Player
Mike Sainristil
CB · Commanders
Mike Sainristil: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
169 combined tackles in his first two seasons — the most by any 2024-class CB.
TrendMike Sainristil career production (regular season)
| Year | Team | Tkl | Ast | PD | INT | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | WAS | 54 | 31 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | WAS | 50 | 34 | 12 | 4 | 1 |
Year-over-year production
| Stat | Count |
|---|---|
| 2024 Tkl+Ast | 85 |
| 2025 Tkl+Ast | 84 |
| 2024 PD | 14 |
| 2025 PD | 12 |
| 2024 INT | 2 |
| 2025 INT | 4 |
As a 2024 2nd-round pick (No. 50 overall), Sainristil was supposed to be a slot-only Day-2 corner. He's started every game since Week 1 of 2024 and put up 169 combined tackles, 26 PDs and 6 INTs in his first two years — the most all-around production of his draft class.
The sophomore year added INTs (+2) and forced fumbles, with similar tackle volume — a sign the role is broadening, not just sustaining.
Among 2024-class CBs, only Sainristil cleared 14 PDs and 50 tackles as a rookie.
Comparison2024 rookie CB class production (rookie year)
| Player | Tkl | Ast | PD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Sainristil | 54 | 31 | 14 | 2 |
| Nate Wiggins | 24 | 8 | 13 | 1 |
| Renardo Green | 38 | 20 | 13 | 1 |
| Quinyon Mitchell | 36 | 9 | 12 | 0 |
| Kamari Lassiter | 38 | 16 | 10 | 3 |
| Tarheeb Still | 43 | 17 | 10 | 5 |
| Terrion Arnold | 43 | 13 | 10 | 0 |
| Cooper DeJean | 37 | 13 | 6 | 2 |
Quinyon Mitchell (1st-round, Eagles) got more national attention, but Sainristil led the class in PDs (14) and combined tackles (85) as a rookie. He was the only Day-2 CB to play every snap from Week 1.
The other Day-2 names from the class — Lassiter (HOU), Wiggins (BAL), Still (LAC) — are all going to make money. Sainristil is the one with the deepest profile.
He breaks up short passes for fun — 5 INTs on 20 short-throw PDs in his first 2 years.
SplitSainristil PDs by pass length (regular season)
| Pass length | PDs | INTs | INT rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short | 20 | 5 | 25.0% |
| Deep | 6 | 1 | 16.7% |
Most slot/zone CBs concentrate PDs on short throws (slants, hitches, RPO quick game). Sainristil follows that pattern — 20 of 26 career PDs are on short throws. The interception conversion (25%) is excellent: league-average for CBs is around 12-15% short-pass INT rate.
He's not getting tested deep often (only 6 deep PDs in 2 years) — that's partly a function of slot alignment, partly because the Commanders' safety help has been good behind him.
6 INTs and 169 tackles in 35 games — the modern slot CB ideal.
RareSainristil career through 2025
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Games (regular season) | 35 |
| Tackles | 104 |
| Assists | 65 |
| Combined | 169 |
| TFLs | 2 |
| PDs | 26 |
| INTs | 6 |
| FFs | 2 |
| Fumble rec. | 1 |
The slot CB economy used to reward two profiles: pure cover guys (low tackle volume) or tackle-machine nickel-LB hybrids (low INT volume). Sainristil is both — 4.8 combined tackles/game and a 6-INT pace per ~17 games.
For comparison, Bryce Hall, Kenny Moore II, and Taron Johnson — the recent slot benchmarks — averaged 3.6 tackles/game in their first two years with 4-5 INTs over the same span. Sainristil's profile is ahead of all of them.
His Year-2 INT total (4) is already at the median for slot CB Pro Bowl seasons.
Milestone2025 (Y2) season — Sainristil
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Tackles | 50 |
| Assists | 34 |
| PDs | 12 |
| INTs | 4 |
| FFs | 1 |
Y2 stat lines — Sainristil
| Stat | Count |
|---|---|
| Tkl | 50 |
| Ast | 34 |
| PD | 12 |
| INT | 4 |
| FF | 1 |
4 INTs in Year 2 is the median for Pro Bowl slot CB seasons over the last decade. It's also a 100% jump from his rookie INT total on similar PD volume — the conversion rate matured, not the opportunity rate.
Washington has him under control through 2027 on a 4-year rookie contract worth \$11.6M. The next deal will be at least 4x that.
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