Replacing the impact of 10-time Pro Bowl veteran middle linebacker Bobby Wagner has become an afterthought for the Washington Commanders, amid all of the buzz about the creative blitz schemes of first-year defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, but his unit has a new “monster” ready to do the vital work Wagner performed in a niche role.
That work is described by Mitchell Tischler of Monumental Sports Network. He told the “The Kevin Sheehan Show” for The Team 980 how third-year pro Jordan Magee isn’t “gonna be on the field for even 50 percent of the defensive snaps,” yet the fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft can still be “a really nice run-stopping piece in the middle of that defense.”
It’s a specific use case for Magee, but Tischler likens it to Wagner: “Honestly, I think of him kind of in, people are gonna laugh, but a little bit in the, how Bobby Wagner was effective last year, is in the role that I can see Jordan Magee being effective this year. Do I wanna see him running with tight ends and running backs? Not as much, but on short-yardage downs or mostly likely run downs, I really like the idea of Jordan Magee in the middle of that defense being a monster that can go blow up a blocker and get to the running back, or just straight get after the ball-carrier.”
Tischler’s take fits with what head coach Dan Quinn has previously predicted for Magee. Yet, there are a couple of reasons to question whether he can really step into Wagner’s shoes.
The first of those questions concerns Magee’s physical fit for the role.
Bobby Wagner Role a Tough Fit for Jordan Magee
As a 6-foot-3, 225-pounder, it’s easy to ask if Magee is quite the physical “monster” Tischler claims. The Commanders at least have to wonder if Magee is built to survive playing in the guard-center-guard box and clogging the middle against the run.
It’s a responsibility Wagner used every bit of his 6-foot, 242-pound frame to handle. Playing in a phone booth often requires a big body able to absorb and shed beefy offensive linemen getting to the second level.
The Commanders can keep Magee clean if their defensive tackles, including roving, payday-hunting destructive behemoth Daron Payne, can occupy double teams. If they can’t, Magee may soon prove a liability on running downs, rather than an asset.
GettyMagee will need help to be Wagner’s successor.
Magee’s better use case might involve deploying his lighter frame in nickel sets and improving his skills in coverage. The latter is an area where Wagner struggled mightily last season.
Those struggles are one reason why the Commanders are counting on Jones to disrupt the pass with more pressure. It’s a plan that’s put a different style of linebacker ahead of Magee on the depth chart.
Commanders Changing Profile at Linebacker
Jones’ ties to Brian Flores, the premier designer of pressure in the NFL, have informed how the Commanders have changed their profile at linebacker. The primary change involves putting more active and versatile players at the heart of the corps.
New faces include free-agent recruit Leo Chenal, a 250-pounder who blitzed freely for another illustrious pressure specialist, Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Chenal is joined by this year’s seventh-overall draft pick, Sonny Styles. He’s a 243-pound playmaker who’s already earned comparison to Wagner.
Styles seems like a more natural successor for the would-be Hall of Famer than Magee, who also faces competition for reps from Wagner’s former running mate, Frankie Luvu. His game is built around blitzing and getting downhill in a hurry, qualities Jones already plans to use in creative ways.
Those plans mean Luvu still has value, so Magee is under no-small amount of pressure to prove he can still make an impact in this new-look defense. His efforts to stay relevant have been applauded by a key coach, but Magee will surely need to make key changes, like bulking up and expanding ways he sheds blockers, if he’s going to be the same enforcer against the run as Wagner.
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