State of the Roster Update: Commanders Offense
Breaking down where things stand with the Commanders offense post free agency and going into the draft
Earlier this offseason, I did a series of posts looking at the state of the Commanders roster ahead of free agency. You all seemed to enjoy them so I thought I would update those posts now after the majority of the free agency moves are complete. This gives us a nice little reset and refresher of where things stand before we head into the draft.
Quarterback
On the roster: Marcus Mariota, Jake Fromm.
Draft urgency: High.
Analysis: The quarterback position has already undergone a significant transformation from just a few weeks ago. Entering the offseason, the Commanders had Sam Howell and Jake Fromm under contract and Jacoby Brissett set to hit the open market. Washington reportedly held talks with Brissett to keep him as the veteran mentor to a rookie quarterback, much like he did with Sam Howell last season, but Brissett opted to leave and move back to New England with the Patriots.
Howell was then traded to the Seahawks in a pick swap that got the Commanders a solid return that equated to roughly a late third or early fourth-round pick. It always felt likely the Commanders would be drafting a new quarterback with the second overall pick, and with that in mind, trading Howell made sense. Sure, Howell could have stuck around and been a strong back up option and maybe even started this season until the rookie was deemed ready, but his long term future was not with this organisation. He was never going to sign a new contract to stay in Washington backing up his replacement, so with two years of a very cheap rookie contract, the best time to trade him was now.
You only have to look at the returns for Mac Jones and Justin Fields to see that quarterbacks in the last year of their rookie contract aren’t valued highly because not only does a team have to trade for them, they have to work out an extension or live with them walking in a year. With Howell having two years of control, the Seahawks can now get Howell in their system behind Geno Smith with no pressure to play right away, and then let him compete for the job next year before having to make any long term decision on his contract. That’s why the Commanders were able to get a strong return for him and that’s why it made sense to make the trade now.
Many think that the signing of Marcus Mariota points to Jayden Daniels being Washington’s target in the draft, I don’t necessarily agree. Yes, they have similarities in that they’re both athletic and can be a big threat running as well as passing, but stylistically they’re quite different. As passers, Daniels is at his best throwing down the field and outside the numbers, whereas Mariota suits quick game passes over the middle of the field. As runners, Daniels is far more explosive with terrific burst and long speed while Mariota is perhaps slightly more elusive but lacks the explosive game breaking speed of Daniels. So the styles of offense Washington would need to run for them would be quite different anyway.
On top of that, the Commanders reportedly tried to retain Brissett and were in on Sam Darnold before he signed with the Vikings. So Mariota wasn’t necessarily their first choice back up quarterback. His fit in Washington is almost certainly down to the fact he spent last year backing up Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia while Brian Johnson was the offensive coordinator there. Adam Peters confirmed recently at the owners meeting that Johnson, the Commanders new pass game coordinator, put in a good word for Mariota. So I don’t think Mariota gives any indication of which quarterback they want to draft.
Obviously the need here is still high and the most important need to get filled for the long term, but the Commanders will almost certainly do that with the second overall pick, likely in the form of Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels or perhaps even J.J. McCarthy.
Running Back
On the roster: Brian Robinson, Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez.
Draft urgency: Low.
Analysis: This is probably the most set position on the offense now. Brian Robinson showed his potential last year as both a workhorse back and as a receiver out of the backfield, the Commanders just didn’t run the ball enough. Chris Rodriguez also flashed in his limited playing time as a rookie but again that lack of commitment to the run game meant snaps were fleeting. The pair now should form a strong foundation of a rushing attack going forward.
The question entering free agency was what to do with Antonio Gibson and the third down back role. Gibson ended up walking and joined Brissett with the Patriots while the Commanders pivoted to Austin Ekeler. Ekeler had a down year last year as he battled through two high ankle sprains, but even when doing that, he showed he still had something to offer. He probably shouldn’t be the number one lead back, but here in Washington he won’t be. He’ll likely be a change of pace back that plays more in the third down back role. With a rookie quarterback, a running back that understands protection schemes and rarely misses an assignment is essential and Ekeler is great at the mental aspect of pass protection. His ability to sustain blocks is more of a question but he can certainly identify blitzes and is willing to put his body in the way to allow the quarterback time to get the ball out.
The Commanders could well look to add another running back to the group, perhaps on day three of the draft in the later rounds or in undrafted free agency. A fourth back that can develop in camp and perhaps mirror Ekeler’s skill set as more of a pass catching threat than a big powerful runner might round out the group nicely, but it’s not something I think the Commanders will be prioritizing going into the draft.
Wide Receiver
On the roster: Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Dyami Brown, Jamison Crowder, Olamide Zaccheaus, Mitchell Tinsley, Dax Milne, Kazmeir Allen.
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