The Washington Commanders made significant investments at multiple positions this offseason. The Commanders specifically upgraded the offensive line and cornerback position. At cornerback, the Commanders look much different than they did at this time one year ago — and much better.

Washington opened last season with Emmanuel Forbes and Benjamin St-Juste as starting cornerbacks, with rookie Mike Sainristil in the slot. It didn’t take the Commanders’ coaches long to realize former first-round pick Forbes could not play, and St-Juste was not a starting-caliber player. Sainristil was forced to play outside, where he excelled, and Washington sent multiple draft picks to the New Orleans Saints for four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Lattimore was dealing with a nagging hamstring injury at the time of the trade, which plagued him when he was in the lineup. The Commanders hope a healthy Lattimore, Sainristil, rookie second-round pick Trey Amos, veteran Jonathan Jones and Noah Igbinoghene can make Washington’s secondary tough to throw against.

General manager Adam Peters didn’t stop at acquiring Jones and Amos this offseason. After the 2025 NFL draft, the Commanders signed former Florida State cornerback Fentrell Cypress II as an undrafted free agent.

CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso thinks that could be a sneaky good move for Washington.

Fentrell Cypress II is a man-coverage specialist with the athletic attributes to play that role in the NFL. While not ridiculously long, the former Florida State star is 6-foot-1 and 181 pounds with 4.43-second speed in the 40-yard dash, a 38-inch vertical jump and tremendous agility illustrated by his 6.84-second time in the three-cone drill at the Seminole pro day.

Sometimes that natural talent is all a cornerback needs to impress coaches enough to go from undrafted to on the roster in Year 1. 

Peters looks for high-quality traits, which Cypress has with his athleticism and man-coverage skills. Head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. each have a history of developing unheralded defensive backs. So, don’t count Cypress out only because of Washington’s other investments at the position. Cypress could be one of those fun players to follow once training camp kicks off in July.