It’s been a rough year for the Washington Commanders. The Commanders are 4-12 with one game remaining after going 12-5 and reaching the NFC Championship Game last season. Injuries have decimated Washington’s roster this season, but that doesn’t fully explain its slide.

One frustration for fans is the lack of development from some of the team’s younger players. Some of Washington’s young players have flashed when given the chance; the only problem is that they’ve lacked opportunities.

We are at the point of the season where the Commanders have no choice but to turn to some of their younger players. We’ve seen it at tight end with Zach Ertz’s injury opening the door for Ben Sinnott. Chris Rodriguez missed Thursday’s game against Dallas, opening the door for Jacory Croskey-Merritt to see the bulk of the load, and he delivered with 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Another young player who thrived against the Cowboys was second-year defensive tackle Johnny Newton. Newton set career-highs across the board in place of Daron Payne, registering nine tackles, including two for loss, three sacks and five quarterback hits. Sure, Washington’s run defense was horrible, with Newton playing a role, but overall this was an encouraging performance.

To put things in perspective, Washington’s starting defensive tackles, Payne and Javon Kinlaw, have combined for two sacks all season.

While it’s exciting to see Newton have such a big game, there are concerns that it’s a one-off. Does head coach Dan Quinn think Newton’s success will continue moving forward?

“I think the disruption, the quickness, so those are the skills that he has,” Quinn said. “And so, to hear him put all the pieces together, anticipation of plays, how to go execute it to go, I felt that. And that’s some of that’s instinctual to go, it’s pass, it’s a run, where can I go? And so, it does take some time to learn that. And when you do as a ballplayer, the game slows down because now you can anticipate a little better. I know the defensive call, I got that. Now, how can I apply my skills into this call? What you don’t want, we had some of this early in the year, ‘I’ll go make a play, I’ll go over try on one.’ And that’s part of instincts, knowing when and when not to, much like a quarterback.”

Washington felt like Newton was one of the 2024 NFL draft’s top steals when he fell to 36th overall. The reason was that he needed surgery on his foot. He would then have surgical procedures on both feet, and he made a limited impact during his rookie season. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that Newton was a dominant college player, earning All-American honors and was the 2023 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

The Commanders have a lot of holes to fill this offseason. It would be nice knowing they could count on Newton for an increased role in 2026. Washington is expected to have a new defensive coordinator in 2026.