Dominique Hampton - Commanders LB
The Washington Commanders have high hopes for their linebacking corps in 2025. However, that won't be good news for everybody.
Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu lead the charge once again. Both earned second-team All-Pro honors last season, providing inspirational leadership to spearhead Washington's renaissance at the defensive second level. Joe Whitt Jr. also plans to get Jordan Magee more involved after his promising start last summer was derailed by injury.
The Commanders have Nick Bellore as their veteran special-teams ace. There's also the presence of rookie Kain Medrano to factor into the equation.
Medrano's athleticism is absolutely off the charts. The Commanders are trying to identify how best to maximize his skill set, but the fact that he's getting work with the first-string defense at training camp is immensely encouraging at this stage of his development.
Where that leaves Dominique Hampton is anyone's guess. Unofficial depth charts are exactly that, but last year's sixth-round pick is buried down the order heading into the preseason.
Hampton came into the Commanders as a safety, but the coaching staff shifted his role. He made the roster but was used sparingly. It was a redshirt year for the former Washington Huskies standout, and he's now facing a fight to retain his roster spot.
Sheldon Day - Commanders DL
The competition for places is fierce on the defensive line. Although the starting positions seem locked up depending on what alignment Joe Whitt Jr. runs in different situations, those further down the pecking order are in a real fight to secure their respective spots.
The margin for error is razor-thin heading into the preseason. This bears more significance on the interior, with Javon Kinlaw, Daron Payne, and 2024 second-round pick Johnny Newton firmly secured as Washington's top-three options heading into the campaign.
Washington also signed Eddie Goldman this offseason. He's made an outstanding impression at training camp, demonstrating the run-stuffing abilities that the Commanders were sorely lacking in 2024. That's only going to help, but it does nothing to improve Sheldon Day's chances of retaining his key rotational role.
Day was moderately successful when called upon last season. There were flaws, although one could say the same about every defensive lineman. The Commanders gave him another one-year deal, but it seems like he's fighting it out with Carl Davis Jr. for the fifth defensive tackle spot, at least from the outside looking in.
Much will depend on how many interior linemen the Commanders take through. Even so, Day needs to shine in the preseason to book his place on the 53-man roster.