Washington Commanders fans have been speculating on how Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. intend to deploy surprise draft pick Kain Medrano this season. I doubt we’ll have much insight into that question until we see the former UCLA star on the field. But his selection does indicate something about the type of defense they intend to run.
Had we all been paying attention, we would have been talking about this several years ago.
There has been a trend in the NFL of late, emanating from right up the road in Baltimore. When Mike Macdonald took over defensive coordinator duties from Wink Martindale in 2023, he put the finishing touches on a scheme that had been brewing for some time.
The Ravens had the best defense in the NFL that year, although you could make a case for the Cleveland Browns. It led to Macdonald getting the Seattle Seahawks head coaching job, where he is attempting to adapt that defense to his talent.
For most of football’s history, defenses have been defined by their front seven. We talk about a base 4-3 or 3-4. It has been that way since the 1950s, when the league began encouraging passing, thus forcing defenses to drop more players into coverage.
Commanders molding their defense around the 2023 Ravens' strategy
Creative coordinators have tinkered with where players line up, and every defense makes situational adjustments for short-yardage or third-and-long scenarios. But the basic 4-3 and 3-4 fronts have mostly gone unchallenged.
In 2020, Washington ran a classic 4-3 base. They had two lengthy, speedy pass-rushing defensive ends in Montez Sweat and Chase Young, two bigger defensive tackles in Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, and a typical set of linebackers.
Cole Holcomb was a somewhat bigger SAM. Kevin Pierre-Louis was the more athletic coverage backer. Jon Bostic played in the middle, as the MIKE.
For some reason, whether by design or by incompetence, Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio essentially obliterated the Washington linebacking corps over the next few seasons. They attempted to force Jamin Davis into a role for which he was unsuited. They allowed Holcomb to leave without finding an adequate replacement. Bostic and Pierre-Louis were already near the end of their runs.
Rivera and Del Rio had both been professional linebackers. It was very bizarre to watch as they virtually abandoned the position. In 2021, they tried something that didn’t work, but it suggested a path forward.
With Bostic out most of the year with a torn pectoral and Davis struggling, Del Rio shifted box safety Landon Collins into a de facto linebacker role.
Collins had lost a step and was a liability in coverage, but he could still hit. With the move, Kameron Curl could switch to his more natural strong safety position, with Bobby McCain moving into the free safety spot. This improved production across the secondary.
But Collins didn’t like playing so close to the line of scrimmage and didn’t thrive in his role. So the defense, especially the linebacking play, suffered.
Fast forward to 2024. The Commanders' defense took a huge step forward. One of the most obvious reasons is that its linebackers — Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu — are about a hundred times better than their counterparts from 2023, Davis and Cody Barton.
I am only listing two names. That’s because Washington no longer uses a traditional 4-3 or 3-4 front. On the roster, they may list other defenders as linebackers, but they aren’t. Not in the traditional sense.
Last year, the Commanders’ base defense was a 3-2-4, with two additional hybrid players who shifted around depending on the particular call. One of them was hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr., who manned that role more than anyone else.
Commanders still need a dynamic safety/linebacker hybrid to make it work
The other was a hybrid safety/linebacker. That role was played by Jeremy Chinn. Washington took the traditional third linebacker role and split it between two players. One was better suited to playing on the line and rushing the passer, and the other was better suited to dropping into short coverage and shutting down crossers.
The first thing to notice about this situation is that both Fowler and Chinn are gone this year. How will they be replaced?
Jacob Martin would appear to be a plug-and-play fill-in for Fowler. However, new safety Will Harris can't do what Chinn did last year. He is a good player, but looks much more like a traditional box safety than a hybrid who can run and make disruptive plays all over the field.
The Commanders still have a long way to go to match the Ravens' defense of 2023. That safety/linebacker hybrid position is the biggest hole as of now.
Wagner and Luvu can approximate the all-around playmaking of the Ravens’ Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen. Martin may not be able to match what Jadeveon Clowney provided in 2023 and then Kyle Van Noy did last year, but if he gets close, he will be a valuable addition.
One of the clearest signs that Washington may be trying to recreate the Ravens' defense can be seen in how they have beefed up the defensive line. Javon Kinlaw and Deatrich Wise Jr. are simply bigger players than the ones they are likely replacing. Physically, they are more like Nnamdi Madubuike and Brett Urban, who typically flanked the nose tackle in Baltimore’s 3-4 front.
One of the most under-the-radar signings Adam Peters made this offseason was Eddie Goldman, who's played in just 31 games over the past five seasons. He doesn’t project to make much of a splash in Washington. But he is a true nose tackle — something the Commanders haven't had in about a decade.
The mere fact that they wanted him in camp suggests an interest in replicating the Ravens' defense.
Though some of the pieces seem to fit together, the one thing Washington is missing is that safety/linebacker hybrid. That’s why Medrano may be on the roster, though projecting success for him in that role would be a huge leap of faith at this point.
Macdonald had perhaps the best in the league in Kyle Hamilton, and the Seahawks moved up in the draft specifically to take a very similar player in Nick Emmanwori this year.
The Commanders have two very good playmakers in the secondary, Quan Martin and Mike Sainristil. Neither is anywhere near big enough to slug it out in the middle of the field the way Chinn did last year.
Perhaps I am wrong about Harris. Perhaps second-year man Dominique Hampton, who fits the athletic profile, or Tyler Owens can fill that type of role. Or perhaps Whitt has his wrinkle in mind which will take a smaller player like Sainristil and turn him into a playmaking monster.
Even if Quinn wants to model the 2025 Commanders' defense on the 2023 Ravens, it doesn’t mean they have to be an exact match.
