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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.

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.

Commanders.com

Nick Allegretti ready to compete for starting role

Allegretti, who has 13 starts in 74 games, is confident that he’s ready for the next step in his career. In fact, he’s felt for about two years that he’s developed enough to take on that role. He was bumped up to the starting lineup for 12 total games in 2020, including the entirety of the Chiefs’ playoff run that season, and allowed just one sack in the regular season.

But Allegretti didn’t feel that he was truly ready to be a mainstay on an offensive line until his fourth season when he had to play in relief for Jone Thuney, who was ruled out just hours before kickoff in Week 5 of the 2022 season against the Rams.

That wasn’t much time to prepare for Aaron Donald, but Allegretti held his own in the 30-29 win over the Rams, allowing zero snaps and just two pressures on 72 snaps. There’s nothing like going toe-to-toe with a future Hall of Famer to build up your confidence.

“That’s about as challenging of a task as there is in this league, outside of probably blocking a couple of the guys we have here [in Washington],” Allegretti said. “I was able to go out there and compete my butt off. That was a huge confidence builder for me.”

ESPN

How the Commanders have prepared to onboard rookie QB

The Washington Commanders faced a similar situation a year ago: They were going to start a young quarterback, one who would need help from the rest of the roster. They tried to strengthen the defense; they thought the run game could help.

They were wrong. The defense sunk to the bottom of the league, the run game was never emphasized, and the quarterback, Sam Howell, already has been traded.

Washington placed its offense on Howell’s shoulders last season. Howell might still develop into a good starting quarterback, but he entered last season with 19 career passes and one start. One member of the organization said they knew the offensive line was not set up to protect a young quarterback who would throw a lot. So, he said, the assumption was Washington would run the ball more.

It did not.

Instead, Howell attempted an NFL-high 612 passes. That didn’t just stem from falling behind in games and needing to rally, either. In the first half of games Howell attempted more passes than any quarterback except for Dak Prescott and Josh Allen.

Look for that to change quite a bit this season.

“You’re not asking anybody to have to go put the cape on and go win the game on your own,” Quinn said. “What we want to make sure that we … have good balance. You know, where you can have a good run game, the play-passing that comes off of that, the ability to move it down the field, so, that is a big piece of it for me.”

Support system

The Commanders focused on building a coaching staff that, it hopes, will be a strong one for a quarterback. They loaded it with coaches who have worked with quarterbacks in the past: offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury; pass game coordinator Brian Johnson and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard, as well as former NFL quarterback David Blough, now an assistant quarterbacks coach. Running backs coach and run game coordinator Anthony Lynn won’t work directly with quarterbacks, but he was coaching the Chargers when they drafted Justin Herbert. If nothing else, Lynn understands the value of the run game for the quarterback.

But Kingsbury and Johnson in particular have worked with young quarterbacks in the NFL — Kyler Murray in Arizona and Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia, respectively.

“That was intentional the way we did that,” Peters said. “You give yourself the best chance to develop whoever’s in that room as fast as you can.”

But perhaps the biggest addition was Biadasz. He can help in multiple ways, but particularly with protection calls to reduce a rookie’s responsibility.

Commanders.com

Five things to know about Tyler Ott

1. He was a three-sport athlete in high school.

Ott is known for doing one job in the NFL, but his athletic roots go deeper than just snapping a football better than most people.

Ott was a talented athlete at Jenks High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and operated as a leader for the football, basketball and track and field teams. He served as a three-year captain for the football team, earning all-state and all-district recognition as a tight end. Jenks went to three state championships during Ott’s time with the team, winning one in 2007.

Ott was a member of Jenks’ basketball team in the last two seasons of his high school career and was named a senior captain. The Trojans went 27-2 during his junior year and 15-13 during his senior year before being eliminated by Putnam City in the playoffs in both seasons.

Ott also showed exceptional talent as a member of the track and field team, specializing in the discus and shot put. He finished his career with personal bests of 50-feet-2 inches in shot put and 148-feet-9 inches in discus.

Podcasts & videos

Tyler Biadasz is All About the Grind | Free Agency Friday | Washington Commanders

Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Commanders get a new long snapper

Take a look back at long snapper Tyler Ott’s career before coming to Washington. (Photos via The Associated Press)

NFC East links

NBC Sports

Eagles trade star edge rusher Haason Reddick to Jets

There was no immediate word whether the Jets had restructured Reddick’s contract, although that would seem likely to happen at some point.

