Gulbin didn\u2019t become a full-time starter at center until his only year at Michigan State. He had one start in the middle of the offensive line before 2025, with 11 starts at right guard in 2023 and 11 at left guard in 2024. While center will be his main position in Washington, Gulbin\u2019s versatility is a quality NFL teams love in their offensive linemen. Washington has a player who can fit into any of the three interior line spots if someone goes down with an injury. Now, he won\u2019t win the job outright because of this, but it will make his case better if it\u2019s a close call coming out of training camp.<\/p>\n
While Michigan State didn\u2019t have much success in 2025, Gulbin\u2019s season was a much different story. Pro Football Focus ranked him the second-best center in all of college football last year with a total grade of 82.6. He was also the second-highest rated center in run blocking, ending the season with a grade of 81.9, and fifth-best at pass blocking with an 87.8.<\/p>\n
Being graded as the second-best center out of 307 qualified players is impressive. What makes it better is doing that while competing in the Big Ten against teams with destructive front sevens like Penn State and Michigan. PFF credited Gulbin with only giving up five pressures, two sacks, one quarterback hit, and was only called for four penalties. If Gulbin continues the strong performance from his senior year in the NFL, Washington may have one of the biggest steals of the 2026 Draft.<\/p>\n
Is Commanders DL Daron Payne Primed for Another Breakout Season?<\/a><\/p>\n This past week, Commanders<\/a> defensive tackle Daron Payne posted training videos demonstrating the incredible grind he has embraced this offseason.<\/p>\n One video, featured on the Washington Commanders official website, showed Payne participating in footwork drills in Ashburn, Virginia. In the background, you can spot new Commanders defensive line coach Eric Henderson<\/a> \u2014 the former USC and Los Angeles Rams assistant \u2014 staring with approval and urging his new student on.<\/p>\n Henderson uses \u2018dawg work\u2019 as a cultural philosophy, breaking down the first half of the phrase into the core character traits required of his players:<\/p>\n D-Discipline: Doing things the right way consistently and focusing on the details you control every day.A \u2013 Attitude: Bracing yourself with a positive, aggressive, and proactive mindset.W \u2013 Work Ethic: Showing up with a lunch-pail mentality, willing to put in effort when the cameras aren\u2019t on you.G \u2013 Grit: Showing toughness and perseverance through physical and mental challenges.<\/p>\n Over his career in DC, Payne has accumulated 37 sacks, 432 tackles, and 65 tackles for loss. Primarily serving on the interior defensive line, he has spent over 3,000 snaps as a B-gap defender. The remaining 3,000 snaps of his career are roughly split between playing as an A-gap\/nose defender, or lining up directly over the offensive tackle.<\/p>\n He enters 2026 in the final year of the four-year, $90 million contract extension he signed with the Commanders on March 12, 2023. At the time of his signing, the deal included $60 million in total guarantees, with $46 million fully guaranteed at signing. His current contract ranks him 12th out of 289 interior defensive linemen leaguewide.<\/p>\n Many fans have joked that Payne possesses a \u201ccontract year\u201d or \u201cleap year\u201d alter-ego due to his massive breakout performance in 2022 \u2014 the last time he was playing for a new deal. That season, Payne hit a career high-water mark of 11.5 sacks, soaring well above his career average of 3.5 sacks per year.<\/p>\n Commanders rookie Antonio Williams intends to out-perform draft spot<\/a><\/p>\n On May 22nd, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn joined the \u2018Sports Junkies\u2019 show on 106.7 The Fan to discuss a wide range of topics. When asked about rookie Antonio Williams, he had nothing but praise for the young wideout.<\/p>\n \u201cI think one thing that you see, like, right off the bat, like, man, this guy has feel,\u201d Quinn said Friday. \u201cHe knows when to stop. He knows how to adjust. He just has, like, awareness already as like a big-time receiver. He\u2019s got great hands, great movements to go. So, yeah, he\u2019s off to a helluva start. We\u2019ve got 15 rookies here, that are kinda into the space, and he has definitely been one that has absolutely jumped out. He\u2019s got a real skill about him. So, yeah, we\u2019re really pumped about Antonio.\u201d<\/p>\n While breaking down a handful of Rookie wideouts for Bleacher Report, Moe Moton cited Williams as a prospect who could out-play where [he was] selected.<\/p>\n \u201cWilliams can take over the primary role out of the slot, though he could also be the No. 2 receiver on the perimeter. The versatile wideout played both roles in college,\u201d Moton wrote<\/a>. \u201cWashington may have found its reliable secondary target who could develop in a similar mold to McLaurin, who was also a third-round pick in his class.\u201d<\/p>\n Lining up all over the field in college, Williams proved he is a multi-dimensional threat at the wide receiver position. As he gets ready to enter the pros, he is striving to bring a similar level of versatility to the Commanders.<\/p>\n NFL offseason 2026: OTA, minicamp dates for all 32 teams<\/a>May 27-29June 2-4June 9-11<\/p>\n Mandatory minicamp: June 16-18<\/p>\n Commanders OTAs could reveal first real shape of Jayden Daniels protection plan<\/a><\/p>\n Washington is stuck with Nick Allegretti as their projected starter and sixth-round rookie Matt Gulbin as his backup.<\/p>\n With the Commanders\u2019 organized team activities set to begin [this] week, we\u2019re about to find out whether or not that\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n Biadasz was an average starter<\/a> during his two seasons in Washington, but Allegretti is far from a guarantee to even be that. He makes for an ideal plug-and-play backup due to his versatility around the line. Trusting him to be anything more is a dangerous game.