The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team.
The Washington Commanders' "Drive to the Draft" podcast has spent the last month ranking each position in the 2026 NFL Draft, and while defensive tackle is not a top priority for the Commanders at No. 7 with Daron Payne, Johnny Newton and Javon Kinlaw on the roster, co-hosts Logan Paulsen and Jason Johnson broke down their best players up front.
Peter Woods
One thing: "I watched the LSU game for Peter Woods and I thought, 'Man, this dude's an absolute stud.' There's no way that he's not the first defensive tackle off the board. He's 6-3, he's 315. He can run; he's twitchy. He plays fullback on offense. He plays goal line quarterback. Like he is an athlete. If you watch the LSU game, he runs everything down. His pursuit's awesome. He's physical ... I have some consternation about his ability to pick up the higher-level hand usage at the next level because he's played a lot of ball, and he just doesn't do it."
Lee Hunter
One thing: "The first game I watched, I didn't really like him. And then the more I watched him, I was like, 'He's the best player on the defense.' ... The way he plays double teams, the way he uses his hands, he's got 34 inch arms, and you feel every inch of that length. He's got a really nice feel for tackles for loss. He had 11 tackles for loss last season. He's just a really impressive nose guard player and very disruptive. And his ability to compliment and supplement David Bailey like on first and second down to like kind of cover up some of his issues as a run player, I just was like, 'He's the reason the defense works.'
Kayden McDonald
One thing: "I have not watched a more effective player versus the run probably since I've been doing this. "He is the best player on the field, and he plays fricking nose guard. He is so disruptive. He's so physical. And so, to me I was like, 'That that's the best defensive lineman in the class.' ... think you'll see a guy that can turn and step out of his frame a little bit and do some nice stuff."
