This is going to be a new experience for Washington Commanders fans — receiving praise for decisions made regarding the ongoing management of your favorite football franchise.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman singled out a pair of Commanders’ picks from the 2024 NFL Draft as “Draft Steals” on the This Is Football podcast with host Kevin Clark on May 1 — pointing to second-round picks Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton and Mike Sainristil.
Newton, a defensive tackle, was taken with the No. 36 overall pick out of Illinois. Sainristil, a cornerback, was taken with the No. 50 overall pick out of Michigan, where he was one of the star players on a team that went 15-0 and won the College Football Playoff national championship.
“I was stunned (Newton) went down as far as he did,” Feldman said. “He was a dominant, disruptive defensive lineman … I ran into Bret Bielema, who coached him and also coached him in the NFL and he was like ‘Guards are going to have a real hard time with (Newton).
“He’s just a very explosive, heavy-handed inside guy. I’m not saying he’s Aaron Donald … he’s bigger than Aaron Donald. Not much, but bigger. He is going to be a big force.”
Sainristil: ‘My Favorite College Player’
Feldman got a first-hand look at Sainristril multiple times in 2023 through his work on the Fox Sports College Football broadcast team.
“I hesitate to ever call anyone my favorite college football player,” Feldman said. “But he was my favorite college football player.”
Sainristil was a slot wide receiver for his first three seasons of college football before he moved to the defensive side of the ball and was a two-time All-Big Ten selection. Sainristil started 26 games at cornerback over his final two seasons and led Michigan with 6 interceptions in 2023.
Sainristil is just 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds but tested through the roof at the NFL combine in February, running the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds and registering a 40-inch vertical leap.
“(Sainristil) was the best leader on that team,” Feldman said. “I can argue that he did more to change Michigan football over the last two years than any player on that team … he’s 182 pounds and if you see him walking around and he’s wearing his glasses, he looks like a law school student.
“Bright kid. He’s super instinctive, he’s really tough and he’s a dynamic athletic … really good tackler, great blizter … he was a ball hawk. He made huge plays.”
Newton Could Replace Allen on Defensive Line
The Commanders may have lost faith in two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen in 2023, as Allen turned on the franchise with an expletive-filled rant following a 14-7 loss to the New York Giants in October.
Newton, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, seems like the natural replacement for Allen, who signed a 4-year, $72 million contract extension in March 2021.
The Commanders’ 2024 draft class received an “A” grade from Pro Football Focus.
“This is a tremendous value selection at the top of the second round,” Newton is the 11th-ranked player overall on the PFF big board and was extremely productive over his college career,” wrote PFF’s Trevor Sikkema. “Just three Power Five interior defensive linemen have recorded 100 or more pressures over a two-year stretch since PFF began charting college in 2014: Newton, his new teammate Jonathan Allen and DeForest Buckner.”
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