Adam Peters is a smart guy. He'll know what's needed.
No one debates what the most important position on an NFL roster is. It seems that with each passing year, having a great quarterback becomes more essential to having great success.
Neither Super Bowl team had a Pro Bowler under center in 2024. That means voters deemed at least three quarterbacks in the AFC had better seasons than Patrick Mahomes, and at least NFC signal callers were better than Jalen Hurts
That could be an anomaly or a general undervaluing of Hurts. It doesn’t alter the overwhelming perception.
There’s another less obvious point about the value of each position. This comes into focus when analyzing end-of-year awards such as All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections, and season-long grades like those furnished by Pro Football Focus. After quarterback, no position may be more associated with overall team success than the defensive line interior.
Commanders must bolster their defensive trenches during the offseason
That is why the Washington Commanders must make a serious effort to acquire a player like Osa Odighizuwa. There are several other options if the Dallas Cowboys' emerging defensive tackle becomes too expensive, but that is where general manager Adam Peters should start his pursuit.
Consider these data points. Of the 14 teams to qualify for the playoffs in 2024, only four of them failed to have at least two defensive tackles with a Pro Football Focus grade in the top 50.
One of them — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — had one tackle in the top 20 and another just outside the top 50. The Houston Texans had three clustered between numbers 57 and 64. The Minnesota Vikings had the second-worst representation — their top tackle ranked 59th.
The Commanders had five defensive tackles qualified to be ranked. The highest-rated was Jonathan Allen at No. 70. He missed more than half the campaign with an injury and turned 30 years old last month. Every other interior defensive lineman ranked below him — in the bottom half of the league.
If these numbers are believed, Washington achieved tremendous success in 2024 despite a major weakness in the middle of the defensive front.
Of course, PFF numbers aren’t sacrosanct. However, there is other evidence to support the idea that having a strong defensive interior is vital for success.
Both Super Bowl teams had an All-Pro defensive tackle. It is one of the only positions on the field where that is the case. Chris Jones was the top-rated interior lineman according to PFF. Jalen Carter was one of four defensive tackles from the Philadelphia Eagles ranked in the top 22. That’s a staggering statistic.
The Detroit Lions — the NFL's best team during the regular season — had three defensive tackles in the top 40. Some analysts believe their campaign was sabotaged, not so much by the loss of edge rusher Aidan Hutchison early in the season, but by the subsequent loss of top 10 interior lineman Alim McNeill in Week 15.
It seems clear that Washington needs significantly better production from the interior of its defensive front if it is going to equal or surpass last year’s run to the NFC Championship game.
What makes Odighizuwa the most enticing choice is his youth at 26 years old, his familiarity with Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr., and his recent upward trajectory. Though this is not a sensational free-agent year for interior linemen, there are several other options should the bidding war for the UCLA product grow too rich for Peters’ blood.
Milton Williams offers everything that Odighizuwa does in terms of youth and upside. Like Odighizuwa, signing him would be weakening a division rival. The only thing that puts the Cowboy over the Eagle is that Williams has never produced as a starter like Odighizuwa did in 2024.
Detroit’s Levi Onwuzurike and Dayo Odeyingbo from the Indianapolis Colts are other promising young players who could be on the Commanders’ radar. Both may be better suited to playing defensive end in a 3-4 front but have the size to shift inside.
If Peters wants a short-term deal for a veteran while trying to develop through the draft, he has steady options like the B.J. Hill and Jarran Reed potentially available on the cheap. At the same time, he could throw numbers at the problem by inking a rotational player like Sebastian Joseph-Day, whom Peters is familiar with from their time together on the San Francisco 49ers.
The Commanders have options. He should test the waters on Odighizuwa and move on from there.
There is one other possibility that merits consideration. Maybe all those ratings metrics are wrong.
The core of the Commanders' defensive front — Allen, Daron Payne, and Johnny Newton — did not look especially good to the untrained eye, and their numbers were mundane. But there’s no disputing that they played in front of two linebackers who were both second-team All-Pros in 2024.
That tends not to happen if the defensive front is weak. Newton should improve with experience. Allen and Payne have produced to Pro Bowl-caliber levels in the past. Standing pat is not completely out of the question.
But it seems highly unlikely.
This is an aggressive front office with money to spend and a great window for success. This is a franchise that is finally being run by genuine professional football men who understand basic truths about the game.
Truths like the fact that the best player in the NFL over the past decade was not Mahomes. It was Aaron Donald, a defensive tackle. Or that the real MVP of Super Bowl LIV was not Mahomes, but his teammate Jones, another defensive tackle.
That’s not a knock on Mahomes. He is among the greatest ever. But what was true about football 100 years ago is still true today. If you are weak in the middle, you will not win.
The Commanders need an edge rusher, another cornerback, and a prolific wide receiver. They need a defensive tackle most of all.
