The Washington Commanders have spent a lot of draft capital the past few seasons on defensive players, including four first-round picks on defensive linemen – Jon Allen, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat and Chase Young – and cornerback Emmanuel Forbes in the first round this year.
Entering the 2023 NFL season, the expectation for Ron Rivera's and Jack Del Rio's defense should be great things and a Top 5 unit (not a good Top 10 unit) if the Commanders have any hopes of competing, Kevin Sheehan said on Team 980 this week.
Sheehan begins the conversation by pointing out that we have, perhaps, let the defense off the hook a little bit in talking about them as a good defense.
"I think the expectation should be higher than Top 10," Sheehan said of the Commanders defense. "I don't know if it can be higher than Top 10 without some help. I think they have a pretty good roster defensively... Top 10 is good. Top 5's great. I'd like to see great this year. I think that's a reasonable expectation. It would certainly help if they could score some points. If the game context can change for them, where they actually have leads and they can really go after a team that's trying to come from behind."
One thing the defense can do to help their cause is getting off to a fast start to the season, something they did not do in Week 1 and Week 2 last season before getting it a bit together, especially against the run, vs. Philadelphia.
"They're gonna get Colt McCoy in the opener," Sheehan said. "You gotta start quickly against an Arizona team that looks like the worst team in football without a guy that can run around and make a couple of big plays to keep them in the game."
With Buffalo and Philly coming up soon after, "A fast start to the season is absolutely essential."
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