There was some Commanders talk to be had among the Pro Day-Opening Day-Sweet Sixteen-DC deal for Monumental news cycle struggle today, and ESPN’s John Keim echoed something that we’ve heard on our airwaves recently: the Commanders’ free agent haul is nice, but they need more high-end talent.
“They did a good job of filling in with solid players, but I think what you need is more high-end talent, and that's where they failed,” Keim said. “Emmanuel Forbes is a big miss right now, and you need guys that can get there. You need to get some corners in there that can play the style they want, and they do not have a high-end corner. You're gonna need to find one somehow; you can’t get or do everything in one off-season, but it's got to be a priority this year and next. They have good depth and good solid players in spots, guys that can be in placeholder roles while you get the picks and you develop them, but I don't know what they're going to do this year.”
There is at least one area that has improved to that level, though, and it’s the front seven, specifically the linebackers.
“They’re better because you have now guys who are starters in the NFL, and they're better in how they're going to be deployed,” Keim said.
“Bobby Wagner is gonna be a very good leader for them, and I think he has enough left that he can be a good player for them. Is he a three down player anymore? Maybe not, but he can still help them, probably more so than what Thomas Davis was able to help them. But Luvu gives you a versatile guy who is a good pass rusher, and combined with Wagner’s ability to tackle, and a coaching staff that in Dallas was very good at creating different looks inside, you have more flexibility and versatility with it, but I think it's also how they're going to be used.”
Listen to Keim’s entire segment on the Commanders above!