Adam Peters Admits He Was Shocked Commanders Landed Two Elite Pass Rushers

There is no undermining what General Manager Adam Peters has been able to accomplish this offseason when it comes to building out the Washington Commanders roster in free agency, but perhaps his biggest accomplishment was improving the edge position.

The Commanders struggled mightily in this area last season, with injuries playing a major part in the lack of success. Without Dorance Armstrong, Deatrich Wise Jr., and Javonte Jean-Baptiste, the Commanders couldn't muster much, if any, pressure on the opposing quarterback.

Peters knew this needed to change this offseason. While still sticking with the idea of getting younger, faster, and more athletic across the board, he was able to do that for Washington by signing Odafe Oweh and K'Lavon Chaisson. It was a massive win in the eyes of the Commanders' fans, and it also apparently shocked Peters himself that he was able to get both guys on the open market.

Pleasant Surprises

“Just really something we needed to address, and we did,” Peters said. “I was actually pretty surprised we were able to get both of those guys.”

K'Lavon Chaisso — New England Patriots linebacker K'lavon Chaisson (44) Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Commanders' four-year, $96 million contract for Oweh was their big splash in the offseason, but being able to get Chaisson on a one-year deal was icing on the cake. While Oweh and Chaisson were the big names, Peters also added Charles Omenihu on a one-year deal.

Both Oweh and Chaisson have had interesting come-alongs in their respective NFL careers, but finally broke out for their teams in 2025 – earning them their recent contracts.

Oweh, who was unproductive to start the season with the Baltimore Ravens, was shipped off to LA and the Chargers, where he was able to make an instant impact, becoming a game-wrecker from the outside on his way to 7.5 regular season sacks before dominating in the Wild Card game agains Chaisson's New England Patriots where he put up three sacks and two forced fumbles.

Oweh ranked 17th amongst 115 edges in pass rush grade (78.0) and was 11th across the NFL at pass-rush win rate (16.5%).

Washington Commanders EDGE Odafe Owe — Los Angeles linebacker Odafe Oweh (98) | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While Oweh showed he could do it all from his edge spot, Chaisson has been more of a specialist, but also had an elite prove-it year with the Patriots in 2025. Similar to Oweh, Chaisson had 7.5 regular-season sacks, but picked it up a notch in the playoffs, coming away with three more sacks and 18 more pressures.

Chaisson had a career-high in sacks and will likely have the opportunity to expand upon that in Washington, as he will be a pass rush specialist coming off the edge due to his struggles against the run (49.0 run defense grade) and tackling (36.4% missed tackle rate).

The Commanders most definitely upgraded the position this offseason and have set themselves up to have real athleticism coming from all angles of their defense. They are tired of the lack of production, and Peters made sure that wouldn't be the case in 2026.

Peters, while still surprised, didn't just add sacks to the defense; he added pressure volume that will surely lead to bigger game-changing plays thanks to speed and disruption.