Offseason Analysis Series: Washington Commanders

Meaningful Additions: QB Carson Wentz, OG Andrew Norwell, DL Tim Settle, OG Trai Turner, WR Jahan Dotson, DL Phidarian Mathis, RB Brian Robinson, DB Percy Butler, QB Sam Howell, TE Cole Turner

Meaningful Losses: OG Brandon Scherff, DL Matt Ioannidis, TE Ricky Seals-Jones, QB Kyle Allen, Ryan Kerrigan

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What Happened Last Year?

(7-10) Third in NFC East

Offense

Washington brought in the ultimate journeyman quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, to be their starter in 2021. Unfortunately, in week one Fitzpatrick suffered a hip injury that knocked him out for the remainder of the season. That injury thrusted fan favorite Taylor Heinicke into action. Heinicke led the Commanders offense to a 23rd place finish in terms of scoring and a 21st place finish in terms of passing yardage. His gunslinger mentality and do-or-die approach to every snap is what made Heinicke so popular in Washington, but more often than not it hurt the team. Heinicke didn't necessarily kill the Washington offense, but his play was not good enough to elevate the unit. On the season, he finished with 20 touchdown passes, 15 interceptions and a 65% completion percentage. Wide receiver Terry Mclaurin was the only Washington receiver to have notable numbers finishing with 77 receptions for 1,053 yards and 5 touchdowns. Although his stats may not reflect it, Mclaurin is a top receiving option in the NFL. Mclaurin has incredible hands and route running savvy that has allowed him to be successful with subpar quarterbacks throwing him the football.

Second year all-purpose back out of Memphis, Antonio Gibson, put together a 1,037 yard season on the ground and also caught 42 balls for 294 yards. Although a fine option at running back because of his versatility, Gibson was plagued by ball security issues in 2021 and led all NFL running backs with six fumbles. If those issues cannot be resolved in the offseason, then he will play his way out of the Commanders starting lineup quickly. Gibson's backfield companion JD Mckissic who is one of the top receiving backs in the league finished second on the team with 43 receptions for 397 yards receiving.

Defense

The supposed strength of the Commanders was their downfall in 2021. After finishing 2020 as a top 4 defense in both scoring and yardage, the team plummeted to 25th in points allowed and 22nd in total yardage allowed. Their secondary was chewed up on a weekly basis and allowed the most passing touchdowns in the league and the fourth most passing yards. The unit that was supposed to be the engine to Washington's defense in 2021 was their ferocious front seven headlined by second overall pick Chase Young. However, the 2020 Pro Bowler had a sophomore slump in 2021 with only 1.5 sacks before he suffered a torn ACL after playing in just 9 games. The remaining combination of Daron Payne and Montez Sweat played well, but as a duo did not impact games like they did in 2020. The exception to this general ineffectiveness was Jonathan Allen. Allen was a force from the interior of the defensive line posting nine sacks and a whopping 30 quarterback hits (tied 4th in the NFL) on his way to being voted to his first Pro Bowl.

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What's Changed?

Last Chance for Carson

Quarterback Carson Wentz was acquired from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a number of picks/pick swaps following the conclusion of the 2021 season. Wentz whom the Eagles used the second overall pick on in the 2016 draft had an ugly ending to his time as the starter in Philadelphia and was taken on by his former offensive coordinator and current Colts head coach Frank Reich in 2021. Wentz cut down on his mistakes significantly as the starter in Indianapolis as he went from throwing 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 2020 to 27 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 2021. The main issue for Wentz in Indianapolis was that when it counted most, he either folded to the pressure or he made a costly gaffe. The most notable of those mistakes came late in the fourth quarter of a tied week 8 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. On this play, Wentz was facing pressure in his own end zone and decided to throw the ball up for grabs with his left hand (he's a righty). Titans DB Elijah Molden grabbed an easy pick on the one yard line and walked into the end zone effectively winning the game for Tennessee. Wentz also came up short in the Colts week 18 letdown loss to the last place Jaguars when he threw one touchdown, one interception, and had just 185 passing yards.

Admittedly, I have always been a fan of Carson Wentz's ability as a quarterback. In fact, heading into the 2020 season I had him ranked as the third best quarterback in the NFL. Was this a bad take? Sure. Am I still a believer in his ability? Yes. Although I do not think that Wentz is a top 10 quarterback let alone a top three quarterback, I still think that he has what it takes to be successful and I see him giving this Commanders team a boost and contending for the NFC East title.