Commanders Plan ‘Major Leap’ for Surprise Breakout Candidate

Internal solutions will be key to a defensive revival for the Washington Commanders, so it makes sense coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. has a special plan for a surprise second-year pro coaches are expecting to take a “major leap” forward.

Linebacker Jordan Magee is the player being hyped for a breakout campaign. Injuries wrecked his rookie season, but the fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft got a “lot of reps at minicamp,” according to The Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabavala.

She explained to 106.7 The Fan host Tobi Altizer and franchise great Brian Mitchell, why Magee was so active at minicamp because 34-year-old 10-time Pro Bowler Bobby Wagner “doesn’t need these minicamp reps.”

Yet, Jhabvala also acknowledged Magee “does look more confident out there. I know DQ (head coach Dan Quinn), I know AP (general manager Adam Peters) have also, they’ve raved about him, they really expect him to take a major leap this year.”

Magee’s best chance of meeting those expectations will be a defensive package planned by Whitt to solve the Commanders’ biggest weakness from last season.

Jordan Magee Key to Commanders’ Defensive Shift

It’s not often a player drafted 139th overall, who then started just one game as a rookie, can be considered key to his team making a shift on defense. Unusual or not, that’s just what Magee is entering his second season.

Specifically, the former Temple standout will be important in a package Whitt “wanted to run with him last year, w\ the (knee) injury we weren’t able to.” The play-caller told reporters “we want to get more three LB pkgs vs nickel to sure up vs the run. He’s had great call command, and he’s learned a lot from Bobby Wagner,” per Monumental Sports Network’s Mitchell Tischler.

Getting Magee onto the field with Wagner and fellow linebacker Frankie Luvu more often can fix the Commanders’ frailty against the run. The soft spot was mercilessly exploited by Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles in last season’s NFC Championship Game.

Whitt’s unit was gashed for 229 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground with a place in the Super Bowl at stake. Now Whitt wants bigger, more versatile people in the lineup on early downs.

Magee isn’t the biggest at 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds, but he’s more of a force than a safety playing in the box. He is also a willing hitter who knows how to get downhill in a hurry.

Whitt can keep Magee clean to run to the ball by covering him up with the “bigger personnel” the DC plans to use “on first and second down,” per Commanders.com Senior Writer Zach Selby.

The plan is for new arrivals 319-pound Javon Kinlaw and 332-pounder Eddie Goldman to “create better matchups against 12 and 13 personnel.”

Bulkier linemen and a third linebacker will beef up the Commanders against punishing ground games, but it’s not the only reason Magee can prove invaluable to Washington’s defense.

Commanders Need Youth Movement at Linebacker

Wagner being in the winter of his career means the Commanders are due for a youth movement at linebacker. There’s no obvious alternative to Wagner, who is a likely future Hall of Famer with plenty still left in the tank, as well as the knowledge to tutor a young upstart like Magee.

Learning from one of the best to ever play the position can also be useful for this year’s sixth-round pick Kain Medrano. The rookie has his critics, including a former Commanders head coach, but Medrano was an active playmaker at UCLA.

What 230-pound Medrano lacks is the frame of a natural thumper in the middle. Like Magee, he’s another swift, sideline-to-sideline linebacker who will need to be kept clean behind a heavier front.

If that happens, the Commanders could have more than one surprise player break out at a key position.