The Washington Commanders' defense was so bad in 2024 that the defensive coordinator, along with a position coach, had to be fired mid-season. The moves did not help.
Washington finished the season ranked dead last in total yards and points allowed. They were also the worst at pressuring opposing quarterbacks. They were second worst in yards-per-play.
When Dan Quinn was hired as the new head coach, he brought Joe Whitt Jr. with him from the Dallas Cowboys. The defensive coordinator was tasked with rebuilding a very beleaguered unit. Not the easiest proposition imaginable despite the wholesale changes across the playing personnel.
Whitt had coached under Quinn since 2020 when he was the defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach with the Atlanta Falcons. When the head coach got fired and joined Dallas as defensive coordinator, his trusted associate followed him.
Together, they achieved a remarkable turnaround in Dallas. Nowhere was that more noticeable than the secondary. Whitt turned one of the most porous pass defenses in the league into one of the best, particularly good at creating turnovers.
Along with Quinn and general manager Adam Peters, Whitt immediately began revamping the Commanders' defensive personnel. By the start of the 2024 season, only five of the 20 defensive players who logged the most snaps remained on the roster. He got rid of every single defensive end. The only remaining linebacker, Jamin Davis, would soon be gone. Even productive players like Kendall Fuller and Kamren Curl were allowed to leave via free agency.
Whitt had to reconstitute a defense which only had a few holdover interior linemen and defensive backs. Everyone else was new to the team. A few were new to the league.
How did Whitt do? He didn’t exactly perform miracles. But Washington’s defense took a major step forward. Overall, it improved more than fans had a right to expect.
Peters did not bring in any high-priced free agents, but he did provide Whitt with a lot of good players. Dorance Armstrong Jr., Frankie Luvu, and Jeremy Chinn were young veterans just entering their prime. Bobby Wagner and Dante Fowler Jr. were players who had been around for a long time. Most analysts figured their best days were behind them. The Commanders also spent a couple of Day 2 draft picks on defensive lineman Johnny Newton and cornerback Mike Sainristil.
Commanders' defense improved throughout 2024 under Joe Whitt Jr.
Whitt took all these disparate pieces, added them into a squad that still had Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen, and Quan Martin, and turned the Commanders’ defense from a dumpster fire into a legitimate, middle-of-the-road unit.
Washington finished at or near the middle of the entire NFL in almost every major statistical category. Points — 18th. Yardage — 13th. Yards per play — 16th. Whitt blitzed more than his predecessors, he got more sacks and a lot more pressure. The one thing he wasn’t able to accomplish was generating turnovers the way his defenses had in Dallas.
He was dealing with somewhat of a rigged deck. The cornerbacks he inherited — Benjamin St-Juste and Emmanuel Forbes — simply weren’t up to the required standard. He had to rely on a Sainristil and a journeyman in Noah Igbinoghene to man the corners. Eventually, the team traded for veteran Marshon Lattimore, though that acquisition ultimately proved to be a disappointment thanks in no small part to his troublesome hamstring complication.
Nor did Whitt have dynamic pass rushers. His best, Fowler, was a liability against the run and therefore had to be deployed judiciously. Although Washington struggled to stop really good offenses, many players took steps up.
Wagner and Luvu both earned second-team All-Pro honors. Fowler ended with double-digit sacks, his most since 2019. Sainristil, who had to play out of position on the perimeter for most of the year, developed into a genuine leader in his first season. Chinn revived his career. Armstrong and Martin both showed improvement throughout the campaign.
Whitt did not build a dominant defense in one year. That was never a realistic goal. But he did a good enough job to earn himself a head coaching interview with the New York Jets during the playoffs. And he saved his best performance for the divisional championship game.
Going against the most explosive offense in the league, Whitt’s defense forced the Detroit Lions into committing five turnovers and held them to just three touchdowns. Unfortunately, his unit was overmatched the following week against the Philadelphia Eagles, but a turnover-prone offense was as much to blame.
Grade
The Commanders still have a long way to go defensively. They need more pass rushers. They need more perimeter cornerbacks. They need youngsters like Newton and linebacker Jordan Magee to step up in a big way. There is still much to do.
Based on Whitt’s first season as defensive coordinator, he looks to be up to the task. Had his defense generated more turnovers, his grade would have been higher, but he still gets a solid B+.