Commanders Predicted to Replace ‘Castoffs’ With 17-Sack DE

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Washington Commanders defenders Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler.

It’s kind of wild to think that as recently as 3 years ago, the future of the Washington Commanders was another No. 2 overall pick, just like Pro Bowl quarterback Jayden Daniels was in 2024.

That player — 2020 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young — is no longer with the team and has to be looked at as one of the biggest draft disappointments in franchise history. He was also part of a midseason purge in 2023 that saw both of the team’s talented young edge rushers traded away — Young to the San Francisco 49ers and Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears.

In their place came a group of players without much fanfare and some, like Dante Fowler and Dorance Armstrong, who followed Washington head coach Dan Quinn over from his job as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.

All that group did was help turn the Commanders into one of the NFC’s best teams, go 12-5 in the regular season and win their first playoff game since 2005 — the Commanders face the Detroit Lions in the NFC Divisional Playoffs on January 18.

That doesn’t mean they won’t be hastily replaced in the offseason, and The Athletic’s latest mock draft has the Commanders drafting an edge rusher in the first round with Marshall’s Mike Green.

Green Became Nation’s Elite Edge Rusher in 2024

Green led the FBS with 17.0 sacks in 2024 and led Marshall to its first Sun Belt Conference championship. He was masterful from beginning to end, with sacks in 10 out of 13 games and 4 multi-sack games.

From The Athetic: “Dan Quinn has done a great job getting functional pass-rush production out of Cowboys castoffs, such as Dante Fowler and Dorance Armstrong. But it would make sense for this front office to invest in young, promising players on the edges. Green could be part of a rotation before taking over the full-time starting role.”

Green, 6-foot-4 and 248 pounds, played the first 2 seasons of his college career at Virginia before he transferred to Marshall for his last 2 seasons, with 43 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2023.

Fowler Resurrected Career in Washington

While Armstrong represented a much bigger investment with a 3-year, $33 million contract, Fowler was a much smaller bet with a 1-year, $3.25 million contract.

Fowler, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, delivered arguably the best season of his career with a team-leading 11.0 sacks. That he did it while playing on his third different team in 4 seasons makes it all the more remarkable.

That production should translate into an unexpected windfall for Fowler late in his career; Spotrac has his projected market value at a 3-year, $15.5 million contract.

Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder thinks the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are in desperate need of edge rushers, might be one of the leading teams to go after Fowler in free agency.

“Fowler might not contribute much against the run, but he does have 53.5 career sacks in 138 games with 44 starts,” Holder wrote on December 16. “Comparatively, the 30-year-old who turns 31 in August would lead the Buccaneers with 8.5 sacks this season. Additionally, he’s from St. Petersburg, so this would be a homecoming for him.”