In an effort to make sense of a disastrous season, Washington Commanders fans have pinned blame on general manager Adam Peters, on coaches like defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., and on injuries. But in the final analysis, the buck always stops with the players themselves.
The Commanders certainly had holes in their roster at the start of the season and have undoubtedly been crushed by injury. But they still have many talented players who have not performed well this year.
The main culprits, according to most of the online fan chatter, have been a trio of young defenders whose play dropped off considerably from last season. Linebacker Frankie Luvu, cornerback Mike Sainristil, and safety Quan Martin have all suffered significant drop-offs compared to the previous season.
Other players — young and old alike — have been targets of blame. Brandon Coleman went from being a promising left tackle starter as a rookie to the bench in his second year. Team leader Terry McLaurin held out the entire summer and never played up to expectations before getting hurt. At the top of it all, quarterback Jayden Daniels never seemed to have the magic he showed as a rookie.
Commanders aren't getting enough from Johnny Newton, and that's a problem
One could rightly label any of them as the team’s biggest disappointment in 2025, but each of those players has proven they can succeed in the NFL. There’s a good chance they all will bounce back. Washington's most glaring failure lies with the players who were supposed to arrive this season but didn’t.
Johnny Newton and Ben Sinnott were supposed to be stars. Both were selected in the second round of the 2024 draft — the first under Peters' leadership. The initial reviews of the picks were glowing.
John Keim of ESPN predicted both would play a lot from Day 1 and make significant impacts. That did not happen in their rookie seasons, but it was easy to overlook because of the magical ride the team was on.
This year is when they were truly needed. Ten weeks into the season, fans are still waiting to see why they were second-round picks.
Sinnott has been almost entirely invisible. This year, with multiple injuries to the receiving corps, he has not been able to carve out a role. Newton plateauing is far more concerning.
The reasoning is simple. First, he was chosen 17 spots ahead of Sinnott. Second, Washington's defense has been an ongoing frustration.
When he analyzed the pick last year, Keim referred to Newton as the “best player available.” With Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, and Phidarian Mathis on the roster, Washington had already invested a lot of draft capital in the middle of its defensive line, and two of those players were excellent performers.
But with three picks in the second round, Peters felt comfortable going with Newton, who many scouts tabbed as a future star. He could have used a cornerback (he chose Sainristil with the 50th pick), and Cooper DeJean went to the Philadelphia Eagles a few picks later.
Of course, you can play that “we could have picked” game all day long. In the end, it doesn’t matter if DeJean turned out to be very good. What matters most is that the guy you did get also turns out to be a productive player.
So far, Newton has not done that.
He has shown flashes, especially as a pass rusher. But he has had little sustained success. When Allen was injured last year, the rookie was thrust into the starting lineup, and he was by no means a disaster. Newton was essentially an average player last year.
But the writing may have been on the wall. Washington’s decision to overpay for free agent tackle Javon Kinlaw doesn’t make a lot of sense if Peters thought he had a budding star in Newton.
Whether that is true or not, the results this season are undeniable. Newton, who played more snaps than any defensive tackle apart from Payne last year, is currently being out-snapped by veteran journeyman Eddie Goldman. He is playing 10 fewer reps per game in 2025 than he did as a rookie. That is a massive problem.
The more prominent young disappointments are in a different position. The Commanders may tinker with the roles of players like Luvu and Sainristil, but they still figure into the team’s long-range plans. Can you really say the same about Newton?
He was supposed to be a cornerstone. More than halfway through his second season, Newton is rapidly turning into an afterthought.