Washington 2026 regular season roster review
September 7, 2026
by Steve Thomas
Now that we’re through the long slog of the offseason and training camp, I thought it was the ideal time to do a quick roster recap and analysis while we all wait for the week 1 games to begin. So without further ado, let’s jump in.
One note: the depth chart I’ve used here is the chart published on the Washington team’s website.
Quarterbacks
Starter: Jayden Daniels
#2: Marcus Mariota
#3: Athan Kaliakmanis
Obviously, there are no surprises in the placement of either Daniels or Mariota. My only thought here is that this is a very important year for Daniels. In my view, it’s not necessarily set in stone that they give him a full, multiyear contract. The combination of his mediocre performance and injuries last season means that Daniels needs to get back to something approaching his rookie year performance, while doing it under a more reasonable, NFL-like offense. Daniels needs to minimize his running to the maximum extent possible and save it for broken plays, while achieving quality results under center. None of that is guaranteed. Hopefully it works out.
Mariota remains the perfect backup for Daniels, assuming he can stay healthy.
It became pretty clear throughout the preseason that Kaliakmanis was going to beat out Sam Hartman for the #3 spot. This was the right call; that having been said, though, I don’t necessarily think he has the greatest arm in the world and isn’t wonderful on deep balls. He’s a good developmental quarterback who can hopefully be ready to take Mariota’s spot as the principal backup soon. That having been said, let’s hope he doesn’t have to play this year.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: B
Running backs
Starter: Jacory Croskey-Merritt
#2: Rachaad White
#3: Kaytron Allen
IR: Jeremy McNichols
My statistical analysis of Croskey-Merritt’s season last year as compared to other NFL running backs (click here to read) showed that he was a more consistent running back than I had given him credit for. He’s a worthy starter, albeit roughly in the middle of the pack in terms of all starting running backs. Croskey-Merritt probably needs to work on contributions in the passing game and blocking in order to become an every down back. The fact that he didn’t play at all in the preseason in a bit disconcerting, but he’s done enough to earn this spot.
That’s especially true given that neither White nor Allen really showed much plus-level results in the preseason. That’s not surprising given that Allen was a sixth round draft pick. The fact that Robert Henry was moved to the practice squad despite his very productive game against the Dolphins was the right move given that his work in the remaining two games was substandard.
All in all, I view the running back room as average at best in comparison to other NFL teams.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: C
Wide receivers
Starters: Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, Luke McCaffrey
#2: Dyami Brown, Treylon Burks, Jaylin Lane
#3: Antonio Williams
IR: Jacoby Jones
First of all, there was no reason for this team to keep seven receivers on the active roster. All of these players will never all get to play in games absent injury. It’s a waste of a roster spot, particularly given the weaknesses in the offensive line. The team should have kept six at most. Clearly, McLaurin and Diggs are the stars of the show and will both hopefully be at least borderline Pro Bowl-level players on the outside. If that happens, it’s pretty likely that the entire offense, as well as Daniels, will be performing at a high level. McCaffrey isn’t worth a starting spot in the slot and is at best an average receiver, although he is a big contributor on special teams. I expect either Lane or Williams to replace McCaffrey in the slot fairly quickly. Brown and Burks have both showed talent and potential, but the team probably should have only kept one of them.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: B+
Tight ends
Starters: Chig Okonkwo, John Bates
#2: Ben Sinnott, Colson Yankoff
IR: Quentin Moore
The team has a ton of expectations for Okonkwo this year, and hope that he can become an elite pass-catching tight end. He certainly has the background for it, but thanks to the coaching staff’s horrendous preseason choices, we had no idea how well he’s going to fit into the offense. The hope is that he’ll slot in as either the second or third receiver behind Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs. I think he can get the job done.
I’ve never really understood why John Bates has such a huge contract as a blocking tight end. In my view, he’s probably average in that role, but he has a cap hit over almost $5.8M. Sinnott and Yankoff are both average at best.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: C+
Interior offensive line
Starters: Chris Paul (LG), Nick Allegretti (C), Sam Cosmi (RG)
#2: None
#3: Matt Gulbin (C), Tanoa Togiai (G)
Clearly, this group was a trainwreck in the preseason, although to be fair, we don’t really know how the starters will look. They were absolutely terrible against both the Lions and the Ravens. I don’t really know what the team’s front office was thinking when they released Tyler Biadasz in the offseason, but failing to get any sort of starting-quality center on the roster beyond the unproven and untested Nick Allegretti was negligence. The bodes particularly poorly given that Daniels will be under center for a significant amount of time this season for the first time in his football career. Cosmi and Paul both have some measure of credibility, but neither of them played much in the preseason, so how this group shakes out in the regular season in anyone’s guess. That having been said, I’m not particularly hopeful.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: D-
Offensive tackles
Starters: Brandon Coleman (LT), Josh Conerly, Jr. (RT)
Backups: D.J. Humphries, Andrew Wylie
IR: Laremy Tunsil
Losing Laremy Tunsil for what appears to be most of the season was a huge loss, given that Tunsil was a Pro Bowler and an elite pass blocker, whereas his replacement, Coleman, is a fairly good overall player but is nevertheless a clear step down. Conerly also has potential and got better as last season went on.
