There’s been plenty of chatter about Washington’s new-look defense getting after Jalen Hurts on Sunday, but that only matters if the Commanders can first slow down Saquon Barkley and Philadelphia’s run game.
That’s where Tim Settle enters the picture.
Washington has spent recent seasons getting burned by the same old problems against the run: missed tackles, shaky linebacker speed and, most of all, breakdowns in gap control. The formula for beating Barkley isn’t complicated.
It just isn’t easy. You have to stay disciplined, hold your lanes and keep the Eagles from creating movement at the line.
Settle gives Washington a chance to do that in a way it hasn’t been able to for a while.
The 6-foot, 315-pound defensive tackle has been flying a little under the radar after missing a good chunk of camp and the preseason with injury, but his arrival is a meaningful one. Washington has cycled through a long list of interior defenders next to Daron Payne since Settle left in 2022 - Phidarian Mathis, Johnny Newton, Sheldon Day, Javon Kinlaw and Eddie Goldman among them - and none of those groups has changed the team’s run-defense fortunes. Washington finished 30th against the run last season, 29th in 2024 and 27th in 2023.
Settle, meanwhile, was building his game elsewhere. After refining his technique in a rotational role with the Buffalo Bills, he became a regular part of the Texans’ defensive line in 2024.
Over the past two seasons, he started 29 games at defensive tackle, posted nearly 50 combined tackles and 6.0 sacks, and in 2024 he finished with the fifth-best run stop win rate in the NFL. Then came a season-ending foot injury in 2025.
The Commanders still gave him a 3-year, $24 million deal this offseason.
What makes him different now is the way he plays.
Settle has learned to stay lower, use his hands better and create leverage instead of just relying on raw disruption. That growth has made him more dependable against the run, and film analyst Mark Bullock also pointed to the increased discipline in his game after the signing.
That matters because Washington is expected to move into a 3-4 base front under Daronte Jones, and that requires a true nose tackle. Settle wasn’t consistent enough to handle that kind of role when he left Washington, but he’s equipped for it now.
He can take on double-teams, fight through them and still clog running lanes. He can also still flash the quickness that made him a fifth-round pick by Washington in the 2018 NFL draft.
The difference is that he now has the experience to know when to attack and when to anchor.
That versatility could be huge against Philadelphia’s outside-zone looks. Jones, a former Brian Flores assistant, may choose to use Settle in more of a two-gap role to keep the interior tight and prevent linemen from climbing to the second level. Or Settle could be asked to penetrate from nose tackle or three-technique if he reads the run flowing outside, which could mess with pulling linemen, take away reach blocks and close off cutback lanes if Barkley tries to bend it back inside.
Jones made it clear on Thursday that stopping Barkley won’t come down to one player. “It’s not a one man job. It’s a team effort.”
Still, Settle was brought in to win inside, and Washington believes he’s the man with the skill set to do it. The speed upgrade at linebacker will help, but the defense’s first job is still the oldest one in football: control the gaps, win the line and make the run game work for every yard. On Sunday, Settle gets his first chance to show Washington he can be that anchor.
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Commanders Still Have One Painfully Obvious Gap Heading Into Eagles Opener
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Even with that group in place, the position still stands out as the most obvious place for an upgrade if Washington wants more punch offensively. Saquon Barkley looms over that conversation as the kind of back who could instantly change what this offense looks like, which only sharpens the contrast between what the Commanders have now and what they may still be missing. [Read more 🡒]