Commanders' under-the-radar veteran is stepping up to fix massive weakness

Daron Payne missed the NFC Championship game in 2024. He had battled through a dislocated thumb to help the Washington Commanders win their first two games in the postseason. Standing just one game away from the Super Bowl, a bad knee dashed his hopes of getting another shot at the Philadelphia Eagles.

Looking back, we can now see how Washington’s brain trust viewed their roster moving forward, though it may not have been immediately apparent at the time.

Payne had been the one constant on the defensive line interior, playing on almost 70 percent of the snaps. Four other players logged between 23 and 48%.

Jonathan Allen was a unique case because he was hurt most of the year. Though he played fewer than 30% of the snaps, once healthy, he resumed his regular starting role. He would be playing significant minutes in that final Eagles game. But without Payne, who would be lining up next to him?

On paper, Payne’s primary replacement should have been Johnny Newton, the highly-touted second-round draft pick who had been showing improvement since getting fully healthy. He was next on the depth chart and had been Allen’s primary replacement when the veteran was injured.

Commanders are getting some good early returns from free-agent signing Eddie Goldman

Or it might have been Sheldon Day, another veteran journeyman who had filled in admirably when Allen was out. He graded out as Washington’s best defensive tackle according to Pro Football Focus, although that wasn't a high bar.

That’s not entirely true because another veteran journeyman, who only played a handful of snaps during the year, did have a higher grade than Day. That was Carl Davis Jr., who signed with Washington in midseason and played a total of 43 snaps heading into the playoffs.

When it came time to choose Payne’s primary replacement, Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. went with Davis. He played almost as many snaps as Newton and Day combined in that championship game.

Why? It isn’t hard to make a guess. Day is 6-foot-1 and 285 pounds. Newton is listed at 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds.

Davis is 6-foot-5 and 335 pounds. When going up against the Eagles' massive offensive line, Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. recognized they needed more size.

They were overpowered anyway, but the takeaway was not that size didn’t matter. They needed more quality size on the defensive front. Adam Peters made his first move in that direction by paying above-market for Javon Kinlaw. Around the same time, he signed Eddie Goldman.

Goldman’s signing didn’t raise many eyebrows at first. A Washington native who had sat out 2020 due to COVID and the 2022 season after announcing his retirement, he made a return to the Atlanta Falcons for the 2024 campaign. He also played well enough to draw Peters’ interest.

Still, he seemed like a long shot to have any real impact. After all, since the 2019 season, Goldman had recorded a total of 38 tackles in the NFL.

But as training camp merged into preseason, it seemed as if Goldman had a spot on the roster. Day and Davis were still around. Rookie Ricky Barber flashed potential. But more often than not, he was sharing snaps with Kinlaw, Payne, and the rest of Washington's starters.

That has continued in the regular season. Payne and Kinlaw are the clear starters, but Goldman has been on the field for almost 40 percent of the defensive snaps, playing more than Newton through the first two games. When the Commanders go to a three-man front, he is lined up at nose tackle.

Goldman currently boasts an elite Pro Football Focus grade of 83.5, fourth best among all defensive linemen in the league. He is rated fifth best against the run.

Those numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt. Goldman is not the fourth-best defensive lineman in the NFL. But they do indicate he is playing very well. Last season, Washington’s run defense was a liability, surrendering almost five yards per carry. This season, they have that number down to under four.

The real tests are still to come. Most importantly, we will have to see how well the new line holds up against Philadelphia. But the early results for Goldman, who was essentially finished with football two years ago, are looking promising.