5 UDFAs that could surge into roster spots at Commanders' 2024 camp

Tyler Owens - Commanders S

You might recognize Tyler Owens from when he stated during his interview at the NFL Scouting Combine that he doesn’t believe in space. Luckily, the Washington Commanders signed him to be an NFL safety and not an astronomer.

Owens had a six-year college career on the backend. He played three seasons at Texas and his last two at Texas Tech. He made the transfer due to being buried on the depth chart with the Longhorns. The increased playing time helped tremendously.

Owens enjoyed his best season by a considerable margin in 2023. It was the only campaign he played a prolonged full-time role. logging 37 tackles, one tackle for loss, and two pass breakups over 10 contests.

The defensive back has extreme athleticism. Owens recorded the second-highest broad jump in NFL Scouting Combine history at 12-foot-2 - only one inch behind Byron Jones’ record. He also recorded a 41-inch vertical during an outstanding display of physical prowess.

His combine was unfortunately brought to an abrupt end before he could run the 40-yard dash due to a groin injury. However, Owens was a track star in high school and has a 4.3-second time recorded outside of the Indianapolis showcase.

Good awareness and instincts when reading the quarterback were displayed by Owens when he was on the field. He shows good physicality which allows him to be competent when defending the run. He also boasts an NFL-ready frame, standing at 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds.

The first-year pro shows good feet and keeps up with receivers well in both man and zone coverage. Sometimes he seems to misread deep routes, which is concerning. I could see Owens moving to cornerback at some stage.

There’s a good chance Owens will be a majority special teams player for most of his career if he makes the roster. But that’s still a valuable piece of a team.