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.
3. Offensive Line
It’s weird to think offensive line is a position (group) of need for Washington give next season’s starting lineup is basically set in stone.
- LT: Charles Leno
- LG: Andrew Norwell
- C: Chase Roullier
- RG: Wes Schweitzer
- RT: Sam Cosmi
That’s a solid core and one that should build off an impressive 2021 in which they finished among the best OLs in pass protection. With that said, Schweitzer, for all the good work he’s done as a backup, is not a like-for-like replacement for Brandon Scherff, who signed a $30 million guaranteed contract with the Jaguars.
As things stand, Saahdiq Charles, who enjoyed a fantastic finish to last season, is Washington’s only reliable backup guard and swing tackle. We’re high on the 2020 fourth-rounder’s potential, but it goes without saying the Commanders could use another guard (could be found through the draft) and swing tackle.
While the draft is the most likely solution for the guard spot, Washington re-signing Cornelius Lucas has become a must at this point. The 30-year-old vet is currently testing the market, but hasn’t — to the best of our knowledge — taken any visits.
This usually results in players re-signing with their former teams, and the Commanders better make sure that’s the case with Lucas, because losing him would be a crushing blow to the team’s depth in the trenches.
If not for that same depth last season when the group was ravaged by injuries, the team would’ve struggled to win seven games.
2. Wide Receiver
As excited as we are to see Terry McLaurin finally catch passes from a big-arm quarterback in Carson Wentz, the team’s receiving options behind the 2019 third-round gem leave a lot to be desired. If the season started today, they’d be rolling out Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Cam Sims and Dax Milne.
Do we need to say anything else?
While we like to think of Samuel as a capable No. 2 option, the speedster is essentially entering a last-chance season in 2022 after soft-tissue injuries, which never seemed to heal properly, limited him to just 84 offensive snaps.
There’s reason to believe Dyami Brown will make a second-year jump with improved quarterback play, but there’s no hiding from the fact that the 2021 third-round pick out of North Carolina was a huge disappointment as a rookie.
Sims will show his potential if the coaching staff decides to unleash him, but Washington needs to add another body to their WR corps. Like most premier positions, the most coveted free agent wideouts have already been signed.
Of the remaining pool, there’s Odell Beckham Jr., but here’s more likely to end up back with the Rams or the Packers. Either way, he’s not coming to Washington. Behind OBJ, there’s Antonio Brown (no thanks), Julio Jones, Jarvis Landry, Will Fuller, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Emmanuel Sanders and AJ Green.
Of those options, Valdes-Scantling is the most feasible for the Commanders, as the others are likely to hand pick their next quarterback. That’s what free agency has become and Washington still isn’t viewed as an ideal destination.
Because of that, look for the front office to draft a receiver with one of their first two selections in next month’s draft.
1. Linebacker
With Jon Bostic a free agent and unlikely to return and Landon Collins no longer in the picture after being designated as a post-June 1 cut, Washington is suddenly extremely thin at linebacker. As of this writing, their current options are Cole Holcomb, Jamin Davis, David Mayo, Khaleke Hudson and Jordan Kunaszyk.
That … isn’t going to cut it. Of those five options, Holcomb is likely the only one whom fans trust after his breakout season in 2021. Davis could thrive as an off-ball linebacker after he struggled adapting to the MIKE role as a rookie, but, as we’ve seen, banking on potential is risky business in the NFL.
At this juncture, we’d recommend the front office to add a linebacker both through the draft and free agency. The recently-released Bobby Wagner is the undisputed top remaining option on the open market, but it’s slim pickings after that.
Broncos free agent Alexander Johnson would be our first choice. Dont’a Hightower, meanwhile, would bring a championship pedigree and Kyzir White offers plenty of upside as a do-it all linebacker.
A former safety in college, White burst onto the scene in 2021 with 144 tackles (seven for loss), two interceptions, three passes defended, two forced fumbles 53 run stops and a respectable 65.7 coverage grade from PFF.
Whatever the Commanders decide to do, they better do it fast, because the linebacker market is close to dried up after the first wave. As we sit here today, the position is unequivocally the biggest weakness on the roster.