Commanders Dan Quinn Raves About Rising Young Lineman

Jer'Zhan "Johnny" Newton got his NFL career off to a rough start last offseason, dealing with multiple lower body injuries and being tasked with acclimating to a new environment. Later on, the defensive tackle was able to make the most of his opportunities in a big way.

The second-round pick from last year appeared in all but one game and ended up starting 11 times in 2024. He flashed promise multiple times in the second half of the season and finished the year with two sacks, 44 total tackles and seven quarterback hits in total.

In 2025, even more could be in store.

Newton has enjoyed a more relaxing offseason without injuries or rookie obligations, but he's still putting in the work to be better.

"I'm ready for it all this season. I got the rookie jitters out of me, so I'm ready to go," Newton said via the team website.

Head coach Dan Quinn has been raving about what he's seen in the young lineman.

"Probably the strength I would say...because he wasn't probably able to do all the typical strength movements and that he had due to the foot injuries for, but I feel like his leg strength and that explosiveness, that's probably what I see the most, the twitch," Quinn said. "He's always been a quick person, but now with all the power that goes with it. I do see an uptick in that."

Newton could see himself in the starting lineup on a regular basis if he keeps up this work, but he'll still see some competition with veterans Javon Kinlaw, Deatrich Wise Jr. and Daron Payne commanding snaps.

The Commanders must better their run-stopping defense from a season ago. They ranked 30th in opposing rushing yards per game, giving up only 52 yards less on the ground than their third-ranked passing defense allowed on average.

Based on this ringing endorsement, Newton could be a large factor in improving that number this season.