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Washington Commanders Training Camp Primer: Defensive Line
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- Washington Commanders Training Camp Primer: Defensive Line
Washington Commanders Training Camp Primer: Defensive Line
(© Peter Casey-Imagn Images)
Just like the offensive line, there's reason to be confident in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball for the Washington Commanders ahead of 2026. Yet questions still persist about how the unit ultimately pans out ahead of the week one road opener.
Javon Kinlaw returns where he looks to remain a consistent piece in the rotation after setting career-highs in total and solo tackles, yet failing to register a sack in 17 games. Jer'Zhan Newton dazzled in the Christmas Day loss against Dallas after registering three of his five sacks on the season in the home finale, but can a breakout year three materialize after two seasons of flashes? Tim Settle joins Dyami Brown as free agents who returned to Washington for a second stint where the former Houston Texan is an upgrade in run support and could serve as the versatile piece along the unit, arguably drawing the X-factor tag.
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Ricky Barber, Jeffrey M'Ba and DJ Davidson will also look to round out the interior defensive line rotation while Deatrich Wise Jr. returns as a versatile piece along the line looking to put behind a 2025 season that was cut short early due to injury. Charles Omenihu was one of two Chief defenders to ink in Washington this offseason where he's expected to serve as an interior rusher within the defense, factoring into the unit.
Yet maybe the biggest name of them all will be the return of Daron Payne, who is set to play on a contract year for the second time during his tenure in Washington. The difference between last time and this time? There's no expectation that negotiations start ahead of training camp, putting an added pressure on the veteran to step up in the unit.
Washington could turn to more of a 3-4 than 4-3 under Jones, though the new defensive coordinator also joked that "they're just numbers" during his introductory press conference. Yet the three-down front could give the Commanders a chance to turn to their productive interior linemen into an integral part of Daronte Jones' front seven while multiple pieces enter 2026 looking to create consistency. Still, arguably no one enters camp with the same pressure as Payne.
Biggest training camp question: which version of Payne shows up?
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Since Payne recorded 11.5 sacks in 2022 that drew the extension, the 29 year old has notched 11 sacks over the last three seasons. The cause for concern is that the best may already materialized, but he has a chance to change that ahead of 2026. It isn't a stretch to say that Payne enters the season with the most pressure in the unit.
If Washington didn't want Payne, then he could've materialized into a trade candidate where the former first-round pick could've possibly added to the Commanders' limited draft capital. But the front office held onto him ahead of a different kind of 'prove it' year than his rookie season.
Head coach Dan Quinn pointed to Payne's ability to play inside and out given his size, strength and quickness, but how that meshes alongside the new pieces -- notably Settle -- is the biggest question in practice. How the 29 year old adjusts under the new scheme will be the biggest determining factors in how his first round of Payne's contract negotiations materialize with general manager Adam Peters following 2026.
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