Now that the offseason has officially begun for the NFL, it’s time to start looking at how the Washington Commanders can elevate the roster into a contender next year.
As the front office builds next year’s roster, the first step for Washington is to decide if any of its free agents are worth bringing back, so let’s take a look at defensive end James Smith-Williams.
At the start of last season, the Commanders had two established defensive ends, Montez Sweat and Chase Young, but after both were shipped away at the trade deadline, Smith-Williams took on a more prominent role.
"Smith-Williams wasn’t the driving force but a steady presence who stayed in his lane, thus allowing Payne, Sweat, and Jonathan Allen to thrive," The Athletic writes. "Allen and Payne remain, though they are coming off less effective seasons. Washington should prioritize an edge rusher on Day 2 of the draft. Putting Smith-Williams at the other end — a one-year extension might be enough — could maximize the strengths of the two tackles and a hypothetical rookie pass rusher."
Washington has a lot of needs to fill this off-season in order to elevate the team from being one of the worst in the league a season ago to a playoff hopeful.
Many fans are focused on drafting a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick, but solidifying the defense and keeping a veteran like Smith-Williams around so that new head coach Dan Quinn can showcase his defensive mind is arguably even more important.
Heading into 2024, Smith-Williams may not be the most well-known Commanders player, but there’s a chance that he could help establish the team’s identity as a veteran on defense, so his name is certainly one to monitor in free agency.
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