Three position groups for the Washington Commanders that have the most questions!

AtoZ Sports

Josh Taylor discusses which three position groups for the Washington Commanders that have the most questions heading into training camp.

Transcript

00:00The Washington Commanders are reporting to training camp as a full team for the first

00:04time this week, but there's three positions I'm keeping close tabs on that I think have a point

00:10to prove. Let's talk about it. I'm Josh Taylor with A to Z Sports Commanders and it's finally

00:17time to start talking about some on the field activities with training camp kicking off this

00:23week. Now Adam Peters has done a great job just rebuilding this roster with just two off seasons

00:29in Washington, but there's only so much you can do in a short amount of time. I think that there's

00:34three positions that could still hinder Washington's success this season and that's who I'm really

00:39keeping close tabs on in training camp. Now let's start with the secondary. I'm not talking about

00:45the corner room because Adam's done a really good job really rebuilding that part of the secondary,

00:50but I'm looking at the safeties. I think Quan Martin is poised for a breakout season, especially after

00:55repairing both of his shoulders, which he played with injured last season, by the way, which is

00:59crazy to think about. But outside of that, you lose Jeremy Chen in free agency and Chen was a tone

01:05setter on the defense. He was a physical guy. He was great in the run support. He just set the mood for

01:11the aggressiveness that they wanted. Now you bring in Will Harris in free agency and I honestly don't

01:16know what to expect from Will Harris. This is a guy that played in a lot of different positions with

01:20the Saints, but what can he look like as just a full-time safety in Washington? Now I do believe

01:26that Harris will bring a better coverage ability in the passing game to the defense when he comes to

01:32that safety position, but then let's talk about the depth. This is where I have a lot of worries.

01:37You have Jeremy Reeves, who's obviously an all-pro special teamer, and then you have Percy Butler,

01:42who was with the former regime that is still with the team now. I'm not too sure that both of those

01:48guys can contribute valuable snaps on the defense as a starter if someone was to go down or someone

01:54gets hurt or you have to just rotate some other safeties in. I've just seen too many mistakes and

01:59inconsistencies from those two guys when it comes to having to play valuable snaps at the safety spot

02:04on defense, so I'm just a little worried there. I think things can get a little wobbly with the depth

02:09in the safety room, but I do like what they did with Kane Medrano, and he's kind of one of those

02:14tweeners. Is he a linebacker or is he a safe? I think when you do have those obvious passing

02:19situations and you do want to have three safety sets on the field, you can expect Medrano to come

02:24in and show those wide receiver hands that he used to have before he transitioned to the defensive side

02:28of the ball at UCLA, and they're going to really utilize his speed and coverage ability. So yes,

02:33they have a lot of bodies at the safety spot. I'll even throw Tyler Owens in there, who's just a

02:37crazy athlete, and I think he can show some flashes. He plays some special teams reps as well,

02:42but I just need to see more results on the field. I need to see more stability from that safety

02:47position, and I'm really hoping that Will Harris can just hit the ground running, and that starts

02:52with building that connection at training camp. Now let's talk about the most disappointing

02:56position last year, and that's the defensive line. And to be even more specific, the run defense

03:01on the defensive line, both on the inside and the outside. Honestly, there's just a lot of

03:06opportunities for offenses to gash through the line. Big plays, a lot of high-profile running backs

03:11had major games against Washington, and the defense actually ended up allowing the third

03:16most rushing yards in the league last year, which you just can't have happen. And I know

03:20Jonathan Allen was injured for a majority of the season last year, but now he's gone.

03:24So this is the new norm. This is life without Jonathan Allen. Who's going to step up and really

03:28help solidify that defensive line and turn it into that brick wall so teams can't run against

03:34the line? Jerzon Newton ended up having a bigger role in his rookie season than we expected

03:38because of Allen's injury. And Jerron Payne had some moments. He had some injuries as

03:43well. But still, we need Jerron Payne in a make-or-break season to really step up and

03:47say, hey, I'm the guy. I've been here the longest. I know this defense. I know what I

03:52can do. I still got it. Then Washington also added Javon Kinlaw, and he's going to bring

03:56some juice to the inside, and he might even play on the outside as well. But nonetheless,

04:01you at least bring in some reinforcements. Let's talk about the outside. Dante Fowler Jr.

04:05was a huge liability in the run defense last year, and you instantly upgrade that, adding

04:10Dietrich Wise in free agency. Now, of course, they bring in Von Miller. He's not going to

04:14be the guy that's going to be on the field for first and second down to help stop the

04:17run. But I think Wise is going to be a bigger contributor than people really realize. I

04:22really like his run-stopping ability, and I think that's going to at least help set up

04:26those third and long situations where you will see Frankie Louvoo coming up the line for

04:30a blitz and Von Miller getting to the quarterback on those passing situations.

04:35Could Washington have done more on the defensive line in this offseason? Sure. They probably

04:39could have traded for somebody that could have invested some more money, but they decided

04:42not to, and I'm honestly not mad about that. You at least added some bodies with Kinlaw

04:46and Wise and Miller, and I think the payoff's going to be there. But speaking of the run

04:50game, Washington has some concerns with their run offense. They certainly weren't running

04:54through defensive lines like other teams were against them. But look, second half of the

05:00season, Jaden Daniels was the rushing offense, and you can't have that this season.

05:04You can't just rely on Jaden running the ball and creating those big plays. You've got to

05:09have some stability. You have to have someone that can step up and contribute to a reliable

05:14running offense. And it wasn't just Cliff's fault. The offensive line did get better this

05:18offseason as well, but Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Eckler both dealt with injuries throughout

05:23the season. That just really set things back. You couldn't get anything going, but you go out

05:28and you add Ja'Cory Krosky-Merritt in the seventh round who could really turn out to be one of

05:32those draft gems in the late round. This is a guy that didn't play last year due to some

05:36ineligibility issues in college, so he's got fresh legs. He doesn't have a lot of tread worn off of

05:42his tires, and he's ready to go. So for me, it's not if, it's when for Ja'Cory Krosky. When can he

05:47earn those valuable reps and get the snap counts up on the offense? And for me, it starts in training

05:53camp. Show them that you can play all three downs, that they don't have to take you off the field.

05:58Yes, we know you have that burst, you have that cut, and the ability to take those runs for big

06:03gains in those home run touchdown plays that are missing from Washington outside of Jaden Daniels,

06:08but what can you do for me on third downs? Can you pass protect? Can you pick up those blitzes

06:13like other running backs can? But can you also become a reliable receiving weapon on the offense

06:19for Jaden Daniels? And I think that's where Ja'Cory Krosky-Merritt will really carve out his role

06:23and earn those snaps. So as training camp ramps up and we start getting into some heavy practices

06:28and even some joint practices, and then leading up to preseason, I think these are the three positions

06:34that really need a focal point. And this is definitely what I'm watching for when I'm at

06:38these practices. Is somebody from the safety room going to step up and solidify themselves?

06:43And is the defensive line going to be more together? Are they going to be more dependable

06:48this season against the run defense? And then the running game, who is going to be that spark? Who's

06:53going to be that one burst that's missing from Washington's running game and really help

06:57Jaden to stay in the pocket and throw the ball like he wants to?

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