After being selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Ioannidis was initially waived by the Redskins prior to his rookie season, but signed with the practice squad a day later. The former Temple Owl got the call to the 53-man roster following an injury to Kedric Golston during the 2016 regular season, but did not record much of a stat line in his limited playing time.

This year has been a completely different story.

Through the first five games of the 2017 season, Ioannidis has made two starts, the first two of his career, recorded 3.5 sacks and has already eclipsed his 2016 mark of eight combined tackles with 10 this year. His 43 quarterback pressures/hits according to coaches' stats are 14 more than any other player on the active roster. As it stands following the 49ers game, he is tied for second on the team in sacks with veteran Ryan Kerrigan.

"I think the guys around me have been helping me develop a lot as a player and Coach Tomsula, it's been a lot of things," Ioannidis said of his progression.

So far this season, Ioannidis has recorded at least a share of a sack in four of his five games played.