Washington Commanders rookie LB is now a ‘Do-It-All’ player for their new defence.

The Washington Commanders makeover is going to be very evident on defense and rookie linebacker Jordan Magee could be a big part of it.

The Washington Commanders selected Temple Owls linebacker Jordan Magee with the 139th overall choice in the NFL Draft. “Magee lacks ideal size but plays with good strength and aggression and is able to bounce off bigger bodies to find his way to tackle tries from challenging angles,” Lance Zierlein said of Magee in his NFL.com draft profile before the Commanders selected him in the fifth round. “He possesses a solid early trigger, but his sideline-to-sideline distance is ordinary. Magee must demonstrate his ability to make more disciplined plays in order to progress beyond a competent backup with special teams potential.

The good news for Washington is that with free agent signings at linebacker, the team does not require Magee to be a Day 3 powerhouse. They simply need him to play his role to the best of his ability. Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu are freshly arrived linebackers, and everyone is excited to see what the unit can bring in 2024 after being grossly understaffed in previous seasons.

Jamin Davis, a first-round linebacker just three years ago, appears to be relegated to a third-linebacker role and has even been spotted working on the edge as the Commanders’ new coaching staff looks for ways to use him that will elevate his play above what we’ve seen thus far. And this is where Magee comes in. Because the team declined to exercise Davis’ fifth-year option this offseason, he presently has no future in Washington after this season, and if Magee proves he can play a meaningful role, that future may not exist locally at all.

“A do-it-all player, Magee had six sacks and 20 total pressures for the Owls last season, as well as 54 solo tackles, 41 stops, and 12 catches allowed on 16 targets for 85 yards, 41 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, no interceptions, two pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 86.7,” USA Today’s Doug Farrar wrote about Magee, identifying him as the team’s best draft sleeper pick. “He’s not unlike Luvu, who has become one of the NFL’s best linebackers in three years with the Jets and three more with the Panthers. Luvu was a “too small” guy who went undrafted out of Washington State back in 2018, so maybe he can tell the 6′ 1⅜”, 228-pound Magee that it’s not how you start, it’s where you finish.”