The Washington Commanders finally ticked the edge-rusher box by handing two-time Super Bowl champion Von Miller a one-year deal, but there's still room for a more versatile quarterback hunter. A veteran who would expand the ways head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. can create pressure.
Experimenting with different looks can begin in earnest at training camp if the Commanders bring in Za'Darius Smith to join Miller. Three-time Pro Bowler Smith could adopt the same situational role, but he would move across the front more often.
The Commanders need that level of flexibility to compensate for an ageing front seven. Moving proven game-wreckers around would also protect a still-suspect secondary by allowing Quinn and Whitt Jr. to call fewer blitzes than last season's 31.5 percent rate, fifth-highest in the NFL.
Each of these factors explains the decision to sign Miller, but adding Smith can offset concerns about the Commanders' newest recruit.
Commanders are taking big risk with Von Miller
He was once arguably the most dominant defensive player of his generation and somebody with legitimate Pro Football Hall of Fame credentials, but Miller's production has been on the wane. The 36-year-old has mustered "just 14 sacks in three years with zero starts and 25 games played over the past two seasons," per NFL.com Digital Content Editor Grant Gordon.
Those stats hardly inspire confidence, but Miller is at least still putting heat on the pocket with limited involvement.
A pedigree of 129.5 career sacks, offset by age, durability concerns, and declining numbers, makes Miller a true boom-or-bust signing. The Commanders will likely trust a snap count to help coax out whatever he's got left, but hoping for a prolific swansong may be wishful thinking.
It's a risk general manager Adam Peters doesn't need to take when Smith is still on the market.
Za'Darius Smith would create more possibilities for Commanders
What sets Smith apart are the many ways he can effectively puncture the pass-pocket. The 32-year-old remains a force from either side of the line, while the 6-foot-4, 270-pounder also retains his ability to somehow get skinny and rush through interior gaps.
Smith often puts his hand in the dirt and uses a classic takeoff to beat blockers, but he can also be a menace as a standup rusher from anywhere along the front. Like he was for his first sack with the Detroit Lions last season, when No. 99 stood in the A-gap and blitzed the center to get home against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Za'Darius Smith gets a sack in his first game with the @Lions!
📺: #JAXvsDET on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/f1baYOiUxO
— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Now, imagine both Smith and Frankie Luvu, the best blitzer on the roster, mugged into both A-gaps this season. It's a look Jayden Daniels wouldn't want to see at camp, and no quarterback would relish facing in games that matter. Furthermore, this isn't the only way he would expand the pass-rush package in Washington.
Having him play 3-technique tackle, in the B-gap between a guard and offensive tackle, is another way to deploy Smith. Putting him next to Deatrich Wise Jr., a similarly flexible but less explosive defensive end who did the same thing for the New England Patriots, would form a nasty third-down look. Smith could also line up inside next to more dynamic Dorance Armstrong Jr.
Bracketing Smith and Armstrong with edge-rushers Miller and Luvu, who's been learning a thing or two about winning off the edge from a franchise great, would give the Commanders their own 'Nascar' style speed rush package.
This personnel grouping would form part of the something extra the Commanders will need to unsettle opposing quarterbacks this season, but Washington's scheme will only work to a point. Whitt's defense needs better personnel to negatively impact the NFL's best offenses.
The Commanders have had to endure watching NFC East rivals, the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, win Super Bowls with loaded pressure rotations. It should have taught them that you can never have enough good pass-rushers.
Fortunately, there's arguably rarely been a better time for a contending team to be searching for a top-shelf edge-rusher. Not when gifted disruptors like Smith and former No. 1 overall draft pick Jadeveon Clowney are still on the market.
Clowney remains an intriguing option because he's a also force against the run. Something the Commanders should welcome after last season's soft generosity on the ground.
Few would begrudge the Commanders handing the NFL's annual edge-setter for hire a short-term contract, but Peters has already signed a secret weapon who can provide solidity against the run. Even former Chicago Bears defensive end Jacob Martin will also impact Washington's rush defense, although his roster spot could be threatened by Miller's arrival.
What's more likely is that Miller's role as a third-down weapon leaves Quinn and Whitt free to trust bigger, more physical ends on base downs. The fun will start when the Commanders are defending obvious passing situations and can turn Miller, and hopefully Smith too, loose.
Relying on physical and functional edge players like Martin, Clelin Ferrell, and Jalyn Holmes isn't going to wreck elite offensive lines and quarterbacks. If this group can't make Daniels and company at least uncomfortable once the pads go on at camp, and Miller appears a shell of himself, the calls for the Commanders to sign another true difference-making edge like Smith should grow louder.
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