Written By Adam Aniba
It came as a surprise to many Washington fans, when the Commanders opted to select Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton (FULL Scouting Report) with the 36th overall selection in April's NFL Draft.
Many draft evaluators had Newton rated as the 2nd/3rd rated DT in the entire draft class, so it was interesting to see Newton fall to Round 2.
Newton's draft day slide is believed to be attributed to his Jones fracture injury, which required surgery on his right foot prior to the draft.
In May it was reported that Newton would require the same surgery on his left foot.
Fans on social media immediately started pushing the panic button and labeling Newton as another potential 2nd round bust, after it was reported that the rookie would require another surgery.
Well sooner definitely came earlier than expected. On Wednesday Newton was activated from the active non-football injury list, after passing his physical and was cleared to participate in training camp.
Newton was given a 91.8 grade by PFF after the 20023 season, which was good for 2nd among Power-5 interior defensive lineman.
It might be premature to expect Newton to be an immediate contributor with Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne ahead of him on the depth chart. In saying that, fellow former 2nd round DT Phidarian Mathis has also dealt with his share of injuries and it wouldn't be much of a bold prediction to say that Newton could quickly leapfrog him on the depth chart.
Having Allen and Payne as mentors is also a factor that could speed up the learning curve for Newton.
Despite some critiques of the selection, drafting Newton with their first 2nd round draft pick was a wise move for the future. The move could also pay dividends this season, if the former Illinois defensive tackle can acclimate to the defensive scheme quickly.
There is a school of thought that Allen or Payne could be elsewhere in '25, so the selection of Newton has many layers to it and should be a story-line to watch as the season progresses.
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