Commanders Second-Year Corner Named To All-Breakout Team

Commanders Second-Year Corner Named To All-Breakout Team originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

When looking back at how important the 2024 draft class was for the Washington Commanders’ success last season, some people only think about quarterback Jayden Daniels as the lone contributor.

However, Daniels’ success as a quarterback wasn’t the only impressive season for a rookie in Washington.

Second-round cornerback Mike Sainristil quickly went from being a gifted but unproven prospect out of Michigan to one of the up-and-coming cornerbacks in the game, so much so that Sainristil was named to Pro Football Focus writer Bradley Locker’s All-Breakout team.

“The Commanders finished 2024 ranked 30th in both defensive success rate and team PFF coverage grade. While Washington didn’t make many drastic changes to a unit that likely needed them, the Commanders do have a player who’s teeming with talent in Sainristil,” Locker wrote.

“While playing out of position at outside cornerback in his rookie season, Sainristil registered a 65.8 overall PFF grade with a 64.5 PFF coverage grade.”

The NFC East has plenty of top receivers, which makes life miserable for defenses. A.J. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, DeVonta Smith and Malik Nabers are some players Sainristil has gone up against in his rookie season alone.

And he more than held his own.

Sainristil was highly effective in his work to frustrate some of the best receivers in the league in 2025. With another year of polish under his belt, Sainristil is in line for an even bigger season than his rookie campaign. …

And that will help boost Washington’s Super Bowl hopes to an even higher level.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.

Commanders Second-Year Corner Named To All-Breakout Team

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