{"id":115128,"date":"2024-04-26T15:19:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T15:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=115128"},"modified":"2024-04-26T15:19:54","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T15:19:54","slug":"commanders-projected-to-go-heavy-on-defense-on-day-2-nguyensa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/commanders-projected-to-go-heavy-on-defense-on-day-2-nguyensa\/","title":{"rendered":"Commanders Projected to Go Heavy on Defense on Day 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1243307703-e1714143304557.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Ennis Rakestraw\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-dom-ready-time=\"781\" data-img-load-time=\"1325\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Getty\u00a0University of MIssouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Washington Commanders got their quarterback of the future in the first round of the\u00a02024 NFL Draft, grabbing LSU quarterback\u00a0Jayden Daniels\u00a0at No. 2 overall.<\/p>\n<p>Now, it\u2019s time for defense.<\/p>\n<p>Scout Inc. analyst Steve Muench\u2019s\u00a0Round 2 Mock Draft on ESPN has the Commanders using both of their second-round picks on April 26 on defensive players with Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw at No. 36 overall and Texas A&amp;M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper at the No. 40 overall pick.<\/p>\n<p>The Commanders\u00a0finished last\u00a0in the NFL in total defense in 2023. Washington gave up 388.9 yards per game and 30.5 points per game \u2014 both league highs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Commanders have a need at corner and land a potential starter in Rakestraw, who was a three-year starter in college,\u201d Muench wrote. \u201cWashington could continue to address a defense that finished last in points allowed per game last year (30.5) by drafting the versatile Cooper.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Can Rakestraw and Cooper Start Immediately?<\/h2>\n<p>Rakestraw and Cooper were projected as Round 2 picks by NFL analyst Lance Zierlein in pre-draft evaluations.<\/p>\n<p>Rakestraw, 5-foot-11 and 183 pounds, battled injuries throughout his career at Missouri. He tore his ACL five games into his sophomore season in 2021 and missed four games in 2023 with a groin injury. He ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in February, which is just a touch slow for NFL cornerbacks.<\/p>\n<p>The Commanders whiffed big at cornerback in the 2022 draft, taking Mississippi State\u2019s\u00a0Emmanuel Forbes\u00a0in the first round only to see him benched several times during the season. Even at that, Rakestraw might not be able to step in and play right away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s quicker than fast and does a nice job of breaking quickly on throws in front of him with well-timed challenges to knock the ball free,\u201d\u00a0Zierlein wrote. \u201cHe intercepted only one pass during his college career, which could be a concern, but his willingness and toughness in run support work in his favor. Rakestraw could become a good backup with eventual starter potential in the right scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cooper, 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, seems somewhat better suited to step in and play right away and ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine \u2014 the same as Rakestraw despite outweighing him by almost 50 pounds.<\/p>\n<p>Cooper filled up the stat sheet on the way to being named All-SEC and Associated Press All-American in 2023 with 83 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.\u00a0Zierlein wrote\u00a0he plays with \u201cunbridled passion and intensity,\u201d in his pre-draft evaluation of Cooper.<\/p>\n<p>That seems like a good thing.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Commanders Need Help Everywhere on Defense<\/h2>\n<p>The Commanders addressed their defensive deficiencies with hiring a new head coach, bringing in\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to replace Ron Rivera.<\/p>\n<p>Quinn and the Commanders went big on defensive players in free agency, bringing in two potential starters at defensive end with\u00a0Dorance Armstrong\u00a0and\u00a0Clelin Ferrell. Free agent linebacker Frankie Luvu and safety Jeremy Chinn could also be potential starters.<\/p>\n<p>Washington also signed free-agent linebacker\u00a0Bobby Wagner\u00a0to a one-year, $8.5 million contract. Wagner, 34 years old, has his best years behind him but will add a veteran presence to the locker room.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty\u00a0University of MIssouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw. The\u00a0Washington Commanders got their quarterback of the future in the first round of the\u00a02024 NFL Draft, grabbing LSU quarterback\u00a0Jayden Daniels\u00a0at No&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":115129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115128"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115130,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115128\/revisions\/115130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}