2026 Position Group Breakdown: Edge
June 3, 2026
By Noonefromtampa
Background
Washington invested heavily in this position group in the offseason by signing and drafting multiple players. Once Dorance Armstrong was injured last season the pass rush collapsed, which impacted the play of the entire defense. Lack of pressure led to problems in the secondary which have major issues covering the opponent’s receivers. Along with an influx of new talent, Washington is expected to convert to an aggressive 3-4 defense based on the Viking defense that new defensive coordinator was a part of last season. What exact roles the players in this group will have will be determined during on field OTA’s and training camp. Some players will play the outside linebacker position, and some may move inside to the 3-4 defensive end position.
Washington drafted Joshua Josephs, a defensive end from Tennessee, in the fifth round.
Returning Players
Dorance Armstrong, 2024 free agent
Javontae Jean-Baptiste, 2024 7th round pick
Deatrich Wise Jr., 2025 free agent, resigned 1 year contract, $1.45 million
Drake Jackson, 2025 free agent, 1 year contract, $1.22 million
D.J. Johnson [reserve/futures contract]
T.J. Maguranyanga, [reserve/futures contract]
Players Lost
Preston Smith, free agent
DeMarcus Walker, free agent
Jalyn Holmes, free agent
Jacob Martin, signed by Tennessee Titans
Free Agents Signed
Odafe Oweh, 4 years for $96 million
K’Lavon Chaisson, 1 year for $11 million
Charles Omenihu,1 year, $4M
Andre Carter II [reserve/futures contract]
Draft Picks
Joshua Josephs, Tennessee, 5th round
Undrafted Free Agents
None
Roster Details
| Player | # | Pos | HT | WT | Age | Exp | College |
| Dorance Armstrong | 92 | DE | 6-4 | 255 | 28 | 9 | Kansas |
| Andre Carter II | 55 | OLB | 6-5 | 270 | 26 | 2 | Army |
| K’Lavon Chaisson | 45 | OLB | 6-3 | 255 | 26 | 7 | LSU |
| Drake Jackson | 93 | DE | 6-4 | 273 | 25 | 4 | USC |
| Javontae Jean-Baptiste | 90 | OLB | 6-4 | 260 | 25 | 3 | Notre Dame |
| D.J. Johnson | 53 | DE | 6-4 | 260 | 27 | 8 | |
| Joshua Josephs | 48 | DE | 6-3 | 240 | 22 | R | Tennessee |
| T.J. Maguranyanga | 59 | DE | 6-4 | 222 | 23 | 1 | |
| Charles Omenihu | 90 | DE | 6-5 | 280 | 28 | 8 | Texas |
| Odafe Oweh | 98 | OLB | 6-5 | 251 | 27 | 6 | Penn State |
| Deatrich Wise Jr. | 91 | DE | 6-5 | 280 | 31 | 10 | Arkansas |
Thoughts
Even with additions at edge, there still are questions about depth with Armstrong and Jean-Baptiste coming off injuries. Whether or not anyone starts on the Physically Unable to Perform list has not been announced yet.
Armstrong was on a tear before his injury – hopefully he can get back to that level again. Oweh and Chaisson were brought in to improve the pass rush and should see significant playing time. Those players combined with the improved linebacker group should provide Washington with more pass rushing options. The level of success the team reaches this season will be dependent on how successful this group is at pressuring quarterbacks.
The issue with this position group is that Armstrong, Wise, Chaisson, Omenihu, Jackson, Carter and Johnson are all free agents in 2027. There is no real long-term depth in this group and that will have to be addressed again in future years.
2025 Stats
| Player | Snaps | Tackles | Sacks | QB Hits | TFL | PD | FF/FR |
| Armstrong | 239 (21%) | 24 | 5.5 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0/0 |
| Chaisson | 639 (67%) | 31 | 7.5 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 2/1 |
| Jackson | 61 (5.4%) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 |
| Jean-Baptiste | 60 (5.3%) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 |
| Oweh | 513 | 28 | 7.5 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0/0 |
| Omenihu | 568 (55%) | 28 | 3.5 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0/0 |
| Magutanyanga | 11 (1%) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 |
| Wise | 51 (4.5%) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 |
Projection
Starters: Oweh, Chaisson
Reserves: Armstrong, Omenihu, Jackson, Josephs
Practice Squad or Released: Jean-Baptiste, Johnson, Magutanyanga, Wise