10 encouraging stats as Commanders gear up for training camp

For most Americans, late July means vacation time. For NFL players, late July means it’s time to get to work.

The Washington Commanders will open training camp next week in Ashburn, and with that comes the opportunity to reset the organization. New owner, new general manager, new head coach, new quarterback. That’s a lot of new.

With all the changes for the Washington organization — no NFL team flipped its roster more — it’s time to take a look at how things could unfold this fall. The truth is after a 4-13 season last year where no Commanders players made the Pro Bowl, it would be hard to be worse this year. Still, looking at some of the changes made, personnel moves and coaching changes, there are some real reasons for encouragement. Let’s take a look.

1. Need balance: The Commanders offense lacked any semblance of balance last year. Washington led the NFL in passing attempts and came in dead last in rushing attempts. And that imbalance happened with a young quarterback in Sam Howell and a spotty offensive line. Despite new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s reputation for the “Air Raid” offense, expect much more running. In four seasons as the head coach of the Cardinals, Kingsbury’s teams averaged out to be 13th in the NFL in rush attempts. In 2021, Kingsbury’s best year in Arizona, when the team finished with an 11-6 regular season record, the Cardinals finished seventh in the NFL in rush attempts. Now, it’s important to remember that Kyler Murray, a highly capable runner, quarterbacked those teams, but Washington is now expected to start Jayden Daniels at quarterback, another highly capable runner.
2. Two-piece combo: During Kingsbury’s successful 2021 season in Arizona, running backs James Conner and Chase Edmonds combined for more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns. Conner was the bruiser, a power back who averaged less than 4 yards-per-carry but was able to regularly move the chains and win at the goal line. Edmonds had 43 catches on the season and averaged more than 6 yards-per-touch. Does a duo like that sound familiar? The Washington backfield of Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler could try to follow that same pattern.
3. Take care: In his last two seasons at LSU, Jayden Daniels threw seven interceptions. Twenty-six games played, seven INTs. Sure, that was on the college level and life in the NFL is much more difficult, but Daniels has a proven ability to protect the ball and not make dumb mistakes. Compare that with Sam Howell, the Commanders starter last season, who was comparable to a rookie. Howell threw 16 interceptions over 24 games in his last two seasons at North Carolina. The turnovers followed Howell to the pros, as he threw 18 interceptions last year in 17 games.
4. Get them to the ground: Last year, Cody Barton led the Commanders with 121 tackles. In 2022, Jamin Davis led the Commanders with 104 tackles. Last year, Bobby Wagner led the NFL with 183 tackles playing for Seattle. In 2022, Wagner logged 140 tackles playing for the Rams. At age 34, Wagner has compiled more than 1,700 tackles in his NFL career and will get inducted into the Hall of Fame when his playing career ends. Washington’s free agent addition of Wagner immediately makes him an anchor of the defense and a presence in the middle of the field that has been lacking since London Fletcher retired after the 2013 season.
5. This is not a stat: Nobody keeps stats on long snappers, or if they do, I couldn’t find them. But anybody that watched the Commanders last year knows that the team really struggled on special teams, and most of it was due to Camaron Cheeseman. The struggles were significant, and Washington finally cut Cheeseman after multiple botched snaps in a December loss in Los Angeles. This offseason Washington signed Tyler Ott to take over as long snapper. Ott, a Harvard grad, started all 17 games for the Ravens last year. The Ravens are always excellent on special teams. From 2017 to 2021, Ott handled all the long snaps for the Seahawks, where he worked with new Commanders special teams coach Larry Izzo. Again, this isn’t a stat, but Cheeseman was a problem, and Ott should be the answer.
6. Plug the middle: When Commanders GM Adam Peters took over in Ashburn he quickly identified a consistent problem for his offensive line: the center position. Ever since Chase Roullier suffered a broken leg in 2021, the center position has been a revolving door for the Burgundy and Gold. To fix that issue, and the subsequent problems caused by inconsistent center play and the trouble that causes for young quarterbacks, Peters signed Tyler Biadasz. A 26-year-old coming off his rookie deal in Dallas, Biadasz should immediately provide a much-needed anchor for the Washington offensive line. In the past two seasons for the Cowboys, Biadasz missed just two games, one of which was a Week 18 rest day after Dallas had sealed a playoff spot. Ironically, that game was a 26-6 Washington win over Dallas. The man they call “badass” should solve one major riddle for the Commanders.
7. Slow ride: Last year from Oct. 1 until a Week 14 bye in mid-December, the Commanders traveled to away games in Philadelphia, Atlanta, New York, New England, Seattle and Dallas. The trips to New England and Seattle happened in consecutive weeks, and the trip to Dallas came on a short week for the annual Thanksgiving game. The travel schedule was quite tough. This year, from Oct. 1 until yet another mid-December bye week, the Commanders will travel no further than New York.
8. Take what’s yours: Last season the Commanders defense grabbed eight interceptions. Eight. In 17 games. Only two teams finished with fewer interceptions than Washington. In 2022, the Washington defense generated a whopping nine interceptions. Only four teams intercepted fewer passes that year. So, the math says in the past two seasons the Commanders’ defense generated 17 interceptions. Dan Quinn served as the Cowboys defensive coordinator before taking over as the new Washington head coach in January, and the Dallas secondary was impressive throughout Quinn’s tenure. In fact, the Cowboys defense grabbed 17 interceptions just last year — Washington’s two-year total. Quinn knows how to coach the secondary, and a big part of the success in Dallas was Joe Whitt, the Commanders new defensive coordinator.
9. Young man’s game: In the past two seasons, at least one NFL team has advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs with a rookie quarterback under center. In 2022, that was the 49ers with Brock Purdy at QB. Last year, it was C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans. Could that mean this year it’s Jayden Daniels and the Commanders?
10. Not a stat 2.0: When the season begins Sept. 8, it will have been more than a year since Dan Snyder owned the Washington football franchise. He’s long gone. New era indeed.