4 potential post-June 1 cuts the Commanders should monitor in 2023

Commanders should monitor Albert Okwuegbunam

Albert Okwuegbunam isn’t as fast as the other pass catchers on this list. He only goes 4.49 seconds in the 40-yard dash. But considering that, at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, he is basically twice as big as any of the others, that’s pretty darned fast.

Okwuegbunam has been a tight end with the Denver Broncos since they drafted him in the fourth round in 2020. He tore his hamstring during his rookie year but showed some real growth as a receiving tight end in 2021. Then, with some high hopes heading into 2022, he all but vanished from their game plans.

I wasn’t there in Denver, and I don’t pretend to know the answer to this question. But let me pose it anyway.

Was Denver’s 2022 season a trainwreck because some of the team’s playmakers – namely Russell Wilson, but also players like Courtland Sutton, K.J. Hamler, and yes … Okwuegbunam … simply weren’t as good as they were touted to be? Or was their lack of production due to the fact that Nathaniel Hackett clearly had no business serving as a head coach in the NFL?

As with most perplexing conundrums, there is probably some truth on both sides.

It's fairly clear that Hackett had no clue what to do with Okwuegbunam. Do you think that Eric Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator who helped turn Travis Kelce into one of the all-time great tight ends, and who consistently got production from the players behind, might have a better handle on it?

I’m not certain, but it does seem worth a try to me.

Of these four players, D'Wayne Eskridge is the least likely to be cut and Okwuegbunam is the most likely. And the Washington Commanders may already have players on the roster who would take their projected roster spots.

Undrafted free agent Kazmeir Allen may be exactly what the team wants in a speedy gadget play receiver/returner. Either Cole Turner or Amari Rogers may be a better tall, athletic pass-catching tight end. But training camp is still far down the road.

Give Bieniemy as many options as possible. History suggests that if they have talent, he’ll find a way to use it.