Commanders offseason wrap-up: Coaches slowly preparing Jayden Daniels for what's ahead (2024)

With the Washington Commanders taking a break before returning to home base in late July for training camp, we have time to ponder more than what transpired in the team’s offseason program.

The Jayden Daniels guessing game

This isn’t about whether the No. 2 pick in April’s draft is Washington’s starting quarterback in Week 1. Barring injury, a steep decline since minicamp or vacationing with a rogue Aaron Rodgers, expect Daniels under center. That’s different than saying the dual threat with a thin frame will automatically be ready for the challenge regardless of the significant expectations.

All signs to date show progress. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is becoming one of the guys in a new locker room based on the strength of his work ethic and engaging personality. Daniels’ speed upon escaping the pocket was evident in the padless practices, along with his arm strength and touch on long throws.

He appeared comfortable directing traffic at the line of scrimmage, even as offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury ramped up the installations, and Daniels was rarely, if ever, asked to repeat drills or plays because of flubs. There were missteps, of course, in the form of off-target passes or not recognizing particular defensive looks. That’s expected. Come July — rookies report on July 18, with veterans arriving by July 23 — the training wheels won’t be attached as much, or that’s the goal.

“In some ways, it’s very systematic,” quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard said about the daily, weekly and monthly practice plan for Daniels’ development. “In other ways, it is a little bit more like, ‘Hey, let’s go the speed we need to go.'”

Dan Quinn has steered away from naming starters for the sake of competition. As for what he’s looking for to feel the rookie is ready, the head coach leaned more toward the cerebral than the physical.

“Well, I’d say, at times, getting out of a bad play. You know, here comes a blitz to this side, get to the check, get to something else,” Quinn said. “Knowing where to go with the correct read. At the end of it, it’s just having command, honestly. Whether it’s in the huddle or at the line of scrimmage.”

The fact that Daniels, 23, started five seasons in college increases his aptitude in this transition. Still, coaches are mindful of not pushing too hard or too fast while finding what works best with his playmaking capabilities.

“The expectation is just to see how familiar he is with the concepts and making sure, OK, this one we want to keep, this one we don’t in terms of things he has the most comfort with.”

Marcus Mariota took the initial first-team practice reps, while Daniels went first in minicamp. That was the plan, Quinn stated. That order isn’t changing other than to grant Mariota work with the starters should circ*mstances demand that in the regular season. Washington isn’t working toward a rainy-day situation but focusing on making the prized rookie’s entrance into the NFL as bright as possible.

“The biggest thing is making sure that there’s a lot of clarity about how we’re learning (the playbook) and not just like, OK, we got it all done,” Pritchard said. “Because if (the quarterbacks) don’t know (the plays) or they know it in certain spots, that’s only so effective. Let’s see how fast we can go and then plan it out by knowing exactly where we need to be (by training camp).”

Finding open space

Terry McLaurin’s recent mention of Daniels throwing with anticipation is potentially great news for the Commanders’ passing game. Receivers creating separation would also be very welcome.

ESPN’s “Open Score” metric is designed to quantify how open a receiver gets regardless of whether they were targeted or not. Washington’s top three wide receivers “were not excelling at getting open on a down-to-down basis” in 2023, ESPN analyst Seth Walder said.

McLaurin typically performs below average in this metric, but the data reveals that the 2022 Pro Bowl selection catches passes above expectations. McLaurin spent his initial offseason break focused on his footwork and route running for more significant yards-after-the-catch potential.

As for Jahan Dotson, Walder professes some concern following a down sophom*ore campaign. Though his receiving yards were roughly the same, Dotson’s yards per route run declined from 1.03 to 0.82, according to TruMedia.

“We like him overall, just better in 2022,” Walder continued. “So it was a little surprising to see him take this step back, even though his receiving yards were about the same. His yards per route run dropped a lot. I think that is all somewhat of a concern.”

Starting with 2019, McLaurin’s rookie season, he ranks 63rd in “Open Score” with a 51. Olamide Zaccheaus, one of the candidates expected to help replace the departed Curtis Samuel, finished 110th with a score of 34 in that span. Dotson’s two-year number (39) is 82nd.

Much has changed around McLaurin and Dotson, namely the expected Week 1 quarterback and offensive coordinator. It would be ideal if they could boost their open rate this season.