D.J. Humphries is a long-time average at best pro. Hopefully Wylie will never have to play.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: C
Defensive line
Starters: Javon Kinlaw (DT), Tim Settle (NG), Daron Payne (DT)
Backups: Ricky Barber, Charles Omenihu
IR: Jer’Zhan Newton
PUP list: Deatrich Wise
This group has quite a bit to prove, considering that the coaching staff mistakenly didn’t play any of the starters in the preseason games. In my view, this group is the strength and core of the defense. Payne has admittedly had some up and down years, but it is worth pointing out that 2026 is a contract year for him, so I expect him to put out his best effort. Kinlaw and Settle are both above-average players when healthy. If Washington’s defense – particularly the run defense – is above average, it’s going to start with these three players. Whether or not that happens is anyone’s guess due to the preseason failures of the coaching staff.
Neither Barber nor Omenihu particularly impress me as backups. Newton probably wasn’t worth his second round draft pick. The best scenario is that the three starters stay healthy all season.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: A-
Inside linebackers
Starters: Frankie Luvu, Sonny Styles
#2: Leo Chenal, Jordan Magee
#3: Cain Medrano
IR: Curtis Jacobs
Let’s get this out of the way right up front: Styles did not have a particularly good preseason. He clearly has athleticism and all the potential in the world, but it appeared as though he has a ways to go in terms of becoming the elite pro player that we all hope he can be. Anyone who is already writing him off is simply wrong. Luvu should be better than what he was last year, as an inside linebacker in a 3 – 4 system. In other words, these two starters have the potential to be outstanding provided that Styles eventually comes along and starts performing at a high level.
Chenal and Magee are pretty talented by backup standards, so the group is in good shape here. Hopefully Medrano will only need to spend significant time on special teams.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: A-
Outside linebackers
Starters: K’Lavon Chaisson, Odafe Oweh
Backups: Joshua Josephs, Javonte Jean-Baptiste
Suspended: Dorance Armstrong
The team has a ton of expectations for Chaisson and Oweh considering how much money they put into these two players this offseason. It’s unfortunate that neither played at all in the offseason. Oweh was brought here to be an edge rusher, but by all accounts he’s also an above-average run defender as well. These two have the potential to both be plus-level players. It’s unfortunate that we were unable to see either player in any of the preseason games, but the bottom line is that, assuming that they are healthy this season, they represent a major upgrade over last year.
Armstrong should be a major boost to this group once he comes back from his suspension.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: B+
Corners
Starters: Amik Robertson, Mike Sainristil
Backups: Rasul Douglas, Fabian Moreau
IR: Trey Amos
This group is a bit suspect, particularly without Trey Amos. The advanced stats don’t particularly favor either Robertson or Sainristil. Amos will help, assuming he remains on schedule to return halfway through the season. Moreau is certainly well known to Washington fans, but the truth is that neither he nor Douglas are anything more than average-level backups.
The corner group could struggle this year, particularly early on.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: C-
Safeties
Starters: Nick Cross, Jeremy Reaves
#2: Quan Martin, Tyler Owens
#3: Percy Butler
Washington’s coaching staff has the right to expect quite a bit from Nick Cross this year given that he was awarded a fairly large 2 year, $13M contract. I’m not convinced that he’s necessarily going to live up to those expectations, and coaching staff’s amazingly poor choices for preseason playing time didn’t help. Fan favorite Jeremy Reaves is hard to bet against.
Among the backups, Tyler Owens probably has the most potential, but Martin has somewhat surprisingly also improved and maybe worthy of some playing time in a reserve role.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: B-
Specialists
Starters: Tyler Ott (LS), Drew Stevens (K), Tress Way (P)
Tress Way is entering his 13th season with Washington and on his way to becoming the best punter in team history. I have nothing but good things to say about Way, who has been consistently above-average to outstanding all of these years. Stevens is merely the latest in Washington’s stupidly long line of placekickers over the past several years. At this point, I hesitate to even try to guess, whether he’s going to finally be the one to stick around for awhile.
Steve’s meaningless, subjective grade: B