The Washington Commanders may not have given up on tight end Ben Sinnott just yet, thanks to a brand-new offense via 1st-year offensive coordinator David Blough.
Sinnott was among the Commanders’ standouts through the 1st days of training camp along with free-agent signee Chig Okonkwo and Colson Yankoff.
It’s Sinnott who might end up drawing the most attention as the 2024 2nd-round pick out of Kansas State heads into his 3rd season with his NFL career on life support.
Through his 1st 2 seasons, Sinnott has just 16 receptions for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“Washington’s tight ends have been far more active as a group than they had been the previous two seasons,” ESPN’s John Keim wrote on Thursday. “Newly-signed Chig Okonkwo can be used all over, with wide receiver Terry McLaurin saying he runs routes like a big receiver. That versatility was evident again Thursday, but it’s also not just Okonkwo — all the tight ends, including 2024 second-round pick Ben Sinnott, have run a wider variety of routes.”
Ben Sinnott Could Have Expanded Role in Offense
Blough’s promotion to offensive coordinator after Kliff Kingsbury was fired following the 2025 season could be the key for Sinnott.
“When a team uses a second-round pick to draft a player, it becomes difficult to give up on potential, a problem that’s motivating the Washington Commanders to introduce new plans to get under-performing tight end Ben Sinnott more involved,” Heavy’s James Dudko wrote on July 12. “Third-year pro Sinnott has tallied a mere 16 receptions from just 18 targets through two seasons, but there are good reasons to believe he’ll see more passes coming his way in 2026. Many of those reasons have to do with the Commanders promoting David Blough to offensive coordinator.”
The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala put Sinnott on the list of the Commanders who will benefit the most from the new offensive scheme.
“Washington drafted Sinnott in the second round in 2024, though he struggled to produce consistently in his two seasons behind Ertz,” Jhabvala wrote. “But Blough’s system provides him with a prime opportunity to be a key contributor. Blough’s offense will be an amalgamation of his own football influences, from Kliff Kingsbury to Kevin O’Connell to Ben Johnson, which means Washington could use a heavy dose of multiple tight end sets. Johnson’s Chicago Bears ranked sixth in the NFL last season with 45.4 percent of plays featuring two or more tight ends, and ninth with 27.5 percent of the team’s catches coming from tight ends.”
Commanders Signed Pricey Free Agent Tight End
The biggest hurdle for Sinnott to getting on the field now is Okonkwo, whom the Commanders made a huge investment in with a 3-year, $27 million free-agent contract.
Okonkwo topped the list of “Breakout Candidates” in 2026, according to Covering the Commanders’ Josh Taylor.
Sinnott spent the last 2 seasons playing behind Zach Ertz and, at times, even John Bates.
“I think Chig has been great so far in his career, but there’s that untapped ceiling that just hasn’t been hit yet,” Taylor said on June 8. “I think with Washington, you see exactly why he wanted to come here. He looked at the tight end room and saw John Bates and Ben Sinnott, and those are tight ends that really don’t catch the ball and really just block. (Okonkwo) is going to go in the slot, he’s going to go into motion … we saw him run a whip route at OTAs. I’m excited to see what Chig can do in this offense, and they’re going to use him as a weapon. I also think he’s underrated as a blocker. Chig will demand targets.”
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