Call Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson the ultimate optimist, perhaps…because when it comes to the 2023 Commanders, he thinks they can improve on last year’s 8-8-1 – and even make the playoffs?
Indeed, when he joined Brian Mitchell (rolling solo with JP Finlay in court/possibly prison) on Wednesday, Monson said he thinks Washington can be one of the seven best teams in the NFC.
“I think they can be a playoff team; they were very close to that last season, and you’d expect the Giants to take a step back this year after overachieving last year,” Monson said. “It is going to be a tough division relative to the rest of the NFC – there are some divisions they may be the favorite for – but Philly is probably the best team in the NFC and Dallas is really good, but I think the Commanders could be in play for one of those Wild Card spots.”
BMitch thinks the defense has to be the hallmark for that to happen, and Monson agrees that unit could be 'really good.'
“Yeah, the defense could be really good. The line has a ton of talent on it, and maybe they’re planning for life after Chase Young, but right now, he’s there and motivated to show he deserved that fifth-year option, so we might get his best season,” Monson said. “And then, there are players behind them that can do some things. I really like Emmanuel Forbes, who will be scary because of his size, but his tape is incredible. This defense should be very good, and the offense can be good if they can just get a good enough level out of Sam Howell.”
Forbes’ size didn’t seem to be an issue in college, and Monson thinks it is both a plus and minus at the NFL level.
“Yes and no; he plays more aggressive, and I think that offsets a bit of the size, because he’s feisty and physical with receivers,” Monson said, “but there were some plays you’d look at where he’d throw himself at a receiver and bounce off, because there’s only so much you can do to off-set physics. But, overall, he does play bigger than that size, and there’s enough tape of him succeeding that it shouldn’t be terrifying.”
Monson compared it to DeVonta Smith in terms of smaller size being outweighed by talent, but the open question is how good could he be, and could the size limit him.
“If he was 175 or 180, we wouldn’t be talking about this; but when you’re unprecedented small, where there is no list of comps, it’s always a little bit concerning because there is no precedent,” Monson said.
Listen to Monson’s entire conversation with Brian Mitchell above, including his takes on Sam Howell and the Commanders’ receiving corps!
Follow BMitch & Finlay on Twitter: @BMitchliveNBCS, @JPFinlayNBCS, and @BMitchandFinlay
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