Daron Payne
Washington CommandersModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 15 games
Draft & College
Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.
Comps
STM Take
2022 Pro Bowl plus the 2017 Alabama CFP National Championship MVP plus the $90M extension creates a significant contract-vs-STTM gap given the post-2022 tier 4-5 finishes. The Alabama pedigree plus the 13th overall draft slot established expectations that the 2023-2025 chapter has not yet matched. The 2026 question is whether Payne returns to tier 2-3 territory or whether the $90M contract becomes a structural cap problem for Washington.
Payne came out of Alabama as the Washington Commanders' 1st-round pick (13th overall) in 2018 after winning the 2017 CFP National Championship as the Crimson Tide's MVP. He made the 2022 Pro Bowl after 11.5 sacks. He signed a four-year, $90M extension with Washington in 2023. His STTM career runs tier 3 (#19) in 2021, tier 2 (#11) peak in 2022 Pro Bowl, tier 4 (#29) in 2023, tier 5 (#40) in 2024, and tier 4 (#25) in 2025.
Strengths
- 2022 Pro Bowl plus 11.5-sack season confirms a top-15 IDL ceiling exists at peak.
- 2017 Alabama CFP National Championship MVP plus 13th overall draft pedigree gives him elite college foundation.
Concerns
- Three-year STTM range capped at tier 4 (2023-2025) confirms the 2022 Pro Bowl was the outlier rather than the structural baseline.
- $90M contract value puts cap pressure on Washington if Payne doesn't return to tier 2-3 territory in 2026.
What to watch: Whether Payne returns to tier 3 (top 25) in 2026, the threshold for closing the gap between $90M contract and STTM ranking.