Chris Paul impressing since taking over starting LG spot

Breaking down how LG Chris Paul has performed since taking over the starting job

The Washington Commanders made a surprising double switch along the offensive line after the first two games of the season. One change was perhaps expected, with Andrew Wylie taking over for Nick Allegretti at right guard. But the other was very unexpected, with Chris Paul replacing Brandon Coleman at left guard. Coleman was a third round pick in 2024 and won the starting left tackle job in his rookie season. It was anticipated he would excel switching inside to left guard, but he really struggled to start the season.

Paul, by contrast, is one of the few Ron Rivera era draft picks that remain on the roster, having been selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. He’s stuck around at the bottom of the roster for a few years and has always had positive reports in practice from coaches and defensive lineman about how strong he is, but was never able to lock in a starting spot despite getting a few opportunities. Three games on from that switch though and Paul looks very much at home as the starting left guard.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 324 pounds, Paul is a big lineman and he uses that size and power well, particularly in the run game.

This play is a good example of the power that Paul has in the run game. The Commanders call a basic counter scheme that requires Paul to pull from his left guard spot to the right side of the line, where he can kick out the edge defender. As he pulls to the right side, he encounters Falcons first round pick Jalon Walker, who went 15th overall back in April’s draft and was known in college for his impressive physicality. Walker sees Paul coming and attempts to get inside of him to force the run to be spilled outside.

However, as he moves inside, Paul takes the momentum gained from his pull and explodes up into the block, knocking Walker backwards and off his feet. This prevents Walker from getting inside and stops the run from being spilled to the edge, where the Falcons had a linebacker waiting. Instead, thanks to Paul knocking Walker backwards, running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. is able to work inside where the Falcons don’t have the numbers and he bursts through the line of scrimmage on his way to a 48-yard run.

Paul has looked good when pulling on these counter schemes and it’s no coincidence that the Commanders run game has thrived the past few weeks with him in the lineup. But in this system, every lineman has to be flexible and be able to pull in either direction. You often see bigger bodied guards are able to pull across the line on counter and power schemes because everything is within the tackle box, but they struggle when asked to pull to the edge and block in space. But Paul has shown no such issues.

Here against the Chargers, the Commanders call a sweep scheme to their left. The idea of the sweep scheme is to use the left tackle and tight end to pin the defensive end and defensive tackle inside, while the left guard and center pull to the edge to lead the way for the running back. Paul pulls to the edge along with center Tyler Biadasz. Paul is the first puller so he has to block Chargers safety Derwin James in space on the edge. These blocks in space against smaller, more agile defenders can be tough for bigger offensive lineman. Sam Cosmi, for example, has struggled with these blocks in the past because those smaller, more agile guys can give a little move right at the point of contact to avoid the block and work around the lineman.

James sort of gives Paul an issue with that here. At the point of contact, you can see that Paul only hits the inside shoulder of the defender, who got upfield quicker than Paul anticipated. But he still managed to make contact and the power that he brings to the game naturally enabled him to still knock James backwards despite not getting the cleanest of hits. He opens up that hole for both Biadasz and the running back to work through. Biadasz then climbs up to the second level to block a cornerback in space and Jacory Croskey-Merritt bursts through the lane to pick up a big gain.

So we’ve seen Paul be able to pull in both directions, but the Commanders also like to run the ball up the middle on duo schemes where they can drive defensive lineman off the ball and make a statement. Paul’s raw strength and power enables him to be an asset there too.