Anthony Barr is an X-factor the Commanders' defense needs in 2023

Could free-agent outside linebacker Anthony Barr be the X-factor needed to take the Washington Commanders' defense to greater heights in 2023?

Linebacker is a perennial issue for the Washington Commanders, so it's surprising the team hasn't at least kicked Anthony Barr's tires in free agency. The four-time Pro-Bowler would add something different to coordinator Jack Del Rio's defense, a unit in need of a schematic refresh in 2023.

Barr's remains on the market after a disappointing one-and-done tour with Washington's NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. He's 31 years old and hasn't played a full season since 2017, but there's still plenty to recommend this veteran to Del Rio and Commanders' head coach Ron Rivera.

Adding Barr to the starting lineup would alter the appearance of Washington's front seven and boost its capability to confuse quarterbacks and attack the pocket. The latter is something the UCLA product has done for fun since entering the NFL as the No. 9 overall selection by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Anthony Barr would bring the blitz for the Commanders

Barr has 18.5 career sacks, and the 6-foot-5, 257-pounder is built to either play on the edge or as an inside linebacker. Many of his sacks with the Vikings came from the interior, thanks to the double A-gap blitz designs favored by then-head coach Mike Zimmer.

Barr was still rushing inside gaps for the Cowboys. A prime example is when he took down Matt Ryan against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13.

While these plays are inside rushes, Barr can win off the edge. He's got core pass-rush skills no other linebacker on the Commanders' roster possesses. Del Rio could use those skills to add creativity and aggression to a system that's become predictable in recent seasons.

Every team knows how the Commanders will travel on defense. They'll line up in a 'big nickel' base and rely on their front four loaded with a litany of first-round picks to get home.

Del Rio's over-reliance on the defensive line for pressure is reflected by Washington blitzing just 22.4 percent of the time last season, per Pro Football Reference. That number is a far cry from the league-leading 39.7 blitz percentage of the New York Giants.

The Commanders probably would have blitzed even less if defensive end Chase Young had been healthy. Injuries and inconsistency have stunted the development of the No. 2 overall selection in 2020 and left Washington willing to decline his fifth-year option.

Those same issues have also wrecked Rivera's plan to live off a four-man rush. The solution should involve Del Rio getting back to his multiple roots.

Anthony Barr would make Commanders multiple

Things were more fluid and imaginative when Del Rio called defenses for the Denver Broncos from 2012-14. He ran what was ostensibly a 4-3 front, but something made different by the flexibility of outside linebacker Von Miller.

Miller lined up on the strong side in a standard defense, but he could also join the line as a standup rusher. With such a prolific force standing on one edge, Shaun Phillips and then DeMarcus Ware put a hand down on the other side, leaving the Broncos with bookend outside pass-rushers.

Add Terrance Knighton playing over center, and the Broncos could alternate between odd and even alignments before the snap. They were able to blur the lines between 4-3 and 3-4 fronts and become something more like a 5-2 alignment.

Having a huge body such as Knighton clog the middle kept Miller clean to attack the line of scrimmage, and he responded by logging 37.5 sacks during the three seasons Del Rio had the headset. Barr's is not on the same level, but he'd be the closest thing the Commanders have to a seek-and-destroy missile at the linebacker level.

Although Rivera began retooling the position by signing Cody Barton earlier this offseason, there's more work to be done. Barr earned $1.25 million in base salary last season, but he'd likely be cheaper now he's under pressure to prove his career hasn't entered a state of permanent decline.

Joining an already-solid Commanders' defense, along with getting coached by two former NFL linebackers in Del Rio and Rivera, would surely get Barr back on track.

Having him double up with either Young or Sweat on one side, while Daron Payne aligns head-up over centers would serve two purposes. It would make the Commanders a nightmare to run against, while also forcing quarterbacks to frantically change protections and see pressure in their sleep.