Dan Quinn impressed with this first-year Commanders' defender

Dan Quinn says he is impressed thus far with a first-year Washington Commander.

Saturday, before practice, Quinn was asked directly what he was seeing from his defensive line and Javon Kinlaw in particular. It's not a surprising question, given that the Commanders were near the bottom in the NFL in 2024 defending the run. Secondly, Kinlaw was their most impactful signing in the offseason to address the need to improve the run defense.

“I've been so impressed by Kinlaw in this camp," Quinn said. "You saw this glimpse in the spring, but honestly, you're seeing more drill work than anything. You're not padded, and you saw how hard he worked to get his body in great shape. I love that he's stacking days and being very, very intentional about the work that he is wanting to do and I want to get better at that, and I want to get better at that when his, you see this evidence of power and in strength and effort. I love the pocket that he's in, and he's really worked.

Starters Jonathan Allen (DT) and Dante Fowler (DE) are gone from the 2024 team. But Quinn offered Saturday, "Defensive line-wise, we've got a deep crew and there's a lot of evaluations to go, especially in the interior. I'm excited from what I've seen from [DT] Eddie [Goldman]. I want to see more, I'm excited from [DT] Carl [Davis], I want to see more on these interior players, so it's been good to add guys to the mix."

Interestingly enough, Quinn did not mention Daron Payne nor Deatrich Wise, both of whom are going to be counted upon to produce much this year for the Commanders. Yet Kinlaw is the biggest signing in the offseason for the defense, as the Commanders agreed to a three-year $45M contract for Kinlaw. It is a risk, and certainly caught the attention of many around the league, as Kinlaw has not played up to being a first-round draft choice.

Quinn again insisted that Kinlaw has been impressive and is finding his role in his new spot here with the Commanders.