4 days ago
These 2 players could shape the Commanders' 2025 season
We're officially 50 days from the start of the 2025 NFL season, less than two months away. For the third year in a row, CBS Sports senior writer Zachary Pereles created a list of 50 under-the-radar players who could shape the 2025 NFL season. Now, "under the radar" is subjective, so this year, Pereles created some boundaries:
Not an All-Pro or Pro Bowler in 2024 or 2023 (we have one exception here, with good reason)
Not drafted in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft
Not in my 100 most important players that published 100 days before the season began
He also included at least one player from each team, but some teams obviously had multiple players to get to 50. The Washington Commanders had two players land on this list. First:
Brian Robinson Jr., Commanders: From Weeks 1-8, Robinson was one of the league's best runners on a success rate and a yards after contact basis. Then he missed Weeks 9 and 10 with a hamstring injury and was among the NFL's least efficient runners thereafter. A Week 12 ankle injury didn't help, either. The change was clear: He avoided 18.8% of tackles from Weeks 1-9. That fell to 11.6% in Weeks 11-18. Washington, once thought of as a landing spot for a top running back in the draft, didn't select one until the seventh round. Robinson will lead the backfield once again.
Robinson is in the final year of his rookie contract and has missed at least two games in each season he's played. That said, the Commanders' offensive line will be improved this year, and if he can stay healthy, Robinson can get the job done. But if he continues how he has the last couple of years, he will likely find himself as RB2, whether he's with the Commanders or not.
The Commanders' second player on the list might surprise you.
Trey Amos (CB), Commanders: Washington found a gem in last year's second-round cornerback, Mike Sainristil, and hopes this year's version, Amos, is able to make a similar immediate impact. At 6-foot-1 he has the size to play outside, which would allow Washington to slide Sainristil inside, and he tested well at the combine. Rookie cornerbacks can experience a trial by fire, but if Amos holds up, it's a huge improvement for a defense that needs to improve.
Amos has all kinds of upside, and Joe Whitt comes from a secondary background. Whitt and Dan Quinn will have the defensive side of the ball in much better shape in 2025 than it was in 2024, when Quinn was much more focused on the offense.
Both Robinson and Amos have tremendous upside, and both have the potential to impact the Commanders and shape their season, thereby helping to shape the overall landscape of the NFL. If things pan out the way they look on paper, the Commanders are going to have a very successful 2025 season.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: 2 Commanders named players who could shape 2025 season
