Washington’s future would possibly truly be brilliant at quarterback.
Washington
The first 53: Projecting the Commanders’ active roster as cut day nears
Identified for his mobility from his time at North Carolina, Howell appeared poised within the pocket, nonetheless going via his reads earlier than merely tucking and working on undesigned run performs. He instructed reporters after the sport that his pocket presence “hasn’t all the time been nice,” but it surely has been an emphasis all through his profession.
Washington’s greatest offensive subject Saturday — and for the whole lot of the preseason — has been ending. The Commanders made it to Baltimore’s pink zone thrice however solely scored one landing and in any other case needed to accept area objectives. On a protracted drive that began within the third quarter, the Commanders dedicated 4 penalties, dropping 35 yards, and Howell was sacked on a 3rd and 6.
The Commanders’ quarterbacks have been set for the reason that draft, actually, and the workforce settled most of its beginning jobs early in camp. However Coach Ron Rivera mentioned Saturday that roughly 4 to seven roster spots are nonetheless up for grabs. Washington has to pare its roster to 53 gamers by 4 p.m. Tuesday, giving it restricted time to determine its receiving corps, finalize the ultimate tight finish spot (ought to it preserve 4), spherical out the depth on each strains and resolve on the ultimate gamers at defensive again.
The security battle may need gained readability with Jeremy Reaves’s play Saturday. Reaves had an enormous deal with wherein he went low to ship Ravens working again Nate McCrary airborne for a lack of 4 yards. Then, within the third quarter, Reaves held Baltimore’s Demarcus Robinson to a mere two-yard achieve on a punt return.
Elsewhere on the secondary, miscues might harm some on the bubble. A blown protection within the second quarter led to Baltimore’s first landing. Quarterback Anthony Brown launched a deep over-the-shoulder move to Robinson, who ran a slant-and-go to attract nook Danny Johnson inside earlier than slipping again outdoors towards the sideline. Had Johnson had assist excessive, the Commanders could have prevented the landing, however rookie security Percy Butler bit on the route, too, leaving Robinson a transparent lane to the tip zone.
Washington’s protection fared higher, general, than it did within the first two preseason video games, holding Baltimore to solely 9 first downs (in comparison with the Commanders’ 22), 21 speeding yards and just one third-down conversion in eight tries.
Rivera has famous that particular groups will decide some jobs on the 53. Receiver Dax Milne, who caught all 4 of his targets Saturday, has been a daily within the combine for returners. Security Darrick Forrest has impressed all through camp along with his pace and large hits, which might give the special-teams ace a much bigger position on protection.
Who else will make it? It’s price noting that Washington’s 53-man roster might endure a number of iterations earlier than the Sept. 11 opener. Gamers waived or reduce from different groups could intrigue the Commanders sufficient to make some swaps.
Till then, right here’s our projection for the Commanders’ preliminary 53-man roster:
Quarterback (3): Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke, Sam Howell
Vast receiver (6): Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Jahan Dotson, Cam Sims, Dyami Brown, Dax Milne
Sort out (3): Charles Leno Jr., Sam Cosmi, Cornelius Lucas
Guard (5): Andrew Norwell, Trai Turner, Wes Schweitzer, Saahdiq Charles, Chris Paul
Heart (2): Chase Roullier, Keith Ismael
Tight finish (4): Logan Thomas, John Bates, Cole Turner, Armani Rogers
Operating again (3): Antonio Gibson, Brian Robinson Jr., J.D. McKissic
Milne beats out Alex Erickson for the final spot within the receiving corps, largely due to his contributions on particular groups as a returner. If there’s a notable absence right here, maybe it’s working again Jaret Patterson, the Commanders’ lone undrafted free agent final 12 months who performed all 17 video games. The addition of Brian Robinson Jr., nonetheless, squeezes him out.
Place flex is vital on the road. Solely two facilities keep whereas Tyler Larsen recovers from an Achilles harm, however Schweitzer and Charles have gotten reps on the place and will help.
Line of defense (10): Montez Sweat, Casey Toohill, James Smith-Williams, Shaka Toney, Daron Payne, Phidarian Mathis, Justin Hamilton, Jonathan Allen, Daniel Smart, David Bada
Linebacker (4): Cole Holcomb, Jamin Davis, David Mayo, Milo Eifler
Cornerback (6): Kendall Fuller, William Jackson III, Benjamin St-Juste, Corn Elder, Christian Holmes, Danny Johnson
Free security (3): Bobby McCain, Percy Butler, Jeremy Reaves
Sturdy security (2): Kam Curl, Darrick Forrest
The line of defense has to regulate whereas Chase Younger is out (for not less than 4 video games). It’s doable Washington will go along with six defensive ends, but it surely’s anticipated to combine in additional five-man fronts, and it’ll need dimension on the inside. Hamilton, or “Large Ham,” as his coaches name him, is 311 kilos and has six years of NFL expertise.
At linebacker, Eifler will get the nod over Khaleke Hudson for his consistency, and on the again finish, Washington retains six corners as a result of they play primarily in subpackages with an additional defensive again.
*Bada doesn’t rely in opposition to the 53-man roster cap as a result of he signed via the Worldwide Participant Pathway program. Thus, Washington can technically preserve 54 gamers after Tuesday’s cuts.
Lengthy snapper: Camaron Cheeseman
Zero surprises right here. However the hope is Slye labored out any kinks in his movement so he doesn’t miss like he did in preseason.