The Washington Commanders are building slowly through free agency, but the rookie contract of Jayden Daniels is ticking. Washington enteredfreeagencywithplentyofcapspaceandafrontofficethathaspreachedpatiencesincethemomentAdamPetersarrived.Patiencesoundsgreatinapressconference.Itsoundsevenbetterwhenyouaretryingtocleanuparosterthat hasspentyearsmakingbaddecisions.
Fansusuallysupportpatience.Thentheoffseasonactuallybegins.
NowtheCommandersfindthemselvesinanawkwardposition.Severalsolidmoveshavebeenmade.Afewusefulplayershavebeenadded.Depthhasimprovedinacouple ofspots.
Yettheoverallfeelingishardtoignore.Somethingstillfeelsunfinished.
TheDraftBoardCreatesARealProblem
Partofthatcomesfromthedraftboard.
Washingtonismissingtwoofthemostvaluablepicksintheentiredraft.Thesecondroundselectionandthefourthroundselectionarebothgone.Thosepickswerepartofthetradethatbroughtlefttackle Laremy TunsiltoWashington.Themovehelpedstabilizetheoffensiveline,whichabsolutelyneededattention.Noonewillarguethatpoint.
Theproblemshowsupwhenyoulookattherestofthedraft.
Rightnow,theCommandersarescheduledtopickinthefirstround,thethirdround,thennotagainuntilthefifth.Twopicksfollowinthesixthround,thenaseventhrounderclosesthingsout.
ThatleavesWashingtonwithonlytwoselectionsinthefirstthreerounds.
Forarosterthatstillhasholesinmultipleplaces,thatisnotideal.
Second-roundpicksoftenturnintoimmediatecontributors.Startingguardscomefromthatrange.Runningbackswhocanhandleafullworkloadoftenappearthere.Safetiesandcornerswhobecome long-termstartersregularlyemergeinthatround.
Fourthroundselectionscarryvalue,too.Thatrangeoftenproducesplayerswhodevelopintorotationaldefensivelinemen,usefullinebackers,orspecialteamsplayerswhostickaroundforyears.
Takethosepicksaway,andsuddenlythemarginforerrorbecomesverysmall.
FreeAgencyNeededToCarryMoreWeight
ThatiswhytheCommandersprobablyneededtobemoreaggressiveinfreeagency.
Sofar,theapproachhasbeencareful.RachaadWhiteaddsreceivingabilityoutofthebackfieldandbringssomefamiliaritywith Jayden Danielsfromtheircollegedays.LinebackerLeoChenalbringsphysicalitytothemiddleofthedefense.CornerbackAmikRobertsonandsafetyNickCrossaddcompetitiontothesecondary.
Eachmovemakessense.
NoneofthemchangeshowopposingcoordinatorsprepareforWashington.
Thereisstillnoclearanswerat thecorner.Theteamcoulduseanotheredgerusherwhoactuallymakesquarterbacksuncomfortable.Widereceiverdepthremainsquestionableonceyoumovepast Terry McLaurin.
RunningbackstilllookslikeacommitteesituationevenafterWhitearrived.
TheAdamPetersPhilosophyIsBecomingClear
Noneofthismeanstheoffseasonhasbeenbad.Petersclearlyprefersamethodicalapproach.Hewantsyoungerplayers.Hewantscontractsthatdonotwreckthecaptwoyearsdowntheroad.SanFranciscofollowedthatblueprintforyears.
Thatapproachworkedthere. The problem is Peter’s timing.
WashingtoncurrentlyhasJaydenDanielsplayingonarookiecontract.Teamsaroundtheleaguetreatthatwindowlikeagreenlight.Itisthemomentwhenrostersgetaggressivebecausethequarterbackpositionisaffordable. Ask Kansas City. They built heavily around Patrick Mahomes early on, and it resulted in several trips to the Super Bowl.
Thatwindowdoesnotstayopenforever.
Fansunderstandrebuilding.Theyarelesspatientwhenanopportunityseemstobesittingrightinfrontoftheteam.
TheOffseasonIsNotOver,ButThePressureIsGrowing
TheCommandersstillhavetimetoaddressthatconcern.Freeagencyisnotfinished.Tradeshappeneveryyearoncethedraftapproaches.Afewveteranplayerswilleventuallyhitthemarketasteamsreshapetheirrosters.
Rightnow,though,therosterlooksbetteraroundtheedgeswhilethebiggestneedsremainobvious.
Thatisthepartthatkeepsthisoffseasonfromfeelingcomplete.