Commanders roster rankings: Optimism sky-high for new LB Leo Chenal, who’s comes in at No. 10

Editor's note:We'llcount down the top 10 Commanders players on the 2026 roster regardless of position sporadically over the next few weeks.Before we get to it,here'show we arrived at the ranking: Our Scott Bair, Scott Jennings and Mark Tyler compiled a top13-norankingwasidentical- withpoints assigned to each ranking slotfrom all three lists.We used these point values to form a consensus top 10 ranking.We'llwritea story each member of the top 10 and another on othersreceiving votes at the end. Plus, Mark willprobably havea Tyler's Take with his thoughts.You'llsurely object to some of these rankings, though debate iskind of thepoint with lists like this. Well,let'sget to it with No. 10:

The Commanders invested heavily in their defensethis offseason, vowing to getyounger andfasteron that side of the ball. Theydidn'tburn through salary-cap space signing big names, instead betting on ascending talentswith even better ahead.

Count linebacker Leo Chenal in that group. He was never a true three-down player in Kansas City, buthe'sferocious around the line of scrimmage and has the speed and agility to cover well.That'swhy general manager Adam Peters paid him $24.75 million over three years.

The more you learn about Chenal, the more you like, which is why this new guy comes in at No. 10 in our ranking of the best Commanders players regardless of position.

Why Leo Chenal is ranked No. 10

This ranking was a close one. Right tackle Josh Conerly Jr.nearly took the 10^thspot,and you could make an argument for both to be included on the list. Chenal is here as much for histrack recordas for what's possible when hisdefensivesnap counts go up.They'venever been above445or more than 53%of possible defensive playing time, butthose totals should increase in 2026.

Signing with Washington could create a breakout opportunity, especially whilefrequentlyplaying alongside No. 7 overall NFL draft pick Sonny Styles. Peters bet onChenal's potential. We are, too.

What he has done

Kansas City made Chenal, a Wisconsin product, a third-round pick in the2022 NFL draft. He has hovered around 60 tacklesand two sacks, though he had three forced fumbles in 2024.His best statistical seasoncame in 2023, when he had 65 tackles, three sacks, eight tackles for alossand seven quarterbackhits.

And, also, the man just doesn't miss tackles. Like, ever.

Leo Chenal's 5.2% missed tackle rate is the lowest among linebackers since the start of 2023 (min. 40% snaps at LB, min. 125 tackle attempts).

Chenal aligned at linebacker on 45.8% of snaps and on the line of scrimmage on 49.1% of snaps in that span.@Commanders | #HTTChttps://t.co/lVBtEmiX21pic.twitter.com/coo7HU0GGo

- Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 11, 2026

He played well for the Chiefs and was liked within the fanbase, buttheyhad significant funds tiedinto linebacker Nick Boltonand other defensive stalwarts.That made paying his market value too difficult a task.

Whathe'lldo next

Have you seen Chenal's raw athletic score (RAS)? I mean, my goodness. That must becatnipfor the Washington front office, which prizes such metrics.

Leo Chenal is a LB prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.99 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 4 out of 2226 LB from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/unnXwkeRtl#RASpic.twitter.com/jvmaXucnGY

- RAS.football (@MathBomb) March 18, 2022

Our John Portissees a mix of off-the-ball responsibilitieswith some work off the edgein Daronte Jones' new defensive scheme.Opportunity shouldsend his statsway up. Whilehewasn't asked to cover a ton in Kansas City, that will surely be a bigger part of his workload, even with Styles playing with him.

Jones wants to attack, attack, attack,and Chenal can help him fulfill that vision from the second level. Career bests in snaps and vital stats should be expected in a real opportunity for him to become more of a featured player.

#Commanders GM Adam Peters emphasized getting younger and faster" this offseason

Leo Chenal (#54) checks those boxes. Not only is he young at 25, but also posted the 3rd highest combine score for a LB in NFL history. He scored a RAS score of 9.99 out of 10.00. #RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/mE0CV46bkB

- brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) May 25, 2026