comparison of talent<\/a> between the 2024 squad that went to the NFC Championship game versus the current collection of talent we have assembled. The 2026 positional groups blew the 2024 team out of the water.<\/p>\nDepth is tested each and every year in the NFL, and it\u2019s very important for a roster to have good reserves as well as quality starters in order to compete at a high level throughout the season. With that, I wanted to take a look at the Commanders depth and see if this roster is really ready for a run.<\/p>\n
Tyler\u2019s take: A lot of the 2026 Commanders depth could have started for Ron Rivera\u2019s teams\u2026<\/p>\n
Marcus Mariota \u2014 Former starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: Although Marcus Mariota never lived up to the hype as the second overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, he\u2019s one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL. Athan Kaliakmanis is an unknown at this point but, if he can step up and secure QB3, this team will be better for it.<\/p>\n
Kaytron Allen \u2014 Can become a starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: It seems that Bill Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White will share the load in the backfield, but rookie Kaytron \u201cFatman\u201d Allen could push for carries early and become a short-yardage specialist in 2026.<\/p>\n
Dyami Brown \u2014 Former starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: This is one area where the depth is decent, but the starting group remains very undefined and relatively underwhelming. What I do like is the youth and athleticism that the Commanders have as reserves and the flexibility that some of these players have to line up at different spots within the new offense.<\/p>\n
John Bates \u2014 Situational starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: Bates is one of the best blocking tight ends in the entire league, and Sinnott has the potential to become a much more valuable asset to the offense under new coordinator David Blough.<\/p>\n
Chris Paul – Starting caliber<\/p>\n
Matt Gulbin \u2014 Could compete for starting center<\/p>\n
Andrew Wylie \u2014 Former starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: Having two former starters as reserves is massive. Maybe Chris Paul wins the starting job again and Brandon Coleman is in a reserve role, but however you slice it, the starting group has greatly improved and the depth behind them gives the coaching staff flexibility.<\/p>\n
Tim Settle \u2014 Situational starter<\/p>\n
Charles Omenihu \u2014 Situational starter<\/p>\n
Jer\u2019Zhan Newton \u2014 Fringe starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: There are probably a dozen plus teams in the NFL where Tim Settle, Charles Omenihu and Jer\u2019Zhan Newton would be starters. Having them here as rotational pieces\/situational starters is an absolute blessing. It will help to keep Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw fresh and will allow for multiple looks up front.<\/p>\n
Dorance Armstrong \u2014 Situational starter<\/p>\n
Joshua Josephs \u2014 Can become a starter<\/p>\n
Deatrich Wise \u2014 Former starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: Aside from linebacker, no positional group on the team underwent a bigger transformation than EDGE. Two potential difference makers (Odafe Oweh and K\u2019Lavon Chaisson) were brought in to provide an immediate impact, and with that comes depth behind them. Dorance Armstrong, who is coming off a knee injury, was a starter the past two years, and Deatrich Wise was going to be a major contributor on the 2025 defense before getting injured early in the season. Joshua Josephs has immense potential to become an impact player down the line.<\/p>\n
Frankie Luvu \u2014 Situational starter<\/p>\n
Jordan Magee \u2014 Situational starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: Having a linebacker room with a former All-Pro (Luvu) who may play as a situational starter in 2026 says a lot about just how far this room has come. What I can confidently say is that Luvu and Magee would have been starters in the Ron Rivera days. Linebacker went from a massive weakness to a team strength simmingly overnight. <\/p>\n
Amik Robertson \u2014 Situational starter<\/p>\n
Ahkello Witherspoon \u2014 Fringe starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: Some may disagree with this, but the cornerback room is nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be, especially when you factor in the scheme and how a third safety is often used as a nickel defender. Amik Robertson has inside\/outside versatility and is still young. Ahkello Witherspoon has length and athleticism and could carve out a nice reserve role in this defense. Darius Rush and Car\u2019lin Vigers give Daronte Jones some young, long, athletic players to develop.<\/p>\n
Quan Martin \u2014 Situational starter<\/p>\n
Analysis: Seeing as Minnesota played a lot with three safeties \u2014 and defensive coordinator Daronte Jones should pull from Vikings defensive philosophies \u2014 I think that looking at the depth here is important. Having a guy in Quan Martin, who projects as a versatile chess-piece in this defense, is intriguing. Cross is the alpha of the group, and although there might not be a lot of big names here, if Jones can get this group on the same page, and the scheme fits the players\u2019 talents, we could be in a good situation.<\/p>\n
Overall, this is the best team depth I can remember Washington having since before the turn of the century. Every team in the NFL is just one injury away from having to turn to their depth and, as you clearly saw with last year\u2019s Commanders, that did not work out very well.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m much more confident that if the Commanders\u2019 depth is yet again tested this season that this group will be much better prepared to handle it.<\/p>\n
Hypothetical depth-only starting lineup<\/p>\n
TE \u2014 John Bates\/Ben Sinnott<\/p>\n
EDGE \u2014 Dorance Armstrong<\/p>\n
EDGE \u2014 Charles Omenihu\/Jonathan Josephs<\/p>\n
CB \u2014 Ahkello Witherspoon<\/p>\n
S \u2014 Percy Butler\/Malik Spence<\/p>\n
How many games could this make-shift starting lineup win in 2026? Let us know about that and your thoughts on the Commanders depth in the comments below. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s note: This isn\u2019t a complete depth chart, but an examination of depth on the Commanders roster, omitting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99,250452],"class_list":["post-677981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports","tag-washington-commanders-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}