Coming off brutal 4-13 season in 2023, which landed them the second overall pick, the Commanders are looking to climb their way up in the NFC East this season. With both a new coaching staff and starting quarterback, Washington is poised for improvement in 2024.
After four years served as the Commanders head coach, Ron Rivera was fired. Washington didn't have to look too far to find their next head coach. They decided to hire a coach from within the NFC East. That coach ended up being former Cowboys defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn.
Quinn lead the Cowboys defense to the #5 ranking in total defense a season ago and will look to bring that to Washington during his tenure. For comparison, the Commanders ranked dead last in total defense. A change was needed in our nation's capital and it was made.
With Dan Quinn's arrival in Washington came a haul of new signings on defense. The linebacker room was fully revamped with the additions of Bobby Wagner, Frankie Luvu, and Dante Fowler. Along with the linebackers, the Commanders signed a new defensive end pair: Dorance Armstrong and Clelin Ferrell.
They added Jeremy Chinn to the secondary along with drafting Mike Sainirstil out of Michigan as well. That's already seven different positions that Washington was able to replace this offseason with much better talent that they had previously. Not to mention that their offense has been revamped as well.
As I mentioned before, the Commanders landed the second overall pick and wound up taking Jayden Daniels. Daniels, out of LSU, won the Heisman Trophy last season after completing his fifth season in college. My favorite quarterback from this year's draft class was Daniels, so I believe that Washington struck gold with this selection.
Along with selecting Daniels, the Commanders went and got a new workhorse to take over the backfield. That would be Austin Ekeler who signed a two-year deal after coming over from Los Angeles. Ekeler and Brian Robinson will be featured in the backfield in 2024.
Washington did a great job in surrounding Daniels with lots of weapons, including Terry McLaurin. McLaurin has stuck with the Commanders through the rough times these past couple of seasons and has really yet to have a consistent QB1 throwing him the football. In his last four seasons, he has surpassed the 1,000 receiving yards mark and will look to hit that goal once again with Jayden Daniels.
The Commanders are looking much improved from a team that was an embarrassment just a calendar year ago. I have high hopes for Jayden Daniels to lead this offense and with Dan Quinn coming in leading a revamped defense, Washington could turn a lot of heads this upcoming season.
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