NY Giants Week 1: A Look at the Washington Commanders Defense

The offense will roll out in week one against a Washington Commanders defense that’s one of the oldest in the NFL in 2025. While Washington is coming off its best record (12-5) since going 10-6 in 2012, last year the Giants, despite losing both games, played their NFC East foes tough.

Let’s look at the Commanders on defense.

Personnel

As far as name value goes, few teams have the big names that the Commanders have with Von Miller, Daron Payne, Bobby Wagner, and Marshon Lattimore. That would have been one of the best defenses in the NFL in 2019. In 2025, however, they may struggle to keep up with the athleticism of modern offenses.

Miller remains a legitimate threat as a pass-rusher. However, he offers little as a run defender, having been used almost exclusively as during his three years in Buffalo.

Opposite Miller will be either Dorance Armstrong, who was with the Commanders last season as well. Armstrong had a solid year rushing the passer, but was arguably an overall negative against the run.

Payne and Javon Kinlaw will be the men in the middle of the defensive line for the Commanders this year.

Payne is a proven commodity that can make a significant impact on the game, but he struggled mightily in 2024. Kinlaw has yet to develop into a quality player of any kind in the NFL despite multiple opportunities so far.

Dan Quinn is likely looking to have Kinlaw surrounded by better talent, with the green light to shoot gaps more often, to improve his play.

Wagner and Frankie Luvu, as the off-ball linebackers, are an interesting duo that are running it back for another season together. Luvu is the more athletic of the two, but Wagner’s IQ lets him put himself in a better position to succeed regardless.

The secondary will be made up of Lattimore and rookie Trey Amos on the outside, Mike Sainristil in the nickel, with Will Harris and Quan Martin as the deep safeties.

Lattimore had an up-and-down 2024 after being traded from the New Orleans Saints, but now that he’s in year two with Washington, he could have a better grasp of the defense.

Amos will likely be challenged early and often, but he put out a strong film for Ole Miss in 2024, playing a variety of coverages.

Sainristil in year two could be a legitimate problem after needing to move around the secondary in 2024 due to quality issues elsewhere. Harris and Martin are likely going to be the weak links of this defense this season.

Harris can contribute in both the run and pass game, but won’t be much better than average. Martin flashed a rookie in the slot but has struggled since playing a more significant role at safety.

Scheme

In 2024, the Commanders' defense primarily ran cover one, cover two, or cover three, and I expect more of the same in 2025.

Dan Quinn has been a defensive game planner for a long time, and for almost all of that time, those have been key parts of the plan.

The Commanders will play those coverages out of a variety of looks, both in the secondary and along the defensive front, but the coverages themselves remain fairly similar.

Last season, the Commanders had one of in the NFL, which I don’t think will change much. But I do think the way they get to blitzes will change.

In 2024, Luvu and Wagner were the main blitzers for the Commanders. Jeremy Chinn was next in line, but he’s no longer with the team.

Luvu is both an off-ball player and comes down to the line; Wagner is an off-ball player who would occasionally work as an overhang defender.

In 2025, I expect Sainristil to become more involved in the pass-rush plan, now that he’s expected to work in the slot full-time.

What this means for the Giants

Considering the amount of single-high coverage that the Commanders play, I’ll be interested to see how much the Giants challenge vertically.

NFL teams have shifted to two-high coverages to limit offenses from taking deep shots against them. With Russell Wilson’s ability to throw the deep ball, he should feel free to test the Commanders' secondary downfield.

Tight end Theo Johnson should be a particularly difficult matchup for the Commanders to handle, as neither of the safeties should be able to guard him consistently.

Sainristil is a gritty defender, but the size matchup might put him at just too large a disadvantage. Wagner isn’t agile enough to consistently keep up with Johnson, and Luvu is used too much as a chess piece to be stuck on one player.

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