The Washington Commanders have five games remaining, and with the team out of the playoff race, the upcoming games will represent some of the best opportunities yet for the team’s young players to prove themselves worthy of more playing time and new contracts.
Washington coach Ron Rivera said Monday that the team won’t be playing youth just for the sake of it, but he is excited to see the young players continue to develop.
“We’re not going to reach out and just throw somebody out there for the sake of saying, ‘Well, I wanted to see what he did,’” Rivera said. “I think this is more about, this is who we have, and let’s continue to work with them and continue to help them grow and develop.”
Some of the players to watch in the season’s final weeks:
Casey Toohill and KJ Henry: The trades that sent Montez Sweat and Chase Young to other teams left a gaping hole at defensive tackle.
Toohill is a fourth-year player who is wrapping up his rookie contract. He’s been a consistent contributor for the commanders each of the last three seasons, but his numbers have been mostly pedestrian during that time.
He’s stepped up his production in recent weeks, and has five sacks after recording just two entering this season.
Henry has also benefited from the trades. A rookie out of Clemson, he didn’t see the field on defense until Week 9, but has played more than half of the total snaps each of the last two weeks.
His development has been promising to date. If he can surge in the final weeks, Henry could earn a starting spot for 2024.
Also of note is fourth-year defensive tackle James Smith-Williams, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Jahan Dotson: The receiver burst onto the scene last year as a rookie, but has been quieter than expected in his second season.
Instead of increasing his production, Dotson has declined on a per-game basis. He’s had a handful of key drops, but also some catches that have been crucial to extending drives and scoring touchdowns.
Consistency will be the name of the game in the final weeks. He caught five of six targets against the Cowboys, a performance he’ll try to build on starting this Sunday.
Chris Paul: Offensive linemen take longer to develop than any other position, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when Saahdiq Charles got the nod to start at left guard this season.
However, Paul has started the last five games at the position, a period during which the offense as a whole has run the ball more effectively.
That’s not to say Paul is the sole reason why - he’s still young and developing - but if the unit can continue to show progress in the final five games, he’ll make his case to take his starting spot into the 2024 season, which will be his third in the league.
Chris Rodriguez Jr.: The dominance of Brian Robinson Jr. has been one of the main storylines over the past month, and Washington’s top running back has been fed accordingly.
But down the stretch, it’s unlikely the team will demand such a heavy workload from Robinson, who they want to set up to thrive in future seasons that hopefully end with higher-stakes games.
Enter Rodriguez, who has played sparingly to date, but appears to be able to mimic Robinson’s hard-nosed style. He’ll likely get his chance in the final weeks to turn some heads, even if it’s in a losing effort.
Percy Butler: The safety was picked in last year’s draft but has bloomed this year, and has seen his playing time shoot up over the past two months.
Butler is now an every-down player for the Commanders. And while he may not be as noticeable as Kam Curl or Benjamin St.-Juste, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been effective.
If the team looks to upgrade this offseason, safety will be one of the top positions they examine. Butler has a chance to quiet some of that talk down the stretch.
Note: During Monday’s press conference, Rivera said cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. has a “pretty significant” elbow injury and will be reevaluated throughout the week.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.