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It’s no secret that the defensive line is the strength of the Washington Commanders. Even if defensive end Chase Young has yet to live up to lofty expectations, this unit is among the best in the NFL.
Washington boasts four first-round picks in Young, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat and Jonathan Allen. Payne and Allen have signed long-term contracts to remain in Washington, while Young and Sweat are free agents after the 2023 season.
How is Washington’s defensive line viewed around the NFL? Pro Football Focus recently ranked every team’s defensive line and has Washington at No. 3 behind the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
It remains to be seen whether edge defender Chase Young will still be on the roster when the season kicks off. But, as things stand, Washington’s starting defensive line consists of four former first-round picks.
The interior is led by Jonathan Allen, who has graded among the top 20 interior defenders for three straight seasons. And on the edge, they have Montez Sweat, who earned a career-high 86.4 grade that ranked eighth among players at the position last season.
PFF graded Sweat highly in 2022, and rightfully so. Sweat is an excellent run defender, and he consistently pressured opposing quarterbacks. The problem was he didn’t turn more of those pressures into sacks, which is how you get noticed by some. The Commanders want to keep Sweat around. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio believes Sweat’s numbers will “explode” once he finishes on a few more of those would-be sacks.
Allen is the best player of the bunch. However, Payne had the best season in 2022, earning a four-year, $90 million extension.
The Commanders also have excellent depth with defensive ends James Smith-Williams, Efe Obada, Casey Toohill, rookie K.J. Henry and defensive tackles Phidarian Mathis and John Ridgeway.
This is an outstanding unit, and it will be up to new owner Josh Harris to try and keep as much of it together in 2024 and beyond.
In addition to the Eagles and Commanders, PFF also had the Cowboys [No. 8] and the Giants [No. 9] ranked in the top 10. With these types of defensive lines, you can see why the NFC East was so much better in 2022.