Commanders' disappointing draft pick knows his job is on the line and he's doing everything he can to save it

Phidarian Mathis hasn't been able to live up to his second-round billing for a variety of reasons, so it makes sense he's on the bubble as the Washington Commanders open training camp.

The decision to draft Jer'Zhan Newton in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft added a major layer to the situation, which was already a disappointing one before the month of April. It looked like Newton was going to miss some time, as he was placed on the NFI before training camp started, but that quickly vanished once he passed his physical the day before the first practice .

Mathis already had a fire lit under him before Wednesday's news, so it's safe to assume Newton's/the Commanders' good fortune also made the flames go higher .

And if Mathis' efforts to simply get to training camp on his own schedule are indicative on what he's going to give on the practice field, then we could see what made the guy a second-round pick to begin with.

"I've really been impressed by Phil," Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told reporters Thursday. "He's not going to miss this opportunity. There was, I'm sure you guys saw some of the flight stuff. He was going to have a hard time getting in on time, and he wasn't having it. [He] got to another city [and] drove a long way to get here the night before reporting on his own. And I think that shows where he's at in terms of how badly he wants to make his mark and to make his impression. He would have been here on time - he would have got here probably [around] 11:30 that morning, but he wasn't having it. He wasn't going to leave anything to chance.

"So, I think that probably shows you a glimpse of, you know, where he's at and how important this time is to him."

It's an uphill climb for Mathis, but it's not impossible

To be fair, injuries have been Mathis' biggest issue to overcome since entering the league. He lasted not even three games before tearing up his knee as a rookie and then a preseason calf injury landed him on IR until Week 8 of last year. Still, once he got on the field, it was disappointing . That was also coming off the two injuries, however.

Now, Mathis is healthy and has a fresh start under Quinn, defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., and defensive line coach Darryl Tapp.

That can make all the difference in the world for a player. I mean, one can go back and look at Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, last year. Mayfield was fully healthy for the first offseason in years and it translated into one of the best, if not the best, years of his career. Now, he has a three-year, $100 million contract under his belt and is the Bucs' full-time starter.

The big difference between those situations, though, is Mayfield was fighting for a starting job, whereas Mathis is fighting simply for a depth spot. It's probably safe to assume that right now, Mathis is DT5 behind Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Newton, and John Ridgeway III. Teams rarely carry five defensive tackles, if at all. Especially in the defense Quinn and Whitt Jr. run.

No one is saying Mathis will overtake Allen, Payne, or even Newton. But, at worst, the guy can add to what already should be the NFL's fiercest interior rotation on the defensive line. It won't be easy, but it's certainly possible.