With a new coaching staff, new general manager and plenty of new free agent additions, which Commanders draft choices made by Ron Rivera are in danger of not making the 53-man roster?
Rivera’s drafts have proven to be largely ineffective. So, why would the new administration feel any obligation to hang on to anyone from a 4-13 team?
From Rivera’s 2023 draft class, clearly, Braeden Daniels needs to be impactful, or he is gone. In the 2023 training camp, Daniels proved he was not ready for the NFL and was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list.
Defensive back Quan Martin and running back Chris Rodriguez were the two most promising rookies during the 2023 regular season. First-round selection cornerback Emmanuel Forbes struggled tremendously, and third-round choice C/G Ricky Stromberg was injured, only playing in four games. Defensive ends Andre Jones and K.J. Henry also need to have good camps, with Henry having flashed more in 2023.
From the 2022 class, only Jahan Dotson and Brian Robinson are safe, while Sam Howell has already been traded. With the drafting of defensive tackle Johnnie Newton, are both Phidarian Mathis and John Ridgeway sure to make the roster? Mathis was a second-round choice in 2022, while Ridgeway was claimed from Dallas. Mathis has battled injuries keeping him off of the field, while Ridgeway has flashed more often than Mathis.
Defensive backs Percy Butler and Christian Holmes have both performed well on special teams, while tight end Cole Turner and guard Chris Paul have not produced as well as Rivera had sometimes proclaimed they would in their two years.
Guard Sam Cosmi (2021) appears to have become the best of the Rivera draft choices (2020-23), and tight end John Bates might be safe at tight end. However, 2024 is a must-year for linebacker/edge Jamin Davis, receiver Dyami Brown, corner Benjamin St-Juste, safety Darrick Forrest and receiver/returner Dax Milne.
Eight players were drafted in 2020 by Rivera, but heading into training camp in 2024, not a single of those players are still with the team.
Plain and simple: Adam Peters and Dan Quinn don’t owe anything to the players drafted by Rivera. So, why would it surprise any of us if several of the above players are cut during this upcoming preseason?