<\/p>\n Then, there\u2019s Gulbin, whom the Commanders desperately hope turns out to exceed draft expectations.<\/p>\n The Michigan State product was an All-Big Ten honorable mention last season nd received the best center grade in his class, per Pro Football Focus. He\u2019s been praised for his football intelligence and reliability, playing every snap of his first 11 games last season.<\/p>\n But whether or not Gulbin translates to the NFL is a different story.<\/p>\n His athletic measurables aren\u2019t great, and that matters more at the highest level. At the end of the day, if you\u2019re looking to a sixth-round rookie for answers, you\u2019re probably doing it wrong.<\/p>\n 24. Adam Peters, Commanders<\/p>\n Adam Peters went all in on 2025 [from BiB: I still marvel at this unfounded narrative that AP was \u201call in\u201d because he signed a bunch of veteran free agents to vet minimum contract to fill out the roster; it\u2019s a crazy assertion that is completely belied by the last sentence in this paragraph \u2014 you can\u2019t have it both ways]. He is currently at the lobby ATM getting ready to buy back in. That was a bust of a campaign. There is no way to sugarcoat it. It\u2019s nice to have a young star quarterback, but you probably aren\u2019t going to win the Super Bowl if you lack skill player depth, offensive line depth, backfield depth and high-end defensive talent.<\/p>\n Commanders fans can only hope it was a painful but necessary lesson in NFL team-building. There are no shortcuts [from BiB: Again, no shortcuts were taken in \u201925; it was an interim season in a 4-year roster re-making that is still underway. Sorry, but this analysis is beyond uninformed; it\u2019s just plain stupid]. That was felt most acutely during April\u2019s draft, where last year\u2019s deficit spending left the Commandos with only two top-100 selections [from BiB: the two missing draft picks were not flushed down the toilet; they were used to trade for the team\u2019s elite starting left tackle, Laremy Tunsil], just one of which came in the top 70. That would be No. 7 overall pick Sonny Styles, a meat-and-potatoes addition that at least showed Peters was no longer under the impression he was one player away. That followed a free agency where he loaded up on regular defensive contributors. Back to basics, you could say [from BiB: Continuing the process, I would say]. Humbling, but there\u2019s nothing wrong with getting the message. If you\u2019re going to put it all on the table, you better at least have the cards.<\/p>\n While we\u2019re at it, here\u2019s RotoPat\u2019s 2025 analysis of Adam Peters:<\/a><\/p>\n 11. Adam Peters, Commanders<\/p>\n Adam Peters made the NFC Championship Game his first year on the job. With a quarterback he drafted. With a coach he hired. With a defensive captain he signed in free agency. Other than that, it was a so-so season. So yes, Peters had the inaugural campaign dreams are made of. Although you could argue that there\u2019s nowhere to go but down, Peters has kept his sights trained upward. He traded for a No. 1 cornerback in Marshon Lattimore, left tackle in Laremy Tunsil, and No. 2 wideout in Deebo Samuel. He used the No. 29 overall pick on a right tackle. Consider Washington\u2019s primary needs addressed. Although this team is understandably playing for 2025, Peters now just needs to make sure he doesn\u2019t sacrifice overall roster stability and depth for the transient present. There\u2019s a reason Washington was picking No. 2 overall in 2024. Then again, when your circumstances change, there\u2019s no point in pretending otherwise. What was supposed to be a rebuild is instead a championship window. If Peters ends up paying a price in 2027 or 2028, there\u2019s a strong chance it will have been worth it. Peters had a first-year plan. He executed it to perfection. He\u2019s earned the benefit of the doubt for seasons to come.<\/p>\n PHOTOS | Washington\u2019s helmets through the years<\/a><\/p>\n The Washington Commanders have had some iconic helmets throughout their 90-plus years of history. Check out all the looks Washington has had in their history.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Goal Is To Win\u201d | Commanders\u2019 6th-Round Pick Matt Gulbin | Raise Hail With The Rookies | NFL<\/p>\n Is Jayden Daniels a Top 10 Quarterback In the NFL? Grant & Danny<\/p>\n Commanders\u2019 hopes of landing Brian Thomas Jr. all but dead<\/a><\/p>\n At this point, anyone who\u2019s unaware of the Commanders\u2019 razor-thin pass-catching corps is living under a rock. Thomas would address that problem in spades, and he has an established rapport with Daniels dating back to their time together at LSU. Put two and two together, and the nation\u2019s capital profiles as a logical landing spot, albeit fruitlessly.<\/p>\n Naturally, Washington has come up as a potential landing spot for Thomas \u2014 almost to a fault<\/a>. Be that as it may, the Jaguars \u201caren\u2019t trading\u201d him,<\/a> per Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union.<\/p>\n It\u2019d be shocking to see the Jags willingly opt out of the Thomas business, especially coming off a massively disappointing campaign. His stock is at its lowest right now, plus he\u2019s under team control through at least 2027. Harvey\u2019s intel just further validates the truth of the matter and crosses a talented playmaker off the Commanders\u2019 wishlist.<\/p>\n Thomas is in a weird spot with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who seem to be talking out of both sides of their mouth regarding his future. On one hand, there\u2019s been months-long chatter that the 2024 first-round pick can be had for the right price. Yet, on the other hand, the club is posturing that he\u2019s not available.<\/p>\n
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