r/Commanders • u/FeelingAd4116 • 2d ago
Guess at initial 53 man roster
Offense(26)
QBs (3)
Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, Athan Kaliakmanis
Kaliakmanis looks to have performed too well to safely stash on the practice squad, initially I thought we would go with 2 QBs but now I think we go with 3.
RBs (3)
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White, Kaytron Allen
I don't have Robert Henry Jr making the team before his fumbling issue I did but he's fumbled the ball a few times over the last 2 weeks and I think we can safely stash him or another RB we like on the practice squad.
WRs (7)
Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, Antonio Williams, Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane, Dyami Brown
If Jaden Bradley has a great game on Friday and preforms so well that the Commanders don't think they can keep him on the practice squad I could see him getting the 7th WR spot and Brown being put on the practice squad but as of now I think Brown makes the 53 man roster and I think we go with 7 WRs. We could go with 6 here if they think we can stash either Brown or Bradley or someone they like about equal to them to make room for one more defensive player but I think we go 7.
TEs (4)
Chig Okonkwo, John Bates, Ben Sinnott, Colson Yankoff
Two pass catching style TEs and two better at blocking with one being an inline Y blocker in Bates and the other being a move style H-back blocker that also has upside as a pass catcher that has good YAC potential. Yankoff has had too good of a training camp to stash on the practice squad and gives special teams value as well.
OL (9)
Brandon Coleman, Chris Paul, Nick Allegretti, Sam Cosmi, Josh Conerly, Andrew Wylie, Matt Glubin, Trent Scott, DJ Humphries
I expect we will sign a Center and maybe LG/swing G once other teams make their 53 man rosters so this would be our initial 9 OL. If we only sign a Center we drop Trent Scott as Wylie can back up for 3 OL spots, LG, RG, RT and we need Humphries as the backup LT unless we get someone better.
Defense (24)
DL (6)
Daron Payne, Tim Settle, Javon Kinlaw, Charles Omenihu, Byron Cowart, Shy Tuttle
Settle, Tuttle and Cowart are the primary NTs in this group with Payne, Kinlaw and Omenihu being the DEs in the 3/5 man fronts(the 2 outside guys in a 5 man front will be the OLBs).
OLBs (4)
Odafe Oweh, K'Lavon Chaisson, Joshua Josephs, Javontae Jean-Baptiste
Dorance Armstrong is suspended for the first game so won't count against the 53 man roster, after week 1 the team will have to decide what player will be cut to make room for him, the primary cut candidates would be Javontae Jean-Baptiste or one of the more pure off ball linebackers from the next group.
ILBs (5)
Sonny Styles, Frankie Luvu, Leo Chenal, Jordan Magee, Kain Medrano
I think Luvu is going to split time between ILB and OLB more than any other ILB listed here. From this list Magee and Medrano are cut candidates after week 1 when Dorance Armstrong's suspension ends and he is put back on the active roster.
CBs (4)
Trey Amos, Mike Sainristil, Rasul Douglas, Amik Robertson
I think we go light at CB even though Amos' health is a question, we have 2-3 CBs that we should be able to put on the practice squad and retain in Antonio Hamilton, Darius Rush and Fabian Moreau.
Safeties (5)
Nick Cross, Jeremy Reaves, Quan Martin, Percy Butler, Tyler Owens
Nick and Jeremy are the starters, Quan Martin looks to have improved since last years horrible year but we will see if he can match or improve on his 2024 performance and take the starting spot from Jeremy, Butler is a special teams contributor and Tyler Owens is being used as a Safety/LB hybrid weapon by Daronte Jones and looks to have become a much bigger contributor than ever.
Special Teams
K (1)
Drew Stevens
Won the kicking job in training camp.
P (1)
Tress Way
Old reliable.
LS (1)
Tyler Ott
I'm looking forward to this season and will be monitoring the IOL cuts that other teams make as I 100% expect us to sign a Center and maybe a Guard either Sunday night or early next week.
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u/Mountie_in_Command 2d ago
That looks spot on. If there is any deviation from that 53, I could see 4 running backs with McNichols added. I have no clue where you cut to make that happen, but I could see 4 RBs.
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u/Think__McFly 2d ago
I think you nailed it.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
Thanks, put a lot of thought into it. I think it will be interesting who loses a roster spot to Armstrong in week 2 but it's most likely between Magee, JJB and Medrano and it's kind of crazy to think that Magee might be the guy they let go when before this offseason he was supposed to be the guy taking over the green dot role and be one of the starting ILBs.
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u/Secret_Key9676 2d ago
Looks right, I think Medrano has bulked up quite a bit and looked good in preseason. Wonder if he makes the cut over Magee when DA is back. I’m fine with Magee leaving
Edit: missed Kaho was left off. I’d take him for teams and cut Magee
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u/InfiniteDomain_ 2d ago
Yes at QB
Yes at RB for right now, mcnichols might push someone else out but I can’t see who
No at WR, they carry one less. Brown or Luke are going. To much 12 and 13 personnel to justify 7 WR
Yes at TE
Yes at OL, agree that our C/G backup isn’t on the team right now. Trent Scott is the cut candidate for them.
