they did. I don’t know if that was Gruden’s preference, or whether roster deficiencies forced his hand.
But I do know that the current regime values speed, mobility, versatility, and acumen across the board. You can see it in every move they make. Even in the signing of under-the-radar players like Najee Toran.