How did the Washington Commanders’ rookies perform this past week against the Philadelphia Eagles? We got grades for all of them!
The Washington Commanders lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in a discouraging performance, and the rookies struggled. Let’s see how the Commanders’ rookies played in week 3.
WR Jahan Dotson – D+
Jahan Dotson had his worst game as an NFL player so far against the Eagles on Sunday. The Eagles completely shut down Dotson, as Dotson only had two catches for 10 yards. The offense as a whole struggled, as evident by the fact that Dotson could only catch two of his eight targets. Dotson was fantastic the first two games, and the Eagles’ defense seems legit through the first three weeks, so there is no reason to believe Dotson won’t bounce back. Everybody has bad games, and this is one of them for Jahan Dotson,
DT Phidarian Mathis – N/A
Phidarian Mathis tore his left MCL in his NFL debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 1. Mathis will miss the rest of the season.
RB Brian Robinson – N/A
Brian Robinson has yet to play this season after recovering from a shooting in an attempted carjacking on August 28th, 2022. Robinson was shot twice in his lower body, but according to reports is making excellent progress in his recovery and could make his NFL debut as early as week 5. Robinson ran routes during the pregame warmups for Washington against the Eagles on Sunday, and looks like he absolutely on track to return in week 5.
S Percy Butler – B+
The rookie safety out of Louisiana was the Commanders’ fourth-round selection in the 2022, and as expected he has played sparingly. While the Commanders’ other young safety, Darrick Forrest, has been a pleasant surprise and a bright spot on a struggling defense, Percy Butler has played mostly on special teams so far. Butler played the most special teams snaps he has played so far this season, and earned a 62.1 defensive PFF grade, the highest so far of his career. Butler continues to make small, but helpful contributions to the Commanders.
QB Sam Howell – N/A
The rookie QB from North Carolina was inactive for the Commanders’ contest against the Eagles. Some fans are calling for Howell to get a shot at starting if Wentz continues to struggle like he did against the Eagles, and he might very well get a shot down the road.
TE Cole Turner – ?
Fans are confused as to why Cole Turner was not active against the Eagles. Turner impressed during training camp, and it was thought that Turner did not play in the first two weeks of the season due to a nagging hamstring injury. However, Turner was not on the injury report for week 3. Turner being a healthy scratch is interesting, and this situation is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
G Chris Paul – N/A
The seventh-round guard out of Tulsa was inactive for the Commanders’ contest against the Eagles. Paul is the backup to starting G Andrew Norwell, so it is possible that Paul could eventually play if more injuries happen.
CB Christian Holmes – C
Holmes has mainly been contributing on special teams, but the grade for this week does not come from his special teams performance. PFF has Holmes graded as a 41.8 overall defensive player, less than solid, but Holmes is only a seventh-round pick and we shouldn’t place to many expectations on him, right? Well that is true, however with William Jackson out this past week due to injury, that opened the door for another corner to step up. However, Rachad Wildgoose started, who was completely atrocious in his first career NFL start. It is slightly concerning for Holmes’ sake that he could not beat out Wildgoose for a chance to really play a good amount of snaps considering how bad Wildgoose looked, but we’ll see if he gets any playing time going forward.