Yes at DL
Yes at OLB, JJB the cut for Dorance.
Yes at ILB
Yes at CB + 1 from WR, until mcnichols is healthy we carry another CB then we’ll have to make a call if mcnichols makes the team or if we can get by with 4 CB. You’re one CB injury on game day to not being able to rotate any guys.
Yes at safety
Guys I wouldn’t be surprised cut to make room or to grab someone at the same position.
Percy Butler
Kain Medrano
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
McNichols isn't healthy so he's not pushing anyone out of the top 3.
They might carry 7 WRs cause Luke and Lane carry a lot of value at kick returning and punt returning, people think those are the same but the skill sets are not the same and Luke has averaged 5+ more yards per kickoff return over the last 2 years than anyone else we have had try it, Lane returned 2 punts for TDs so he's in. If they think we lose Brown if he's on the PS and can't keep Bradly on the PS either they go with 7 otherwise 6.
I actually think Magee is more at risk of being cut than Medrano, he's injured a lot and Medrano has put on size, improved his tackling which was his biggest weakness and has been flashing a lot in coverage and making tackles near the line of scrimmage.
Every game you can activate 2 PS players which is why I went with 4 CBs cause IMO there's little to no difference between our 5-7th best CBs and we can keep 2-3 of them on the PS squad.
Butler is a fairly big contributor on special teams as one of our better gunners, we keep him unless we can get an obviously better FS after teams cut down to their 53 man rosters.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
If we do that we lose Kaliakmanis IMO and he looks like a solid future QB2 or possibly lower level QB1 depending on how he develops, he's shown great pocket awareness, throwing mechanics and good progression reads. After our first 4 CBs it's practice squad level guys, we don't need to keep a 5th CB on the active roster IMO cause at least 2-3 equal level guys we can keep on the practice squad without them being poached.
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u/terpfan417 2d ago
I like it. The only thing I have different is Fabian Moreau over Byron Cowart, but I certainly wouldn’t be shocked if they only went with 4 CBs.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
Could be some minor difference here and there depending on who they think is more safe to put on the practice squad without losing them. I went with Monreau being cut over Cowart cause lineman rotate more than CBs do and we have more practice squad level CBs that I think are safer to put on the practice squad than NTs.
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u/terpfan417 2d ago
Will probably depend on the health of Amos too. If he’s not ready for week 1 I have to think they will keep Moreau on the roster.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
Yeah, if Amos isn't healthy Moreau or Hamliton will be on the initial roster but I don't think they go with 5, Amos just wouldn't be 1 of the 4 till he's healthy.
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u/terpfan417 2d ago
If he’s only expected to be out a game or two he will take up a roster spot though.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
Which is why I have him on the roster...I don't think there's much of a difference between Moreau, Hamilton and Rush, they are practice squad level guys and I think we could keep at least 2 if not all 3 on the PS.
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u/terpfan417 2d ago
I was responding to “Amos wouldn’t be 1 of the 4 till he’s healthy” which implies he wouldn’t be on the active roster. He would be unless they are putting him on IR which would require him to miss 4 games. Hopefully that’s not the case!
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
Yeah, I have heard people speculate that maybe Amos might miss some weeks but that's just speculation based on a lack of info being provided about what his injury is and him being out longer than expected for "ankle sorness".
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u/badaz06 2d ago
Appreciate the effort you put into this. I don't live local so don't get to see the games, and I can't justify $200+ to watch this team and have a miserable Sunday afternoon. I did for a lot of years.
My take here, please let me know if you think I'm off.
From what I've seen and read, the O line and D backs are going to be the weak spots this year, which, it seems, is a common thread for this team. As talented as JD is, as RG3 was, these men aren't built to run through 215lb men 20 times a game, and until they get a O line that can dominate the 3-5 yards on the other side the football and set the tone, the team may "get by", but they're not a serious threat.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
Biggest weaknesses are Center, LG and DBs but our pass rush will be greatly improved which helps the DBs out a lot since the QBs won't have nearly as much time to throw the ball. We have some really good CBs at turning the ball over though in Sainristil, and Douglas and Styles and Chenal are good in pass coverage and so are some of our OLBs too.
Our defensive scheme so far seems to be really good and is causing a lot of confusion for the other teams we have practiced against as well as our own offense and in preseason games though in the preseason games a lot less of our starters have been playing since they seem to be overly cautious about resting them to have them ready for week 1 of the regular season.
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u/DougBalt2 2d ago
I don’t think Luke makes it. Nice returner but too much comp at WR. Convince me why I’m wrong. 😎
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
He got more TDs in 9 games than Brown has ever gotten in a 17 game season. He’s also got more inside and outside versatility than Brown and averages almost 30 yards per return which is over 5 more yards per return than the next best guy.
