Defensive Tackle · Washington Commanders

Jer'Zhan Newton

No. 95 · 3rd season

Dan Quinn thinks Newton is about to make some noise in year three

It is one thing for a coach to express confidence in a player before the season starts. It is another when you get the sense they have actually seen something.

Jer'Zhan Newton lines up at defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders — the interior of the defensive line, where the work is physical and often invisible to casual watchers. He is heading into his third year with the team, the point in most players' careers when the raw potential either starts to show up on the field in a real way or quietly fades into depth-chart noise.

Washington head coach Dan Quinn said in April that he believes Newton is ready to break out. The way the end of Newton's most recent season went is part of what has Quinn talking.

Third years matter. The game slows down, the body catches up to the speed of the NFL, and players who have been grinding in relative quiet sometimes just arrive. Quinn is not hedging here.

The question is whether Newton gives the rest of the league a reason to know his name by the time December rolls around.

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