Smart trades and sharp drafting: How Washington is rebounding after the rebuild

Over the NFL Offseason, the Washington Commanders made some outstanding roster moves, whether through major trades for Pro Bowl-caliber players or re-signing major cornerstones of the team. As we approach the ⅓ point of the new season, let’s break down their performance so far.

In the trade market, they picked up Pro Bowl wide receiver Debo Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers, while trading away starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. Debo is a key part of the receiving room and the rush game; his versatility has been a key role on this team. With Terry McLaurin out for at least one more week, he has had to step up, and he’s done phenomenal.

Another key trade was for the veteran 5x Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil from Houston. Last season, he led the league in his position with 19 penalties. However, in this season, he is on pace for only 6. Last year, he was fourth overall when it came to his pass blocking ability. He has been a major step up from Brandon Coleman; he has not been performing as well as he did in prior seasons.

They signed two players to beef up the air defense. One of which is cornerback Jonathan Jones, who hasn’t played much but has performed well in the 22 snaps he’s played. They also signed veteran safety Will Harris, who is currently ranking middle of the pack among safeties, excluding his one forced fumble, which places him second in the league.

They also beefed up the d-line, signing defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, fresh off a career-high 4.5 sacks, whose performance has been subpar this season. They also signed defensive lineman Deatrich Wise, who played in two games and performed well with four tackles. The final new member of the d-line was Eddie Goldman, who has seven tackles this season while only playing 36 percent of the total snaps that the commanders have had on defense. 

While there was some drama over re-signing their star receiver, Terry McLaurin, they eventually managed to keep him. This major re-signing came with the re-signings of tight ends Zach Ertz and John Bates, linebacker Bobby Wagner, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, and kicker Zane Gonzalez.

With one of the last picks in the 2025 NFL draft. The commanders managed to pick up the standout running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, out of Arizona, late in the 7th round, who recently got awards for the “Pepsi rookie of the week.” So far in his rookie year, he has an impressive stat line, with 344 yards, four rushing touchdowns, and 5.7 yards per carry on just 60 carries. Their second-round pick, cornerback Trey Amos out of Ole Miss, who analysts criticized as a waste of such a high draft pick, has 18 tackles this far into the season and is projected to put up numbers in the high 50s.

While this season has paled in comparison to last year’s, the main culprit is costly injuries to cornerstone players like Terry and Jayden. With the change in the front office before last season and the phenomenal drafting of Jayden Daniels, they weren’t satisfied with just an NFC appearance; they wanted more. The way these players are performing is a good sign for the future.

Mason Speake is a sophomore member of the Multimedia Journalism class.

About the Author

Mason Speake

Author

View All Posts