With the countdown to the draft at less than 15 hours (and ticking), it seems like a good time to take a look at the Washington Commanders roster in the form of a depth chart.
As things stand at the moment, the team has 75 players on the roster. There are 38 players on defense, 34 on offense, and 3 special teams specialists.
Veteran free agents signed from other teams since mid-March are highlighted in pink.
The numbers that appear beside some players’ names are 2026 cap hits per Over the Cap.
Please note that assigned positions do not necessarily represent the thinking of Washington’s coaches or front office, nor are they necessarily consistent with fan consensus. In fact, the chart is set up to allow for multiple schemes & alignments — especially on defense. This chart represents my personal interpretation, and may not reflect the thoughts of other writers on Hogs Haven. Finally, when it comes to backup players, I don’t put much effort into making sure that they are on the right or left or behind the specific player that they backup. I mostly just try to fit everyone on the chart efficiently.
For the moment, the defensive layout is a bit schizophrenic with a new defensive coordinator and an unknown scheme. We should get more clarity as we move through the OTAs, minicamp, and training camp.
I want to offer a few notes of explanation about the chart. For further explanations that have been given in previous iterations of the chart, feel free to CLICK HERE and look through prior articles.
Three players have been signed to the roster since the last depth chart update:
The International Player Pathway program:The Commanders have a defensive player, TJ Maguranyanga, acquired last year under the International Player Pathway program and retained on a contract extension for the ’26 season.
After training camp, IPP athletes will be eligible to fill a 17th practice squad roster spot across any of the 32 teams — an additional spot reserved for an international player — following the rule change beginning with the 2024 season applicable to athletes outside of the United States and Canada.
While the IPP player is eligible to make the regular roster (as David Bada did in 2023 & 2024 with Washington and Detroit), if he is on the practice squad, he is the 17th player on the squad (normally only 16 players). During the offseason, teams with IPP players have an exemption that allows each to carry 91 players, with the IPP being the 91st guy. Washington, then, will be able to bring 91 players to OTAs, mini-camp and training camp.
Per tankathon, the Commanders enter the draft with 6 picks:
If Washington ends up drafting exactly 6 players this week, then, after adding the team’s 6 drafted rookies, the Commanders will have 81 players at the end of the 7th round. The full training camp roster, as mentioned, comprises 91 players.
As it stands now, the front office would be able to sign 10 undrafted college free agents, which is a pretty typical number for an NFL training camp. Like everything roster & cap related this time of year, this estimate is tentative and somewhat fluid — easily affected by changing circumstances (like draft trades) — but we’re starting to have a good idea of the composition of the training camp roster. That vision will come into sharp focus in the first week of May.
Players first reported to the team facility in Ashburn, Virginia, on April 20, kicking off a nine-week period for the new roster to prepare for the 2026 regular season. Here are the dates you should keep in mind until June:
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 27-29, June 2-4, June 9-11
Over the Cap currently estimates that the Commanders have $49.5m in available cap space.
As always, the team needs to reserve money for the draft class, which is currently expected to comprise 6 rookies.
The Commanders need to reserve $5.88m for the draft class.
The 1st-round pick will have a cap hit of $6.744m, but will push Lawrence Cager and his $1,145,000 cap hit off the list. Net cap hit for the #7 pick = $5,724,133