The Commanders’ two greatest positional strengths in 2022

DEFENSIVE LINE

League Rank: 10th

At first glance, the Commanders defensive line is much better than the 10th best in the NFL and better than the offensive line unit as well. The reasoning is pretty simple – star power. Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, and Daron Payne are a fearsome four that could line up against any quartet in the NFL. Now I’m not going to sit here and bash Washington’s defensive line, because the truth is that it is an excellent unit. The offensive line simply has the depth that the defensive line is lacking, but let’s explore what makes the defensive line so good.

Sometimes it is smart to keep things relatively simple, and when it comes to the Commanders defensive line there are numbers and advanced analytics that back up what makes it elite; but the fact of the matter is that the Commanders spent a first-round draft pick in four straight years to land these studs, which means they have natural talent. Juxtapose this to the zero first-rounders on the offensive line and you start to get the idea of why the defensive line is much more well known.

Of course, Washington fans know that these draft picks have produced with their talent throughout their careers in Washington and last season posted very good PFF grades. Young ranked 24th out of 109 qualified edge rushers with Sweat ranking 22nd himself. On the interior, Allen graded as the third-best DT with Payne at 41st out of 109. That average grade rank of 22.5 is truly elite.

The Commanders interior defensive line depth took a big hit this offseason with the departures of Matt Ioannidis (Carolina) and Tim Settle (Buffalo). The club looked to recapture some of that depth with the selection of Alabama DT Phidarian Mathis in the second round of this year’s draft. Mathis could be Payne’s replacement long-term, and in the short-term offers plenty of help on rushing downs, but there are questions about wether he will be able to make an impact on passing downs, an area in which the Commanders heavily struggled a year ago.

The edge rushing depth is an area of legitimate concern for the Commanders heading into 2022, especially with Chase Young trending towards not being ready at the start of the season. Behind Young, James Smith-Williams will get major playing time and he was less than adequate in his six games started a season ago with a PFF grade ranking 87th last season. Casey Toohill was also forced into a starting role last season for six games and he was graded as PFF’s 6th worst edge rusher in the entire league. Perhaps Shaka Toney will take a leap in his second year out of Penn St., but the only real talent the Commanders brought in this offseason was Efe Obada, who signed a one-year deal with the Commanders this offseason coming over from Buffalo. Obada has showed flashes, but does not seem to be a starting caliber edge rusher at this point in his career.

If Washington’s front end of defensive lineman can stay on the field and perform to their potential, this unit could be top five in 2022. However, with the lack of depth in the unit this is a fragile hope that could lead to a second straight year of underperforming from a unit that was critical to the Commanders elite defense in 2020.