3 Biggest Commanders Disappointments Through the First Two Weeks

Ben Sinnott

Ben Sinnott is a different kind of disappointment because you can't look at his first two games and simply say he's played badly. The problem is that we are still waiting for him to become much of anything in the offense.

Sinnott played only 18 offensive snaps against Philadelphia, but that jumped to 48 against Dallas with Chig Okonkwo out of the lineup. That was his chance to see a much bigger role. He finished the game with one catch for six yards, which is also his entire receiving production through two weeks. PFF gave him a 52.4 overall grade in Week 1 and a 48.8 against Dallas.

That's disappointing because this was supposed to be the offense that finally gave Sinnott a chance to show more. He said as much during the offseason when talking about David Blough's system. "I love it. I think this one really fits my play style, the kind of player I am," Sinnott said. Maybe it still will. Sinnott has done some good things as a blocker, and his pass-blocking grade against Dallas was one of the better parts of his afternoon. But this is Year 3 for a former second-round pick. At some point, the potential has to turn into a role you can actually see on Sundays. If the explanation before was that there weren't enough snaps available, Dallas made that argument harder.

Leo Chenal

Leo Chenal might be the biggest surprise on this list. Washington didn't just take a flier on him this offseason. They gave him a three-year deal worth $24.75 million after he posted a 75.1 PFF grade last season and had graded above 70.0 in each of his first four years in Kansas City.

The fit was supposed to make sense, too. Chenal talked before the season about how Daronte Jones' defense would allow the linebackers to play to what they do best. "It really involves the linebackers. It involves playing to their skill set," Chenal said in July. So far, we haven't seen enough of that player. PFF gave Chenal a 40.6 overall grade against Philadelphia, with a 31.5 run-defense grade. Against Dallas, his overall grade fell to 37.9. His run defense and tackling were much better, but his coverage grade dropped to 29.0.

There were positives in Dallas. Chenal led the Commanders with 12 tackles after managing only three against Philadelphia, and he was much more effective against the run. The problem is that one weakness seems to have replaced another. After two games, PFF has Chenal at 41.0 overall and 33.3 in coverage, and at times he’s looked lost — a long way from the player Washington thought it was adding in March.

Two games is nowhere near enough to write off Sainristil, Sinnott or Chenal. All three have 15 games left to change the way their seasons have started. The Commanders are already 0-2, though, and waiting around for players they expected to be part of the solution isn't a luxury they have much of right now.

Follow us on Facebook for the latest Washington Commanders news, updates, and analysis.