The Washington Commanders didn’t plan on leaning this hard on a fifth-round pick in August. But with left tackle Laremy Tunsil facing surgery on a torn triceps and an extended absence from the offense, according to ESPN, the pressure is shifting onto a defense that got a full overhaul this offseason. And inside that defense, one name keeps showing up: rookie edge rusher Joshua Josephs.
Washington rebuilt its pass rush from the ground up this offseason, signing free agents Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson and using its first-round pick on linebacker Sonny Styles. Those were the headline moves. Josephs, taken 147th overall out of Tennessee, wasn’t supposed to be one of them. He is anyway.
Joshua Josephs Turning Heads in Padded Practices
Josephs entered camp with a mindset he picked up from Appalachian State quarterback Malachi Singleton: S2P, short for “something to prove.” He explained the approach to Bryan Colbert Jr. on the Commanders’ “Raising Hail with the Rookies” series.
“It’s just [about] always having that mindset no matter what,” Josephs said. “No matter what feat you accomplish, you’ve always got something to prove. You’ve always gotta be hungry.”
He’s backed that up on the field. Zach Selby of the Commanders’ official site posted on X: “Joshua Josephs is having an impressive day so far. He had a batted pass earlier in team drills and showed off his speed against Wylie in 1-on-1s” — https://x.com/ZachSelbyWC
That wasn’t a one-day flash. Multiple camp reports have tracked Josephs’ rise since, including a sack he forced on backup quarterback Marcus Mariota during a padded practice earlier this month.
The Physical Tools Behind the Buzz
Part of what’s fueling the hype is measurable. Josephs’ wingspan sits close to seven feet, an outlier number for an edge rusher his size, and one that draft analysts flagged before Washington ever took him. A Commanders draft-focused post on X from Mitchell Tischler put it simply: Josephs’ wingspan is enormous for a player who lined up as a 3-4 edge and worked both a stand-up and hand-in-the-dirt alignment at Tennessee.
Josephs is still adjusting to defensive coordinator Daronte Jones’ scheme, and he’s said as much publicly, a moment captured on X by Denton Day of the Commanders’ radio coverage. Josephs wants to be more than a straight-line rusher.
“They know I’m an athlete,” Josephs said. “I have the ability to cover. I was doing it in college. And I was doing it in high school. I’ve been doing this thing my whole life. I’ve been able to cover in space. They also know about my pass rushing ability and my pass rushing bag, and I feel like I’ve got a good bag. I feel like I gotta show I’m a dominant pass rusher and I’m able to cover in space.”
On learning Jones’ playbook, Josephs was candid.
“Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s a little challenging,” Josephs said. “I just gotta stay in my playbook. Really, it’s a blessing — all the packages that I’m in, and everything that Coach DJ is doing. I believe he knows what he’s doing. I believe our defense is going to be really lethal this season.”
Why the Defense Needs Everyone Rowing Together
Individual flashes only go so far in August. Washington’s defense finished near the bottom of the league defensively in 2025, and closing that gap will take more than one rookie’s pass-rush reps. Safety Nick Cross, who signed with Washington this offseason after four years with the Colts, has emphasized communication as the unit installs Jones’ system, according to WJLA.
“You got to have your eyes right,” Cross said. “Reading your keys, communication’s on point. You’ve got a lot of talented playmakers on offense. At the end of the day, it’s crucial that we go out there and we’re on our details, on our keys, make sure your eyes are in the right spot.”
That communication matters more with an offense that will disguise personnel and motion to create confusion, a challenge Cross said the defense has faced daily against Washington’s own starters in practice.
What It Means for the Pass Rush
None of this changes the calculus quietly building around this Commanders team. Getting to the quarterback consistently — not just occasionally piling up sacks in garbage time — was one of Washington’s clearest weaknesses last season. Oweh and Chaisson were brought in as the headline fix. Josephs, if his camp trajectory holds into preseason games, gives Washington a rotational piece nobody projected in April.
Dorance Armstrong and Javontae Jean-Baptiste remain in the mix as August progresses, and none of these roles are settled. But a defensive front that can consistently affect the quarterback also makes life easier on the back end, turning obvious passing situations into advantages instead of guesswork. With Tunsil out and the offense adjusting on the fly, how far that defensive identity comes together may end up mattering more for Washington’s season than anyone expected in the spring.
