The Washington Commanders were tabbed as one of the teams in the NFL who best improved their roster through free agency
Free agency has started to slow down across the league with the pool of available players shrunk after a frenzy through the first week, but the Washington Commanders made several moves to begin addressing what proved to be a long list of needs for general manager and the front office to address. And according to ESPN, the Commanders did a good job doing so.
Washington ranked eighth in ESPN's free agent class rankings, released on Wednesday, and fourth in the NFC behind the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints. Ben Solak of ESPN noted that Peters was active "in the middle tiers" of free agency where he added contributors and players "who could start in a pinch," pointing to both cornerback Amik Robertson and linebacker Leo Chenal as players capable of doing so. Solak also pointed to interior defensive lineman Tim Settle and tight end Chig Okonkwo are signings who "can have big impacts," though that could be a safe assumption for Okonkwo given the yards after catch ability and athleticism that he adds to the room.
A pair of running back signings in Rachaad White and Jerome Ford, coupled with Jeremy McNichols re-signing with the team, have restocked the running back room, though the question remains whether the Commanders will pull the trigger on former Notre Dame star Jeremiyah Love with the seventh overall pick. Still, the free agent haul did draw some criticism with the highest-paid player becoming a head scratcher for Solak.
"Going to $25 million per year for Oweh, who was the third edge rusher in Los Angeles and played only about 50% of the snaps, is an enormous bet," he noted.
It might not be unwarranted criticism, though. Oweh is coming off 7.5 sacks in 12 games with the Los Angeles Chargers after watching his stint with the Baltimore Ravens come to an end following the 2025 midseason trade, while he's amassed 30.5 sacks in five seasons. But it's been inconsistent production from the former first round pick. His first two multi-sack games came in 2024 before matching that total in his short stint in Los Angeles. But that also came after being held without a sack in his first five games of the 2025 season in Baltimore.
"I'm interested to see the sort of defense that first-time coordinator Daronte Jones runs, because spending this much money on an edge rusher who doesn't really defend the run on a defense that blitzes a ton just doesn't make sense to me," Solak added.
Luckily enough, Oweh's $100 million deal won't be the only piece of the puzzle after Washington also signed former Patriots edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson to a one-year deal where he adds production and experience yet youth to the pass rush after coming off a career-best 7.5 sack season, becoming another piece in the solution to the front seven. The Commanders also added veteran Charles Omenihu, the second defender from the Kansas City Chiefs signed this offseason alongside Leo Chenal.