David Mayo - Commanders LB
Okay – I’ll admit it. I’ve been trying to run David Mayo out of town ever since he got here. But as the linebacker showed last season filling in for the injured Cole Holcomb, you could do a lot worse.
Mayos is not the exciting athlete that Jamin Davis or Cody Barton is. But he does something neither one of them is very good at right now. He steps into the proper hole and makes tackles.
He has always been able to do this, dating back to his early days with the New York Giants. Mayo can play the run. Against the Baltimore Ravens, he had a couple of plays where he effectively dropped into coverage as well. And when he is in the right spot, the Washington Commanders can count on him to make the tackle more often than not.
Washington’s base defense remains a 4-2-5 with Barton playing behind the line and Davis either next to him or lined up on the edge. Rookie defensive back Quan Martin is going to be asked to play a lot of buffalo nickel, lining up where a third linebacker would traditionally play.
I think Martin is going to struggle in that role – at least early on. So I would not be at all surprised if Mayo doesn’t find himself on the field for more defensive snaps than most of us imagine.
No matter how much the local press continues to push for more exciting options.