Toward the end of 2024, Washington Commanders’ general manager Adam Peters began patching holes in his roster in preparation for the new campaign. The acquisition of veteran cornerback Marshon Lattimore was one step toward rebuilding the secondary. He continued that work when he chose Trey Amos in the second round of the 2025 draft.
Other positions of need — offensive line and wide receiver — were similarly addressed through high-profile trades and high-value draft picks.
For his defensive front, Peters operated in a different manner. Though he did bring in one big-ticket free agent in Javon Kinlaw, he mostly tinkered around the edges with moves that did little to excite fans.
Even the Kinlaw deal was viewed with suspicion, as he was essentially replacing the venerable Jonathan Allen. Other changes — Jacob Martin for Dante Fowler Jr., Deatrich Wise Jr. for Clelin Ferrell — seemed like lateral moves at best.
It has come as a bit of a surprise that the real strength of the Commanders' defense through the first five weeks has been the overlooked defensive front. Perhaps it’s time for fans and analysts alike to begin recognizing the man primarily responsible for the improvement, beyond the players themselves.
Commanders have one of the NFL's best young position coaches in Darryl Tapp
Commanders’ defensive line coach Darryl Tapp has been one of the team’s secret weapons this season.
Tapp came with Peters from the San Francisco 49ers, where he had been the assistant defensive line coach under such respected defensive minds as coordinators DeMeco Ryans and Steve Wilks, and position coach Kris Kocurek.
Before his three seasons in San Francisco, Tapp served for a year at his alma mater, Virginia Tech, where he had starred on the field from 2002 to 2005. Despite being somewhat undersized for the role at 6-foot-1 and 270 pounds, he played 12 years in the NFL and appeared in 165 games. One of those seasons (2013) was spent in Washington.
As a player, Tapp was known for his relentlessness and his power. He has built his current line around those principles, and the results are apparent.
Of the 10 players who have logged significant snaps at tackle and end this season, nine of them have improved their Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade from a year ago. Six of them, including all four interior linemen, have grades more than 10 points higher than what they achieved in 2024.
Daron Payne is returning to his Pro Bowl form. Johnny Newton continues his positive development. Eddie Goldman is playing like a kid again. And Kinlaw, who Tapp coached in San Francisco, is showing why Peters invested so heavily in him.
On the outside, Dorance Armstrong Jr. is developing into a borderline-elite edge rusher. Jacob Martin is proving to be more than a pass rush specialist. Backups Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Jalyn Holmes have both become more reliable.
Washington has improved from near-last in rushing yards allowed from last year to somewhere in the middle of the pack early in 2025. More significantly, they are surrendering nearly a full yard less per rush attempt this year, and have moved from the bottom of the league into the top 10.
Their pass-rush pressure rate has dipped slightly, but they are also blitzing far less this season. That has actually resulted in a higher sack average this year since they can devote more resources to coverage.
Against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Commanders came out a little out of sorts. They had trouble tackling Omarion Hampton and shutting down passing lanes for Justin Herbert. It didn't look good early on.
But they kept plugging away. By the time the game ended, the Commanders’ defense had held the Chargers below their season averages in yards, yards per play, and points. They had taken the ball away twice from a team that was averaging just one turnover per game.
Los Angeles did not score a point after the first quarter, and most importantly, the Commanders got the win.
Can all of that be attributed to Tapp? Of course not. But it’s time Commanders’ fans start acknowledging that they are blessed with one of the best young defensive position coaches in the league.
More Commanders news and analysis