It’s been a rough year for Washington’s commanders. The Commanders entered the NFC Championship Game with a 12-5 record last season and are currently 4-12 with one game remaining. Washington’s roster has been decimated by injuries this season, but that doesn’t fully explain its decline.
One issue that is frustrating for fans is the lack of development of some of the team’s younger players. Washington has some young players who excel when given the chance. The only problem is their lack of opportunities.
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We are at a critical point in the season and the Commanders have no choice but to turn to some young players. We already have tight end Zach Ertz’s injury opening the door for Ben Sinnott. Chris Rodriguez missed Thursday’s game against Dallas, opening the door for Jakoli Krosky-Merritt to see the bulk of the load, and he rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
Another young player who had a strong performance against the Cowboys was sophomore defensive tackle Johnny Newton. Newton set a career high with nine tackles, two for loss, three sacks and five quarterback hits in place of De’Aaron Payne. Sure, Washington’s run defense was terrible and Newton made an impact, but overall, it was an encouraging performance.
For perspective, Washington’s starting defensive tackles Payne and Javon Kinlaw have combined for two sacks all season.
While it was exciting to see Newton have such a great game, there was concern that this was just a one-off. Does head coach Dan Quinn think Newton’s success will continue moving forward?
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“I think the destructiveness, the speed, those are the skills he has,” Quinn said. “So, hearing him put all the pieces together, the anticipation of the play, how to execute it, I felt it. Is this the instinctive part, this is the pass, this is the run, where can I go? So, it does take some time to learn that. When you’re a player, The game is going to slow down because now you can predict it better. I know the defensive calls, I get it. Now, how can I apply my skill set to what you don’t want, and we had that earlier in the year where I was like, “I’m going to make a play, I’m going to try.” “It’s the instinctive part of knowing when to do it and when not to do it, just like a quarterback.”
Washington felt Newton was one of the top steals in the 2024 NFL Draft when he fell to No. 36 overall. The reason was that he needed surgery on his foot. He would then have surgery on both feet and his impact in his rookie season would be limited. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that Newton was a dominant college player who earned All-American honors and was the 2023 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
The Commanders have a lot of holes to fill this offseason. It would be nice to know they can rely on Newton to have a bigger role in 2026. Washington is expected to have a new defensive coordinator in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Commander Wired: Washington Commander: Is Johnny Newton’s breakout game a sign of the future?
