Commanders' Daron Payne Tabbed as 'Player to Root For' in 2025
For the past seven seasons, both Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne have plugged the middle of the Washington Commanders' defensive line.
Heading into 2025, Payne will be doing it without Allen, who has moved on to the Minnesota Vikings in free agency.
Both head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. have been vocal with praise about Payne this offseason, and most think he can take a leap in 2025 now that he's out of Allen's shadow on the defensive line.
Payne is an easy guy to root for, and NFL.com's Tom Blair placed him on a list with the "players to root for" in 2025.
"Many of us are already rooting for Jayden Daniels, because, duh, and for Terry McLaurin, because he's A) very good and B) paid his dues in the extreme as a mainstay of the franchise's pre-Daniels days," Blair wrote. "How about giving some love to the other roster stalwart who has Really Gone Through It in Washington? Jonathan Allen's departure this offseason leaves Payne (drafted 13th overall in 2018) as one of the longest-tenured Commanders, someone who's started 84 straight regular-season games for the team -- just 38 of which ended in victory, including 12 last season. The 28-year-old is as deserving as anyone of reveling in Washington's transformation into a legit contender.
"All the better if Payne, whose pressure rate and sack totals dipped after an 11.5-sack 2022 season, can translate the positive buzz he's been generating to a renewed dominance on the field."
ESPN stopped just short of adding Payne to its "top 10 defensive tackles" in the NFL, but he did receive votes.
And he should be easy to root for on an offense with a lot of other fun players to cheer for in 2025.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
3-time Grand Slam semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov is out of the US Open with an injured chest muscle
NEW YORK (AP) — Three-time Grand Slam semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov withdrew from the U.S. Open on Tuesday, a little more than a month after he tore a chest muscle and had to quit playing against Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon. That exit from the All England Club on July 7 — Dimitrov had taken the opening two sets against Sinner but got hurt in the third — marked the fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament where the 34-year-old Dimitrov failed to complete a match. It also happened at the Australian Open in January and the French Open in May, plus last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open. A year ago in New York, Dimitrov stopped while trailing 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 4-1 against Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals. Dimitrov was a semifinalist at the U.S. Open in 2019, at the Australian Open in 2017, and at Wimbledon in 2014. His highest ranking was No. 3; he is currently No. 21. With Dimitrov out of the field, Alejandro Tabilo gets a spot in the men's singles bracket, which starts play on Aug. 24. Brandon Holt is the next player who would move into the draw if another man withdraws. Holt upset Taylor Fritz at Flushing Meadows in 2022 and his mother is two-time U.S. Open champion Tracy Austin. ___ AP tennis:
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tigers in jeopardy of losing former Yankees star Gleyber Torres
Tigers in jeopardy of losing former Yankees star Gleyber Torres originally appeared on The Sporting News Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres entered the 2024-25 offseason with some questions about his future. It was evident that he wasn't going to return it to the New York Yankees, but many questioned where he could land, or what his deal might look like. Throughout parts of Torres' career, he seemed to be one of the better second basemen in baseball, and he's proven that again during the 2025 campaign. Barring anything drastic happening over the last few months, Torres now looks to be in a great position to get paid this winter, and that could impact the Tigers. MORE: According to there's even a chance they could lose him. noted that it won't be easy for the Tigers to keep him in town, something the front office has to consider. 'Batting .271 with a career-high .368 on-base percentage and 13 home runs, Torres has had quite the bounceback year since joining Detroit on a one-year, $15 million deal. He appears to be a good long-term fit for the first-place Tigers, but he's likely to seek a multiyear contract that probably won't be cheap. Plenty of other clubs could use a good second baseman, so it won't be easy for the Tigers to keep Torres, but they'll probably try,' they wrote. Depending on who the Tigers call up over the next few weeks to months, or even over the next year, it might not be too big of an issue to lose Torres. However, losing a right-handed bat with a 120 OPS+, when the team is already lacking right-handed juice, would be very tough to justify.
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Packers sign former top-100 pick
On Monday, the Green Bay Packers brought in three running backs, Tyrion Davis-Price, Micah Bernard and Kylin James, for workouts. The Packers made the decision to add Davis-Price, who is in practice in Green Bay on Tuesday, amid some injury questions at the position. Emanuel Wilson and MarShawn Lloyd only returned to practice on Monday from prior injuries, which means they might not be fully recovered in time for the joint practice or preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts this week. On top of that, Jalen White was injured in the Packers' preseason opener against the New York Jets, and Israel Abanikanda injured his hamstring in practice on Monday. So, Green Bay's only fully-healthy running backs right now are Josh Jacobs, who the team is hoping to rest in this week's preseason game, Chris Brooks, Amar Johnson and now Davis-Price. Hence, the signing. Davis-Price is a very interesting prospect. During the draft process, he was considered to be a borderline draftable player. Instead, the San Francisco 49ers took him in the top-100 selections of the 2023 draft, only to trade for Christian McCaffrey in October of Davis-Price's rookie year. The LSU product, who was the number two back on the national title team and then developed into a two-year starter after that, has played eight total regular-season games over three seasons with the 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. He's turned 43 carries into 127 yards (3.0 yards per carry) and hasn't scored a touchdown yet. He also has not caught a ball at the NFL level. Despite going into his fourth professional season, though, Davis-Price is only 24 years old. Depending on the status of Wilson, Lloyd and Abanikanda, we could see a lot from Davis-Price against the Colts on Saturday.
