Not having enough quality in the trenches eventually became the Washington Commanders' undoing in 2024. Daron Payne is held to a higher standard than most and did not reach expectations.
Payne got paid handsomely by the Commanders after his Pro Bowl campaign in 2022. The added urgency of a contract year resulted in dominant performances and emerging leadership. But that looks like the exception to his typical production looking at the Alabama product's overall career trajectory.
It was another subpar year for Payne in 2024. He wasn't alone in that regard defensively, but the Commanders paid him to be a genuine game-wrecker on the interior. This didn't come to fruition, especially against the run.
The former first-round pick's 49.3 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus ranked 129th out of 219 qualifying interior defensive linemen. There were flashes of brilliance from Payne's perspective. However, that's nowhere near enough to justify his lofty price tag.
These poor performances drew the ire of fans. Even so, the Commanders are not going to move Payne this offseason.
His contract is hard to get off, so adding to the defensive line and potentially disposing of Jonathan Allen is the more obvious choice. If the veteran is deemed surplus to requirements, it piles more pressure on Payne to produce.
Gerald McCoy leaps to defense of Commanders DT Daron Payne
Payne got a huge confidence boost from an unlikely source recently. Former Pro Bowl defensive lineman Gerald McCoy put his struggles in the correct context during an appearance on 106.7 The Fan. He's a big fan of the player, highlighting the fine work he does that doesn't show up on the stat sheet.
"[Daron] Payne’s one of my favorites to watch, so y’all shouldn’t write him off. Everybody has ups and downs, and it’s a year-to-year league. When we’re looking at the tackles, I think we should look more at the disruption of what are they doing to disrupt the game. If it’s in the run game, if they take on a double team, are they getting knocked back or are they holding the point to where this running back just ran into a wall that allowed somebody else to go make the play? In the pass rush, are they getting pressure up the middle and it’s not always coming free? You might put the guard in the quarterback’s face, and that’s making him have to flush out. Those are the things that people should start looking at."Gerald McCoy via USA Today
One only has to look at how much the Commanders struggled without Payne in their NFC Championship defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles to see his importance. They were bullied in the trenches and paid a heavy price. Individual mistakes didn't help, but this is an area where Washington must improve this offseason.
Payne is part of the short-term plans for next season. What comes after that is less certain.
The stakes are high for Payne in 2025. Washington's ruthless roster building under general manager Adam Peters means nothing is guaranteed. Getting off Payne is difficult this spring, but they'd save $16.81 million on their salary cap in 2026 by trading or releasing the player.
Hopefully, it doesn't come to that. Payne can be dominant when firing on all cylinders. He proved that in 2022 and in brief moments since. The tricky part of maintaining this high level consistently.
McCoy believes in Payne. But for Commanders fans, they need to see it in a competitive setting.
Otherwise, the ramifications will be severe.