Dorance Armstrong led the Washington Commanders in sacks through 13 weeks. In last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Von Miller’s sack of J.J. McCarthy pushed him into the team lead. Miller has six sacks on the season.

Yes, you read that correctly. Through 13 games, Armstrong’s 5.5 sacks led Washington. It’s worth noting that Armstrong tore his ACL early in the Commanders‘ Week 7 loss against the Cowboys. Washington’s pass rush has been almost nonexistent since Armstrong went down.

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Coming off last year’s surprising run to the NFC Championship Game, one of the Commanders’ primary offseason needs was an edge rusher. General manager Adam Peters inquired about some big names, but no major moves were made. Instead of overpaying for someone in free agency, Peters added Miller, a future Hall of Famer, just before the season. While Miller has been productive for the Commanders, he’s 36 and best suited to a part-time role.

At 3-10, it’s been a disastrous season for Washington. A struggling defense is just one of the Commanders’ problems. Injuries, regression and bad luck have all plagued Washington. You can bet that Peters won’t make the same mistake again in 2026. Whether it’s via free agency or the 2026 NFL draft, the Commanders will bring in a starting edge rusher or two.

In some early mock drafts, Rueben Bain Jr. is a popular projection to Washington in the top 10. However, in his new mock draft for ESPN, Field Yates goes in a different direction for the Commanders. Yates sends Texas Tech edge David Bailey to Washington at No. 6 overall.

The Commanders have relied on an extremely veteran group of edge rushers this season, lacking a true difference-maker at the position. Von Miller leads Washington with six sacks at 36 years old. But there’s no better pure rusher in this class than Bailey, who had the second-most sacks (13.5) and pressures (62) in the FBS during his only season at Texas Tech. That makes for a good fit. Bailey’s first step puts offensive tackles on their heels in a hurry, and he has eight forced fumbles over the past two seasons.

Bailey has been the best player in college football this season. After starting his career at Stanford, the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Bailey became one of the top commodities in the transfer portal. The change has worked out brilliantly for Bailey. Bailey’s huge isn’t a fluke either. If you look at his college production through four seasons, he improved every year. There’s a lot to like here. Bailey is a hard worker who’d fit the culture Washington coach Dan Quinn has installed.

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In Yates’ mock, Bain went No. 8 to Cincinnati. There are some concerns about Bain’s ceiling in the NFL due to his length. In this mock, the Commanders bet on Bailey’s continued progression.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders land Texas Tech’s David Bailey in new mock draft