The Washington Commanders enter the 2026 NFL season with no shortage of new faces on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. General manager Adam Peters was extremely selective about the types of players he brought in as free agents, and perhaps no one encompasses that more than linebacker Leo Chenal.
Washington's goal this summer was to get younger, faster, hungrier, and more versatile. Chenal brings all of those qualities. And most importantly, he's just a winning football player.
Chenal is an ultimate utility piece who can help change the Commanders' culture with his expertise in all the little things. And as a vocal leader off the field, he's wasting no time setting the bar high for both himself and his teammates.
Leo Chenal believes the Commanders can win a Super Bowl, and we can't help but listen
Chenal was a key role player on two Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl teams, earning a Lombardi trophy at the conclusion of his first pair of NFL seasons. And he had a bold statement to make about his new home.
Leo Chenal won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs.
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) August 3, 2026
I asked him if he believes the Commanders can make a run at a Lombardi?
Leo told me, "I really do...on the defensive side I'm really excited. We're flying around everywhere right now...that culture is definitely elevated." pic.twitter.com/EGVq8LnWRd
It sounds crazy, but you never know.
Did anybody expect the Seattle Seahawks to win Super Bowl LX prior to last season? They'd gone 10-7 the year before and missed the playoffs, and most media pundits had them moving further towards mediocrity than relevance in a crowded NFC.
How about the New England Patriots, who made the big game?
They were coming off a four-win disaster of a 2024 campaign with an unproven second-year quarterback. Jayden Daniels is entering Year 3 and has already been to a conference championship.
Washington's core roster the past two seasons was a flawed but talented group that achieved two opposite extremes in outcome variance. Now, with the necessary adjustments made by Peters as well as head coach Dan Quinn's new hires at both offensive and defensive coordinator, the 2026 Commanders should be in position to build a more sustained model of success in the modern game.
A lot of things still need to go right for them to make a deep playoff run.
They need to stay healthy, for starters. All the offseason buzz about young players stepping up needs to actually lead to substance. And they need both David Blough and Daronte Jones to prove they're the right men for the job.
If all of those things happen, the sky is the limit. And Chenal will do everything he can to speak it into existence.
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