Where does Ron Rivera-Martin Mayhew partnership rank among NFL GMs?

There’a a lot at stake for the Washington Commanders in 2022.

After all, Ron Rivera is entering his third year as head coach and it’s not crazy to think he could be out of a job if the the Commanders don’t perform up to snuff after he compiled a 14-19 record over his first two seasons.

We’d like Rivera to stick around for the long haul, but three years feels like a fair allotted timeframe to turn the mess he inherited around. At the end of the day, Washington needs to show some semblance of growth next season.

It’s unclear if Martin Mayhew, whom Rivera identified as the team’s next general manager following the 2020 season, has a similar deadline, if you will, to his running mate, but both are under immense pressure to deliver.

Having just wrapped their second free agency and approaching their second draft working together, where does the Rivera-Mayhew partnership rank among NFL general managers? Do they crack the top 10? What about top 15?

If you asked Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Media, he’d set the bar a little lower. In a recent article, Rosenthal ranked every GM in the league.

Where do the Commanders’ Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew rank amongst NFL general managers?

Rosenthal penciled in Rivera and Mayhew at No. 22, behind the Cardinals’ Steve Keim, the Dolphins’ Chris Grier and the Jets’ Joe Douglas, respectively. Here’s what Rosenthal had to say about Washington’s positioning.

"This is Rivera’s third offseason in Washington, and the team is no closer to finding a quarterback. On paper, the defensive front looks incredibly promising. On the field, the unit was worse than the Taylor Heinicke-led offense a year ago. Rivera and Mayhew were facing an uphill battle when they arrived in Washington, but it’s hard to see a lot of progress made when most of the roster’s best players came before they arrived."

The No. 22 ranking might not seem like a disaster, but the Commanders were the last team Rosenthal mentioned by number. The NFL Media writer noted he required a general manager to have more than one draft completed to qualify.

The final 10 teams — Vikings, Jaguars, Texans, Raiders, Panthers, Falcons, Lions, Broncos, Bears, Giants —  all met that criteria and weren’t ranked. In Rosenthal’s terms, which are admittedly pretty fair, Washington ranked dead-last.

But is Rosenthal’s Commanders ranking itself fair? Probably, if we’re being honest. As Rosenthal notes, Washington, as high as they are on Carson Wentz, hasn’t technically found their quarterback of the future. Having joined his third team in as many seasons, the jury is very much still out on the 29-year-old.

As far as free agency is concerned, Rivera and Mayhew’s first stint didn’t go according to plan. The duo’s two splash signings — Curtis Samuel and William Jackson, who signed for a combined $42.5 million in guaranteed money — both struggled with injuries. Samuel barely saw the field and Jackson was a huge liability early before he came on in the second half, but injuries zapped all of that momentum.

In fairness to Rivera, his 2020 free agent class was a huge hit, as it netted the likes of Kendall Fuller, JD McKissic, Cornelius Lucas, Logan Thomas, Wes Schweitzer, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Ronald Darby and Thomas Davis, each of whom have (and are still) performed(ing) well for the team.

The draft, on the other hand, has been a different story. While Rivera did well in 2020 by securing Chase Young, Antonio Gibson, Kamren Curl, and to a lesser extent James Smith-Williams, Washington’s 2021 class was a huge disappointment. Rivera’s other 2020 selections leave a lot to be desired, too.

On top of reaching for Jamin Davis at No. 19 overall, second-rounder Sam Cosmi was limited to nine games due to injuries and third-rounders Dyami Brown and Benjamin St-Juste didn’t contribute much, albeit for different reasons.

At the end of the day, a tight end drafted in the fourth round (John Bates in this case) shouldn’t be any team’s standout draftee. As Rosenthal notes, most of the roster’s best pieces — Jonathan Allen, Terry McLaurin, Daron Payne and Cole Holcomb chief among them — were in place before Rivera and Mayhew arrived.

With all this in mind, it’s easy to see why Rivera and Mayhew have a lot of work to do to get back in the good graces of the national media.

While the duo’s future will likely hinge on the success, or lack thereof of the Wentz trade, their standing could improve if Samuel stays healthy, the 2021 draft class rebounds and they find future studs in this year’s draft.