4 biggest positions of need for Commanders after first wave of free agency

The Washington Commanders have made it through the first wave of free agency. Unfortunately, though, the roster has taken a pretty big hit in the talent department following the losses of starters Brandon Scherff, Landon Collins and Ereck Flowers and valuable backups in Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis.

While the front office did extremely well to replace Flowers for the more experienced (and cheaper) Andrew Norwell, the same cannot be said for the team’s other losses, so Washington needs to get a move on before the second wave kicks into high-gear and more potential pickups start coming off the board.

The good news for the Commanders is that their biggest weakness stick out like a sore thumb. Though you could make the case that every position outside of quarterback and kicker could stand to be improved, these four positions should take precedence over the others when it comes to adding talent.

4 biggest positions of need for the Commanders

4. Tight End/Cornerback 

Tight end and cornerback share the fourth spot given the positions technically have two capable players: Logan Thomas and John Bates at TE and Kendall Fuller and William Jackson III at cornerback. With that said, both positions lack depth.

At tight end, Thomas’ status for Week 1 of next season is unclear given he underwent ACL surgery in December. Coming off a year in which he played just six games, the Commanders need to add a third party to the rotation.

Unfortunately, Ricky Seals-Jones signed with the Giants and there’s zero intriguing options remaining on the free agent board. At this juncture, we’re looking at Jared Cook, Kyle Rudolph, Eric Ebron, Anthony Firkser and Tyler Kroft.

That’s a big yikes.

At cornerback, Washington technically has a No. 3 option in Benjamin St-Juste, who has the requisite size and athleticism to be a quality NFL corner. However, his three separate stints in concussion protocol as a rookie should give the front office incentive to add insurance behind Fuller and Jackson.

We’d endorse re-signing Danny Johnson, who filled in nicely in the slot last season, or even drafting a corner in one of the first two rounds. If Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner is available at No. 11 overall, Washington shouldn’t think twice, but there’s plenty of high-upside prospects who figure to fall to Round 2 and beyond.

Regardless, cornerback and tight end must be addressed before OTAs.