The San Francisco 49ers face off with the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football, and there is no shortage of storylines ahead of the primetime matchup. Remember Brandon Aiyuk? Yeah, he’s still neither a Commander or 49er. What about Javon Kinlaw’s time in Washington? Has Adam Peters turned Washington around? I asked Andrew York of Hogs Haven about those topics and more in our five questions with the opponents segment.
1. Thoughts on the Brandon Aiyuk saga?
Mostly just glad we signed Stefon
Diggs instead, but also a bit sad for Aiyuk, as he seems to be throwing his career away for no good reason. Washington has been a hub for drama in the past, so I don’t want a player who seems to thrive on drama like Aiyuk. I think most fans thought the same and sighed in relief when Diggs was signed, as it meant the end to the Aiyuk discussion. I do hope Aiyuk can get some professional help though, both in terms of some therapy and in terms of an agent who he’ll listen to, because it seems like he’s having a breakdown and he already did the hard work of getting a good second contract only to throw it away. It’s like watching a slow-motion car crash. Some people might be entertained by that, but I find it sad.
2. Assessment of Adam Peters so far
Overall, he’s been good and he’s definitely improved the overall talent of the roster (which was abysmal when he was hired), but it definitely seems like he’s learning on the job and he’s made a few noticeable mistakes so far. His first draft (2024) was pretty bad outside of Jayden Daniels. He traded away players and accepted trade downs such that he had 6 picks in the top 100 of the 2024 draft, yet none of them outside of Jayden Daniels has looked like a full-time starter. Looking at his draft class, I think he focused too much on taking guys with high Relative Athletic Score (RAS) and not enough on traditional scouting. He certainly learned from it though, as his 2025 and 2026 draft classes look to be better with less draft capital.
Speaking of less draft capital, he’s also made some big trades, primarily a trade for Marshon Lattimore in 2024 that looks like a waste of draft picks, but a much better trade for Laremy Tunsil in 2025 that looks great outside of his unfortunate injury this year. Some might question trading away draft picks with a rebuilding roster, but this team was in desperate need of blue-chip players and they at least got that with Tunsil. Peters’ biggest mistake this offseason was cutting Center Tyler Biadasz because he had a handshake agreement with Tyler Linderbaum. Linderbaum later backed out of the deal when he got a bigger offer from the Raiders, leaving Washington with backup IOL Nick Allegretti as the only viable Center on the roster. Street FA Lucas Patrick has since stepped into that role, but the hole at Center was noticeable in weeks 1 & 2.
Adam Peters biggest strength so far has been his free agent signings. The hit rate among his free agents has been really good and allowed him to rebuild the roster quickly in his first year. However, in order to turn over so much of the roster and stay within the cap, he had to rely on many aging veterans on 1-year deals in 2024 and 2025, which led to an old, slow, and injury-prone roster as well as a significant amount of roster turnover every offseason. This past offseason, he finally signed more young free agents in their prime to multi-year deals, and pretty much all of them have been paying off, with standouts like CB Amik Robertson and EDGE Odafe Oweh looking like cornerstone players. So yeah, overall I think Adam Peters has been good, but he’s had a bit of a learning curve.
3. Could Terry McLaurin be available if the season goes south?
Yes, I think so. Most of the beat reporters I listen to have indicated this is probably the last year on his current contract unless he agrees to a restructure next year. He’s still a good player, with soft hands, excellent route running, and enough speed to stretch the field, but I think he’s past his prime and starting to slow down a bit and become a bit more prone to injury. If the season goes south, I think it would make sense to focus on the future, especially with the coaching staff most likely being replaced.
4. Assessment of Javon Kinlaw
Kinlaw has been a solid free agent signing. People seem to think that he’s a run stuffer due to his size, but he’s actually best at rushing the QB due to his suddenness and ability to accelerate. He’s already got 1 sack and 3 QB hits on the year, according to PFR. That said, he’s also been good against the run, with 11 combined tackles and 2 tackles for loss in 5 games so far. Overall, he’s been one of Washington’s better DL and a good DT to rotate at different positions due to his versatility (which is a good fit for this defense).
5. Thoughts on Peters bringing in former 49ers in different capacities
For the most part, I think it’s been fine, as I don’t think he’s overpaid any of them and the ones with starter-level contracts (like Kinlaw or Deebo Samuel last year) have played up to the level of their contract. He also hasn’t gone too nuts about it, as I think the majority of 49ers players that he’s brought in (Nick Bellore, Ahkello Witherspoon, Drake Jackson) have been signed on very cheap contracts essentially to give them a shot, with not much downside to the team. Jake Moody was probably the worst signing, but even then we’ve moved on quickly and have a new young kicker in place now.
