Washington Commanders defensive lineman Johnny Newton was supposed to be one of the steals of the 2024 NFL Draft. Two years in, that might not be the case.
Adam Peters took the former Illinois star at No. 36 overall, and the plaudits started flooding in. The Commanders got a first-round talent who had only fallen due to injury concerns. He had separate surgeries on both feet in college, but the prognosis looked good. His development might be slightly delayed, but if a team were willing to wait, they would be getting a star.
Newton dominated in college. Two-time All-American. Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten during his final season. He had an explosive first step and could make plays from multiple line positions. Health issues were the only red flag.
Things have not worked out the way Peters envisioned so far. Newton has become an average rotational piece on a weak defensive line. He has shown flashes but has yet to become the consistent force the Commanders thought they were getting.
With a new defensive coordinator in town and potential scheme changes in the works, he may be running out of chances.
Newton had his best game as a pro in Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys last season. He played 56 snaps, the most in his career. He was credited with nine tackles, three sacks, and five quarterback hits. He was a menace.
The performance was an outlier.
One of the most distressing things about Newton’s season up to that point is that he had been out-snapped by journeyman Eddie Goldman through the first 14 weeks. When the campaign was in the balance, head coach Dan Quinn trusted a veteran who had played in just 20 games over the previous five seasons over a supposed cornerstone of the defense.
Still, what Newton did against Dallas was enough to give hope. This does not appear to be a Phidarian Mathis situation. He was the last defensive tackle chosen in the second round during Ron Rivera’s tenure. He didn’t last through a third season in Washington.
It would be unlikely that Peters and Quinn would give up on a talent like Newton so quickly. But how will he fit into the scheme of new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones?
There has been some well-founded speculation that Jones may want to play more 3-4 fronts. At 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds, Newton is a B-gap interior lineman. There will be room for him in a 3-4, but it is far from ideal.
Newton does not have the length to play outside, nor does he seem to have the bulk to play over center. Even in college, some scouts questioned whether his undersized frame would hold up against NFL guards. Some argued that he needed to line up next to a much bigger player in order to be most effective.
That’s one of the reasons the Los Angeles Rams signed Poona Ford to play next to Kobie Turner this year. He is the same size as Newton and has been very good playing next to stouter tackles.
That may be why Peters overpaid for the physically imposing Javon Kinlaw last year. On paper, Kinlaw and Newton make some sense. On the field, it has not worked out.
Kinlaw can play either over center or at end in a base 3-4, but Newton does not have an obvious home. In that very promising Dallas game, he lined up in the B-gap on two-thirds of his snaps. That tracks with his entire career in Washington.
Under a new defensive alignment, that spot might no longer be available. That means Newton will have to find a new role to continue his slow climb toward becoming the player Washington thought it was getting in 2024.