To be clear, the Washington Commanders already needed their defense to be significantly improved this season. Nonetheless, the pressure for that to come to fruition just increased exponentially.
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That’s because the loss of Laremy Tunsil lowers the ceiling for the offense. As much as the Commanders believe in offensive coordinator David Blough’s scheme, a healthy season from Jayden Daniels and the addition of talented pass catchers in Stefon Diggs and Chig Okonkwo to help the unit improve, sustained offensive success still begins with the offensive line.
Tunsil, who’s the O-line’s best pass protector and run blocker, could miss the entire 2026 season due to a torn left triceps. Washington is confident in third-year offensive lineman Brandon Coleman’s ability to step in at left tackle, but there’s no replacing a player of Tunsil’s caliber.
To make matters worse, center is also a question mark for Washington. Nick Allegretti, who’s currently out with a calf strain, is set to be the starter but has spent most of his career at guard. It’s just difficult to feel good about this group right now. Perhaps the offense plays at an elite level anyway, but that’s probably wishful thinking.
That’s where the defense comes into the picture. If they play like one of the NFL’s best units this season, then an offense that’s merely good would put the Commanders in the mix to become a playoff team again.
For defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, that’s the standard he expects them to meet. In trying to get there, he’s utilizing a straightforward approach.
“Stressing the fundamentals and techniques,” Jones said Tuesday. “Tackling. Defeating blocks. Elite communication is one of our standards: everyone being on the same page. Trusting their brother next to them. That’s our standard, and that’s what we’re working towards.”
The defense was bad at everything last season. They couldn’t stop the run, rush the passer or hold up in coverage. Not only did that lead to hiring a new coordinator in Jones, but the defense also has four new starters and much improved depth.
That talent upgrade has already been apparent through training camp, particularly with the performance of the defensive front. They’ve been consistently disruptive both against the run and in the pass game.
Jones hasn’t tipped his hand much in terms of coverage structures or some of the other more intricate layers of his system. The Minnesota Vikings skewed heavily toward zone coverage during his stint there as defensive backs coach from 2022-2025, but they also used a variety of zones and alignments to mix things up.
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“He’s like a mad scientist, the way he explains how to disguise, and the things for the DBs,” defensive tackle Daron Payne said Aug. 1. “It’s much harder than what the D-line got to do. I can say that.”
In practice, the difference that has stood out the most is the switch to a 3-4 base defense. The Commanders will use five-man fronts at a much higher rate than they did last season.
“We’re trying to change the math up front,” Jones said. “There’s five offensive linemen, so you don’t want to give anybody a play off. That’s the thought process of it: just occupying more gaps up front.”
Something else that players have noted is the uptick in aggressiveness on defense. The aim is to create more splash plays — sacks, tackles for loss and turnovers — and make opposing offenses uncomfortable.
“Everything is aggressive,” defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw said last week. “Everybody is aggressive on this defense, bro. And if you’re not aggressive, you going to see what it look like. And you ain’t got no choice but to sink or swim with that. And I’m loving it.”
Jones’ defense is complex, but players have said that he’s done a job making the process of learning it a simple one. His focus has been on explaining the “why” behind each assignment and call. He noted his background as a high school coach and teacher has helped him in that area.
“I would attribute that to my teaching in the Louisiana high school system,” Jones said. “When you create a lesson plan, you have to pretty much hit on everyone’s learning styles because everyone learns differently. And so, whether I’m an audio learner or a visual learner, I’m a reading-and-writing learner or a kinesthetic learner, you got to be able to tap into each person’s learning style within that lesson plan so that everyone feels connected. And so, we try to do that as coaches so that you’re hitting on every player in that room. And then you get out and you walk through, and that’s our process.”
The defense’s performance in games remains to be seen, but the group appears to be trending in the right direction. There’s a lot riding on that ascent continuing.
“As a coach, you just want to look at the progress and see, ‘Are we ascending in the right way?’ when it comes to that,” Jones said. “And, again, it’s not perfect by a long shot, but it’s much better than what we were, so that means there’s progress. … As long as we’re not going backwards and continuing to move forward, then we’re on the right path to getting to what we want eventually.”
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