“With the 47th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders select D (defensive) tackle Phidarian Mathis, Alabama!”, announced former Washington wide receiver Santana Moss.
Mathis is huge, standing 6-foot-4 1/4, weighing 310 pounds. As a senior in 2021, he was second-team All-SEC when he recorded 53 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks, and was a team captain.
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick commented saying Mathis is not going to impress with his athletic ability. But did assert, “he will impress you with consistency, with heavy hands. He will flash power, resetting the line of scrimmage against the run. Just a solid fundamental pick for Washington.”
The context of this selection cannot be ignored. The team was loaded at defensive tackle with starters Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis as the capable reserves.
This week the front office determined they would not extend starter Daron Payne. This coming after they permitted the capable and inexpensive Settle to sign with Buffalo for only $9 million over two years and released Ioannidis.
The front office created the need at this position early in the draft. It is a fair criticism. It is also fair to commend the front office for realizing they absolutely needed to trade back in round one from No. 11, enabling them to obtain two additional draft choices in this draft (98, 120). With this pick, they have addressed a need at defensive tackle.
ESPN analyst Mel Kiper stated Mathis is going to need to prove he is not a two-down player in the NFL. He also added he was surprised to have not heard Connecticut’s Travis Jones’ name called or Oklahoma’s Perrion Winfrey prior to Mathis by Washington.
