Pete's Post Office: Evaluating Tight End and the Pressure on Jack Del Rio

Pete's Post Office: Evaluating the TEs and the pressure on Del Rio originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Every Tuesday, Pete Hailey will answer questions from Washington Commanders fans about their favorite and always-interesting team. From inquiries about the depth chart to random ones about what it's like to cover Washington, he hopes to provide insight into whatever is on the mind of those who care so much about the organization.

In this edition, Pete touches on the unsteadiness at tight end and Jack Del Rio's standing as defensive coordinator.

How concerned are you with the TE room? Reyes now has a hamstring issue according to Rivera. Bates & Turner are still not 100%. How much is not having your presumed TE2 & TE3 out there limiting Turner's offense?

— Tailgate Ted (@TailgateTed) August 15, 2022

Before answering this question, I looked up the definition for the word shambles ("a state of total disorder") to see if it applied to Washington's tight end situation. In my opinion, it's a tad harsh — but it's also not that far off.

Logan Thomas has yet to be activated off of the PUP list, Cole Turner's hamstring injury could keep him out another week (or more), John Bates is back on the side field after re-injuring his calf in a brief return to practice last week and Sammis Reyes is dealing with a tight hamstring of his own (UPDATE, 10:10 A.M.: Reyes has been placed on injured reserve).

Now, in the absences of those four — who, coming into camp, occupied spots one, two, three and four on the club's depth chart — both Curtis Hodges and Armani Rogers have proven to be intriguing prospects. Each were targeted five times on Saturday against the Panthers and each hauled in three receptions.

Though they're both raw (Rogers is a converted quarterback, after all), Ron Rivera told reporters on Monday that the uptick in playing time and practice reps "doesn't look too big" for them and they've "done a great job."

Still.

While Rivera hasn't indicated that Thomas, Turner or Bates are in danger of missing any regular-season action, none of them are presently building chemistry with Carson Wentz. Thomas, the best of the bunch, hasn't thrown with Wentz at all, actually. Wentz's comfort with the receivers appears to be growing, but he's not getting that same time with his bigger targets.

Again, the positive is that — currently — there is hope that the Thomas-Turner-Bates trio will be ready to suit up come Week 1. Even so, there might be considerable struggles early on in terms of timing and ball placement between them and Wentz. Therefore, I'm not CONCERNED, but I am starting to get nervous.

Defense has the same problems against Carolina that it had on 3rd down throughout 2021?

No consistent pressure, coverage gaps and a general lack of composure.

Is JDR on the hot seat?

— Stag (@LeStag17) August 15, 2022

The first-team defense's outing versus the Panthers wasn't awful, but it wasn't awesome, either. Hopefully, that was due more to it being the preseason opener and the first time tackling for real/the unit not doing a ton of gameplanning/the lack of tape on the opponent rather than a hint at what's to come.

However, yes, I believe Jack Del Rio's seat is rather toasty.

Compared to what it did two seasons ago, Del Rio's bunch dropped 20 spots in yards allowed and 21 spots in points allowed last year. Despite that decline, the Commanders didn't make any drastic changes in personnel — instead, the organization let Landon Collins along with a few sub-package guys go and drafted a couple of rookies to contribute.

Yes, acquiring Wentz (and Wentz's salary) impacted what Rivera could spend elsewhere, yet another takeaway from the minor subtractions and additions is that Rivera must believe that, for the most part, the defense is solid enough to hold its own. In turn, that means Del Rio must do better in coaching that side of the ball, as Rivera seems like he's trusting him to generate a rebound.

Plus, Washington's schedule is far less star quarterback-heavy than it was in 2021, and some of the excuses that were deployed during the disappointing campaign — poor communication in the secondary, William Jackson III's unfamiliarity with the scheme, Jamin Davis being raw, etc. — won't be valid this time around.

Rivera can probably withstand one more so-so record, since he's done heavy lifting in terms of resetting the culture and guiding the squad through a plethora of rough off-the-field episodes. Del Rio's job feels much less secure.