Commanders have a special plan for promising youngster that could help the defense unlock its full potential

One of the Washington Commanders' biggest weaknesses from the 2024 season was the run defense and the team made fixing said issue a focal point during the offseason.

Guys like Javon Kinlaw, Deatrich Wise, and Will Harris were brought in to help shore up the Commanders' leaky run defense that was decimated by Saquon Barkley in the NFC Championship game (and in the prior two matchups before that). It's clear that the Commanders aren't taking a step forward if this isn't fixed to a high degree.

One guy that could really help turn things around is second-year linebacker Jordan Magee. Not many people are considering him after a knee injury pretty much derailed his rookie season, but he was having a very good training camp before the aforementioned injury. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. and head coach Dan Quinn had even developed a special package to take advantage of Magee's athleticism and other abilities.

"We really had a package in last year for for Jordan, and then he got hurt, and so it sort of took that package away versus 12 personnel," Whitt Jr. told reporters Wednesday. "I'm really hoping that he can stay healthy and there are some other guys that did linebacker position that we want to have some three linebacker defenses that we can get a little bit bigger versus 12 [personnel] and not play as much nickel, to shore up on some of the run, on that aspect as well.

"So I'm excited to see him]. He's been showing great call-command being a linebacker, I believe linebackers, you know, control the huddle and control the defense. And he's learning from Bobby [Wagner] and 'Uce' [Frankie Luvu] how to do that."

Per Sports Info Solutions, the Commanders led the NFL by defending 139 rushing attempts via their nickel defense. Unsurprisingly, they allowed a league-high 658 rushing yards, which was 157 more than the second-place Bills, who also defended the run while in nickel the second-most at 117 rushing attempts.

Even if it's Big Nickel (which means a safety is your fifth DB), this is not ideal for any defense. The whole idea of nickel defense is to have smaller, quicker bodies on the field to defend the pass. The team lining up in 12 personnel has an automatic advantage that can easily get bigger as the game goes on and bodies wear down.

At 6-foot-3, 226 pounds, Magee certainly offers more size than your typical safety or cornerback. The key, however, is he has far-superior speed, athleticism, and range than most guys that play linebacker. He's the perfect Quinn safety-linebacker hybrid that we've known the Commanders head coach to utilize during his time in the NFL.

He'll certainly add viable wrinkles to an already unique defense that presents different looks on a consistent basis. And if things come to fruition regarding the Commanders' vision, then the run defense and defense as a whole should take the proverbial step forward in 2025.