JD5 🤝 JD1 pic.twitter.com/rg3DNhbj8H

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) June 11, 2024

Numbers game

The Commanders hired general manager Adam Peters in January. Since then, along with turning over more than half the roster, Washington has:

• Overhauled nearly the entire coaching staff
• Revamped the front office hierarchy (brought in assistant GM Lance Newmark) while retaining and reassigning the team’s previous GM (Martin Mayhew)
• Put a new executive (Brandon Sosna) in charge of salary-cap management and contract negotiations
• Swapped out the previous pro personnel department leads for two scouting veterans (David Blackburn and Chris White)
• Altered the pro and college scouting departments with ex-San Francisco 49ers scout Jack Quagliarello following Peters to the East Coast
• Poached the Houston Texans’ director of player development (Dylan Thompson) for a comparable role
• Created the position of senior vice president of football initiatives — a hybrid support role to assist the front office and coaching staff — for Dave Gardi, a longtime and highly acclaimed executive for 21 years with the league office

However, one primary department was left untouched: the one led by vice president of football strategy Eugene Shen. The analytics unit, long understaffed under previous administrations, was expected to receive an influx of help, considering Josh Harris’strategic advocacy with his other franchise. That started with the hiring of Shen on Oct. 26 last year.

“Anytime I see things that might give us an edge, we try to take advantage of them,” Harris said at March’s NFL owners’ meeting. “The Eugene hire was exactly that.”

Along with Shen, who has not been made available for the media since his hiring, four other “football analytics and data solutions” staffers also pre-date Peters.

“They were really instrumental in our draft process, being in the draft room for our meetings,” Peters said in April. “Then in football solutions, our developers … we’ve asked a lot of them in terms of changing our database a little bit, and they’ve been on top of it.”

One interesting wrinkle occurred in May with the hiring of Sosna, a 31-year-old wunderkind with an impressive resume headlined by stops in the Detroit Lions’ front office and USC’s athletic department. In the announcement about Sosna’s hiring and the abovementioned responsibilities, he will oversee several football operations departments, including analytics, and “play a major role in strategy around roster construction.”

As Peters’ comment notes, football data isn’t only about tracking a passing attack’s average yards per target or how often a safety plays center field versus in the box. According to his bio, Shen’s experience from stints with the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars includes coaching and personnel analytics. Between Shen’s hiring and his official start date, Washington traded defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young for a second-round selection and a third-round compensatory pick, respectively.

The moves were about the future, something former head coach and front office lead Ron Rivera wasn’t guaranteed midway through his fourth season. Trading Young at that moment guaranteed Washington a third-round selection — from the 49ers with Peters in the front office. The compensatory formula may cancel incoming selections for losing specific free agents when the team signs a truckload of their own, as the Commanders did this offseason. Gauging the potential value is “where Eugene Shen comes in,” Rivera said following the trades.

Sweat subsequently signed a four-year extension for $98 million — $41.9 million guaranteed — with the Chicago Bears in his age-27 season. The Commanders acquired several talented players this offseason who should bolster the pass rush, including versatile linebacker Frankie Luvu and defensive end Dorance Armstrong. The roster, however, lacks a premium edge rusher. The typical acquisition cost is a high draft pick, or a financial layout like Chicago made with Sweat. Washington turned the No. 40 overall selection from Chicago into cornerback Mike Sainristil and took tight end Ben Sinnott following a six-pick trade with Philadelphia.

The Commanders have a few pricey topics on deck. For starters, they could extend the contract of right guard and 2025 free agent Sam Cosmi. There is also the never-ending rumor that 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will possibly be on the trade block. Aiyuk, who played with Daniels at Arizona State and was selected 25th overall by Peters and the 49ers, is seeking a lucrative new contract.

Peters has the final say on personnel moves in consultation with Quinn, Newmark and others. There are many apparent roster and lineup battles on the horizon, like the starting left tackle puzzle or who snags the final cornerback spots, and whether fourth-year player Jamin Davis fits with the linebacker, edge rushers or anywhere on the roster. Pure football decisions likely win the day, but positional value, salary, players’ age and projections help shape those discussions. That’s why the way Peters envisions the analytics and strategy departments assisting the team in gaining those edges is among the more interesting mysteries remaining.

(Photo: Geoff Burke / USA Today)

Ben Standig is a senior NFL writer focused on the Washington Commanders for The Athletic. The native Washingtonian also hosts the "Standig Room Only" podcast. Ben has covered D.C. area sports since 2005 and is a three-time winner of The Huddle Report's annual NFL mock draft contest. Follow Ben on Twitter @benstandig