The Washington Commanders ignored some obvious needs in the 2025 NFL draft, specifically edge-rusher, but it’s one pick they did make that has former head coach Jay Gruden riled.
Specifically, sixth-round selection Kain Medrano. The former UCLA linebacker doesn’t impress Gruden, who didn’t hold back when discussing the player’s limitations on his “Clean Pocket Podcast” for Underdog Fantasy.
Gruden, who coached in Washington from 2014-19, explained how Medrano “is more of a sideline to sideline runner. He’s not a thumper at all. He’s only 220 pounds. If you are playing him against the run to stop Saquon Barkley between the tackles, get him out! If it’s 3-and-12 a passing situation, you can put him in there; he can cover a lot of ground. He could play some kickoff coverage. He’s not a very physical guy. He looks more like a safety to me. He gets overpowered in the run and is a drag down tackler.”
That’s a scathing assessment, and Gruden has raised some valid concerns. Particularly given how the Commanders were beaten up on the ground against the Philadelphia Eagles in last season’s NFC Championship Game.
Yet, Gruden may have missed the point about what this Commanders coaching staff expects to get from Medrano.
Jay Gruden’s Kain Medrano Concerns Are Valid
Gruden’s reference to the need to stop 2024 NFL rushing champion Saquon Barkley is valid. He rushed for over 2,000 yards last season and helped the Eagles rush for 229 yards and seven touchdowns against Washington with the Conference title at stake.
Stopping the run was far from a team strength for the Commanders. They allowed 4.8 yards per carry last season, before the defensive front was weakened further by tackle Jonathan Allen joining the Minnesota Vikings in free agency.
Medrano is hardly likely to help fortify a front seven already vulnerable to the run. Not when he consistently displays what Commanders analyst Mark Bullock told Full Press NFL’s George Carmi is “poor tackling technique.”
Size is also an issue for somebody playing linebacker in a safety’s body. Medrano is 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, but those pounds are held on a lean frame.
The issues in Medrano’s game are obvious, but the upside is also clear based on the history of current head coach Dan Quinn.
Commanders Have the Right Template for Draft Pick
Medrano’s undersized, but he does fit what Quinn has traditionally liked to do at linebacker. Namely, have speedy and rangy athletes at the position.
The prime example is Super Bowl 48 MVP Malcolm Smith. The 225-pounder was a seventh-round pick in the 2011 NFL draft who became an invaluable hybrid type in the legendary ‘Legion of Boom’ defense Quinn called for the Seattle Seahawks.
Quinn continued the template during stops with the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys, where the likes of De’Vondre Campbell and Jayron Kearse played the hybrid coverage linebacker role.
Medrano can do the same thanks to the “4.46u speed” he showed off at the Scouting Combine. There’s also the “athletic profile” to thrive at every level of coverage, potential highlighted by Bullock for Carmi.
Any late-round pick faces an uphill battle to make the roster, but Medrano has enough of the traits Quinn admires to be in the mix. He can earn reps at the position Jeremy Chinn played last season, before the multi-faceted veteran became a member of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Medrano should compete with linebacker Jordan Magee and safeties Tyler Owens and Dominique Hampton to take on this niche role.