The Philadelphia Eagles, locked in an impasse with edge rusher Haason Reddick, unloaded the two-time Pro Bowler to the New York Jets Friday in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in 2026.

The news and trade details were first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and confirmed by NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Schefter reported that if Reddick plays 67.5 percent of the Jets’ defensive snaps and reaches double figures in sacks the pick turns into a second-rounder.

Reddick is one of only two NFL players to reach double figures in sacks in each of the last four seasons. The other is Myles Garrett.

After recording just 7.5 sacks in his first three seasons with the Cards, Reddick had 12.5 sacks Arizona in 2020, 11 in 2021 in his one season with the Panthers, then 16 and 11 in his two years with the Eagles.

The Eagles signed Reddick to a three-year, $45 million contract before the 2022 season. He has one year left on that deal with a base salary of $14.25 million. His $15 million average makes him the 23rd-highest-paid edge rusher in the league as of now. His 50.5 sacks since 2020 are fourth-most in the NFL, and his 27 sacks the last two years is also fourth-most.

When it became apparent that the Eagles would not be able to come to contract terms with Reddick, they signed Jets free agent edge rusher Bryce Huff to a three-year, $51 million deal. Huff had 10 sacks last year. They also guaranteed $10 million of Josh Sweat’s 2024 salary. With Huff, Sweat, Brandon Graham returning for a 15th season and last year’s first-round pick, Nolan Smith, also returning, it was clear there wasn’t room for Reddick.

Bleeding Green Nation

Are the Eagles’ 2024 offseason moves a recipe for Dream Team II?

At 27, with the pounding Barkley’s body has taken from Penn State to the Giants, and now with the Eagles, can his body withstand 300 touches? Can he take 250 touches? He has only gained over 2,000 yards from scrimmage once, his rookie year (2,028), gaining an average of 5.8 yards/per touch. Since then, that average has sunk to 4.3 yards/per touch last year, his second-lowest average, if you wipe away his 2020 injury season.

Huff arrives after a career year with the New York Jets, where he posted 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits in 17 games. If teamed in a rotation with Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat, it’s a great signing and a considerable upgrade. If Huff was signed to replace Reddick, which is probably why the reason the Eagles signed him, considering Reddick’s contract demands, it could be a downgrade. In 2023, Reddick, arguably the Eagles’ best defensive player, played 74.18% of the defensive snaps, while Sweat played 71.26%. Huff played 42%. Before 2023, Huff never had more than 3.5 sacks in a season. In 2023, he took 480 defensive snaps, which Reddick (862) and Sweat (828) blew away. The Eagles are looking at what Huff can be, not who he currently is. Right now, the 25-year-old is a situational pass rusher who will be asked to enter new terrain as a possible every-down end in new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system.

Can he do that?

Who knows.

The problem with that is the 2024 Eagles’ defense needs certainties, not question marks. Huff being effective as an every-down edge rusher is a question mark. In four years with the Jets, he never played over 51% of the defensive snaps in a season. It’s not an answer Eagles’ fans want to hear.

Does anyone remember safety Justin Evans? You shouldn’t. He was another of Roseman’s stopgap measures who he signed as a free agent and, believe it or not, started the first four games of last season before being lost for the year with an ankle injury, eventually released, and erased from memory, it seems. Paired with him was Reed Blankenship, who has proven to be a serviceable defensive back though possibly not an every-down safety. The return of Gardner-Johnson is an upgrade—if it’s the 2022 CJGJ. This will be the fourth team he has been with in four years (New Orleans, the Eagles, Detroit, and now back with the Eagles). He was “a pain in the ass” in the locker room, as one source described him two years ago.

Gardner-Johnson had his best NFL season with the 2022 Eagles—as did many players on that team. Can Gardner-Johnson replicate that? Probably not. For one, he has to be on the field, which has been a problem, playing 15 games over the last two years beset by injuries. Secondly, Gardner-Johnson has a problem tackling. He doesn’t like it. He is a finesse player who adds versatility to the secondary, able to play some slot, and though young at 26, his body tends to fail him. He played just three games in Detroit, due to a torn pectoral, he was sidelined for five games with a lacerated kidney in 2022 for the Eagles and a knee injury forced him out of four games with New Orleans i

As of now, the 2024 Eagles could be “Dream Team II,” a mess of big-name talent waiting to happen.