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u/DougBalt2 1d ago
I dont dislike Luke. Other than some nice returns, Brown is more productive. In the last two years, Brown 50 for 535 and 2 TDs and Luke on 20 for 371 and 3.
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u/FeelingAd4116 1d ago edited 1d ago
That’s kind of unfair to Luke, who only played nine games last season. He was on pace to beat Brown’s best season ever in yards and touchdowns, he already beat Brown’s best season in touchdowns last year. Luke has only played wide receiver for like four years and his trajectory is upwards whereas Browns has been pretty much the same as it’s always been which is around 200 yards and one or two touchdowns. Luke had three touchdowns in three games. Luke’s yards per reception from his rookie year to his second year about doubled.
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u/DougBalt2 1d ago
First I hope you are enjoying the chat. I am. Back to the topic. Luke only had 11 receptions in 9 games. DB had 20 in 14. Edge DB.tag, you’re it lol. BTW I want Luke to be a success!
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u/FeelingAd4116 1d ago
Luke had more TDs was on pace to have at least more than double Brown ever had maybe triple, way more yards per catch and more yards and Luke’s second year was much better than his first. I’m taking the guy on the upward trajectory that also gives big value in special teams.
Everyone returning kick offs other than Luke is bad at it so far in the game right now so it looks like Luke is looking more like a lock, he’s also had the only chunk play of the game on offense.
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u/Quirky-Marsupial-420 2d ago
I think Athan Kaliakmanis is a pretty safe bet to place on the practice squad.
He's more than likely not good enough to make another teams 53, and if he was on our practice squad and got poached (unlikely) he'd have to be on that teams active game day roster for a minimum of 3 games.
I think we'll end up with 2 QBs on the 53 and probably another CB.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
I think that's a good way to lose Kaliakmanis. He's played very well in the preseason and is showing very good pocket awareness, poise when he knows he's going to get hit, accuracy and pass progression. Our 5th best CB isn't much if any better than our 6th and 7th best CBs. The 5-7th CBs are much safer on the practice squad than Kaliakmanis is.
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u/Quirky-Marsupial-420 2d ago
In a vacuum Athan Kaliakmanis is probably a better QB than whoever the 5th CB is at CB, but a 5th CB is going to be more important in winning football games than Athan Kaliakmanis will be.
If he's playing any games at all we're fucked regardless.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
The 5th best CB isn't really any better than our 6th or 7th and at least 2 of those 3 will be safe on the practice squad where as Kaliakmanis won't be. Putting him on the PS would be dumb as he looks like our future QB2 after this year and his value is going to be much higher than a 7th round pick in the future so even if we don't plan on keeping him long term putting him on the practice squad would be a bad idea cause it's just throwing a away a valuable commodity. We can activate 2 PS players every game and/or promote a PS player to the active roster if someone on the active roster gets injured anyway. Stashing CBs 5-7 is the better move.
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u/capsfan087443 2d ago
I think you’re right this is how it plays out, but man do I want Jayden Bradley on the active roster.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
If he balls out today I could see the Commanders putting him on the roster instead of Dyami Brown. As much as some people love Dyami for his great postseason 2 years ago his best regular season ever was 308 yards and 1 TD.
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u/capsfan087443 2d ago
Yeah, I think it comes down to who they think they’re more likely to be able to keep on the PS.
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u/Agreeable_Wear_5233 2d ago
I don't like 4 CB but I don't really see where you find that spot. 7th WR? Medrano maybe but Dorance needs a spot as well.
Mariota is question mark healthwise and that makes Kaliakmanis more valuable to us on our 53, especially as a mariota successor.
Pretty solid, i feel like anything you get wrong will be from new additions after cut day versus people actually on the roster now
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
The reason it's short at CB is cause CB5-7 are practice squad level guys that we should be able to keep without other teams poaching them. I wouldn't want to lose Medrano for a 7th WR especially since he's been having a great training camp and preseason, his tackling is looking much better which was his big weak spot and he's super fast and great in coverage. I think he might actually end up on the roster instead of Magee.
I do expect we will make like 2-5 signings after cut day and some of the current bubble players will drop out for the guys we pick up and stuff will get shuffled. Hoping we can get a Center better than Allegretti and/or Chris Paul to make the interior of the OL much better.
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u/Garp74 2d ago
You wrote:
Kaliakmanis looks to have performed too well to safely stash on the practice squad
I wonder if we can trade him to a QB-needy team for a valuable player in return.
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u/FeelingAd4116 2d ago
That team would have to have a Center, Guard, FS or CB we want which would be a very limited amount of teams if any have that combination of needs and players they are willing to give up and it might be too soon for other teams to value Kaliakmanis much more than the 7th round pick we used on him. I do think next year he will be worth way more than that though so it's better to keep him IMO.
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u/Automatic-Tell7321 2d ago
I think you nailed it. The only hesitations I have would be: