A lot has been made of the Washington Commanders’ new offense. Quarterback, Carson Wentz, will be the focal point of an offense that the organization believes will finally take them over the hump and into the playoffs. However, with all the attention on the offense, the defense is being overlooked, and the Commander’s defense might be one of the reasons Washington underperforms internal expectations.
The defense was one of the worst in the NFL in 2021
In 2020, Washington’s defense was the heart and soul of the team. It shocked the entire NFL, and they established themselves as one of the best defenses in the NFL. Heading into 2021, the defense was supposed to be the building block for the franchise.
Spoiler Alert; it wasn’t.
Washington’s defense was surprisingly one of the worst in the NFL. Here are some stats for the 2021 season.
25th in scoring offense
29th in passing yards allowed per game
22nd in total yards allowed per game
However, it is not all doom and gloom for Washington. The defense was plagued by injuries all season, including star edge rusher Chase Young, and Washington was top ten in rushing defense.
If Washington stays healthy, can the defense return to its 2020 form?
Washington did not address the secondary in the offseason.
Washington fans were ecstatic when Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton was available to them at the No. 11 pick in the 2022 draft. In classic Washington fashion, fans’ hearts dropped when they traded their pick to the New Orleans Saints.
Washington traded down to the No. 16 pick. Two picks later, Washington’s neighbor in the DMV area, the Baltimore Ravens, drafted Hamilton with the 14th pick.
Ron Rivera and co were hyperfocused on improving the offense that they missed out on a player who was projected as a top-five pick and was once ranked as the number one overall prospect in the entire draft.
It would make sense if Washington secondary were loaded. It isn’t loaded, and the secondary struggled mightly in 2021.
Furthermore, the Commanders did not make any free agent signings to improve their ability to defend the pass. In an era where teams can pass at a phenomenal rate, teams need to be able to defend the pass.
It seems that they are banking on the same personnel making another drastic change in 2022, or were they too focused on the offense to fix the defense?
Releasing Landon Collins is a bigger deal than most people think.
It is one thing trading for a quarterback with a huge contract, and the money is already there to be spent. It is another when salary needs to be created for the quarterback. Finally, the quarterback has a lot of question marks surrounding him. There are new reports suggesting the Colts were desperate to get rid of Wentz.
In order to bring in Wentz and his salary, hybrid safety and linebacker Landon Collins was released. Some fans will rejoice. Collins, when he played safety, was responsible for letting a handful of deep passes be completed. However, when he made the move to linebacker, he was a huge part of Washington’s defense, especially against the run.
However, Washington released Collins, and although it is possible that he will return, Collins’ absence will be felt on the defensive side of the football.
What does all of this mean for the 2022 season?
The offense will get a lot of attention throughout the season, but the defense will be the determining factor in how far this team can go. With a lack of draft or free agency attention in the offseason to the defense, Washington fans should expect more of the same in 2022.
