State of the Roster Update: Commanders Offense

Breaking down where things stand with the Commanders offense as the team enters training camp

I’ve been tracking the state of the Commanders roster from the start of the offseason through free agency and the draft. With Commanders training camp due to start next week, I thought now would be a good time to revisit the state of the roster series and evaluate where the roster is now compared to the start of the offseason. Today I’ll be focusing on the offensive side of the ball, leaving the defense for later in the week.

Quarterback

On the roster: Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, Sam Hartman, Josh Johnson.

Level of need entering offseason: Low

Need now: Low

Analysis: I’ll never get tired of seeing “low” next to level of need at the quarterback position. Hopefully Jayden Daniels continues on his current path and is able to stay healthy because it’s been such a pleasant offseason to not have the constant debate about who is their best quarterback option. Daniels is obviously their quarterback for now and the future, which automatically made this need level low. The only doubt entering the offseason was who was going to be Daniels’ primary back up. Marcus Mariota was a free agent but he failed to find another opportunity to start elsewhere, so the Commanders are the benefactors in getting him back for another year as Daniels’ back up and mentor.

I think Mariota will likely be around in Washington for a while now. He appears to have a great relationship with Jayden Daniels and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. At this point in his career, he’s unlikely to get many opportunities to start elsewhere, so he might as well stay in a nice situation like this where he can be the back up and be valued highly by the organisation. He’s played well when given the chance, so perhaps there’s a scenario where Kingsbury is hired as a head coach in a year or two and take Mariota with him to help install his system elsewhere. But if Kingsbury is getting a head coaching job elsewhere, he will likely have his pick of jobs and will probably be able to pick a job with a quarterback in position already, or a top pick to draft one. In that scenario, would Mariota prefer to follow Kingsbury and the system while still being a back up, or stay in Washington with established relationships? Either way, it’s good to have him back for this season as he’s a valuable piece in the scenario where Daniels gets hurt.

The question surrounding this group now is who will be the third quarterback. Veteran Josh Johnson was signed to replace Jeff Driskel, but they also have Sam Hartman who is clearly well liked by the team and his teammates. In an ideal world for Washington, Hartman is able to beat out Johnson and long term takes over from Mariota as Daniels’ back up quarterback, but that’s a little too far down the line. For now he needs to prove he can beat out a veteran who has been all over the NFL and seems to find a way of sticking around. Hartman could well end up on the practice squad again this year if he doesn’t beat out Johnson, but I’m guessing he has a good chance to beat Johnson.

Running Back

On the roster: Brian Robinson, Ausin Ekeler, Jemery McNichols, Chris Rodriguez, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Michael Wiley, Demetric Felton, Kazmeir Allen.

Level of need entering offseason: Low/Medium

Need now: Low/Medium

Analysis: The running back position was one that was highly debated during the offseason. Many fans and media wanted to see the team add more speed and explosiveness to the position, unhappy with what the team had in Brian Robinson as the starting running back. They didn’t sign anyone in free agency and only used a seventh round pick on Jacory Croskey-Merritt to invest in the position, though granted there were unique circumstances that lead to Croskey-Merritt falling to the seventh round. While it certainly would have been nice to add a more explosive and dynamic back in the higher rounds of the draft, the team had much more significant needs.

I believe that running back is one of those positions that you can get by with average play and only really need to find a great back to put the offense over the top when it’s already in a great spot. For the Commanders, Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler did a fine job last year and both were under contract for this season. Jeremy McNichols stepped up when required, especially in pass protection, and Chris Rodriguez flashed some potential at times as well.

With Jayden Daniels at quarterback and the threat of the read-option, combined with Kingsbury’s use of things like RPOs, and flexible pieces like Deebo Samuel in the mix, the running backs are helped out quite a lot in this offense, meaning they don’t need a great one to be productive. The group they have, plus a rookie in Croskey-Merritt, will be just fine for the time being. Perhaps next year, when the team has less needs and is pushing for that one or two final pieces, then the Commanders could look to find their equivalent of a Saquon Barkley piece to put them over the top, but this year wasn’t the time for that.

So for me, the level of need this offseason was low/medium and given they only added a seventh round pick to the group, I think it still remains low/medium. In the short term, it’s low. I don’t think they’ll be signing any free agent running backs before the season unless they hit some horrible injury luck in training camp. Long term, the need is a bit higher given Robinson and Ekeler are both out of contract next year. The Commanders will be hoping that Croskey-Merritt can show he’s capable of stepping up and taking over for Robinson’s role as the workhorse back in a year's time, but they will still need to replace Ekeler and then fill out the depth chart behind them. But as we enter training camp, I think this group is fine and will be solid for this season.

Wide Receiver

On the roster: Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, Noah Brown, Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane, K.J. Osborn, Michael Gallup, Michael Strachan, Chris Moore, Ja’Corey Brooks, Jacoby Jones.

Level of need entering offseason: High

Need now: Low/Medium

Analysis: Wide receiver was one of the biggest positions of need for the Commanders entering the offseason. They had just Terry McLaurin and Luke McCaffrey under contract, with the likes of Noah Brown, Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus all due to hit the open market. While the Commanders lost Dyami Brown and Zaccheaus in free agency, they did make a big effort to overhaul the position.

First off, they made a big trade for 49ers star receiver Deebo Samuel, who should be a perfect fit in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense with the ability to line up all over the formation and get touches on jet sweeps, bubble screens and all sorts of gadget plays to get the ball in space and work after the catch. Then they re-signed Noah Brown, who built up a strong chemistry with Jayden Daniels last season and proved to be a trusted and reliable target with his good hands and strong route running on the outside. The Commanders then drafted Jaylin Lane in the fourth round to add more speed and explosiveness while offering slot and outside flexibility.