Ron Rivera’s connections strike again as Commanders bolster pass rush depth

The Washington Commanders‘ free agency performance hasn’t been anything to write home about, but they’ve slowly but surely started putting the finishing touches on their roster for next season.

With only a few positions in major need of upgrades, it’s likely the front office will continue making low-profile moves in the second and third waves of free agency, much like they did last offseason with Bobby McCain and Charles Leno.

While positions like linebacker and wide receiver stick out as the team’s biggest needs, the obligation, for lack of a better term, to add depth on the defensive line has gotten lost in the shuffle.

The departures of Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis create a need along the interior, but Washington’s lack off pass rush depth became apparent last season when Chase Young and Montez Sweat were out injured.

Clearly aware of this, the Commanders made an intriguing pickup on Wednesday in the form of free agent Efe Obada. For those wondering, yes, Obada has previous playing experience under head coach Ron Rivera.

The Commanders have signed free agent pass rusher Efe Obada.

Ron Rivera’s magic strikes again. Anytime there’s a free agent with ties to Carolina or Buffalo, whose current head coach Sean McDermott coached with Rivera on the Panthers, we’re forced to assume the Commanders are in the mix.

After all, the team has now brought in two outsiders this free agent cycle. The other, Andrew Norwell, was drafted in the first round by Carolina back in 2013 and went on to play four seasons under the two-time AP Coach of the Year.

Getting back to Obada, this is exactly the kind of signing fans have been clamoring for. Last season, there was far too much pressure on Young and Sweat to generate pressure on the outside. Pairing Obada with James Smith-Williams, a big bright spot down the stretch of 2021, gives Young and Sweat proper running mates.

A Nigeria native who came over from London to play in the NFL, Obada has produced despite never having a featured role in his career. Last season with Buffalo, he logged 3.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, eight QB hits and 18 pressures. Solid output for someone who only played 10 games and 35 percent of the snaps.

https://twitter.com/Commanders/status/1506694923667574784

If you can believe it, Obada’s best season as a pro came in 2020, after Rivera was fired in Carolina and joined Washington. Despite playing just 39 percent of the snaps, he tallied 5.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, 15 QB hits, 29 pressures, one forced fumble and an impressive 74.4 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus.

While not a splash move, this is a high-upside signing for Washington. Better still? Obada is adept at kicking inside in passing situations. According to The Athletic’s Ben Standig, 296 of Obada’s 911 career snaps have come at defensive tackle. On 203 of those, the opposing team dropped back to pass.

While Obada is more comfortable in a pass-rush setting, this signing very much qualifies as knocking out two birds with one stone. We’d still like to see Washington add a seasoned DT to fill the void left by Ioannidis and Settle, but as far as pass rush depth is concerned, Obada is a job well done by the front office.