Conerly is anxious to show off the improvements he has made in the previous months, but he's focused on more than his physique. He's dedicating time to fine-tuning his stance so that he can get more comfortable at the line of scrimmage.
"I feel a lot more comfortable in my position, and I feel like just as I continue to stack days," Conerly said. "I feel like I'm getting better and better."
His other task has been learning the Commanders' new offense, which he said is coming along well. There are several new concepts and wrinkles, such as receiving play calls in the huddle and having the quarterback line up under center. Those additions aren't completely foreign to Conerly, but it has been a while since he's run an offense that had those features. If he had to guess, the last time was during his little league years.
But there are some aspects of the offense that have made things easier for him and his teammates. Some of the verbiage from Washington's previous system has been adopted into new offensive coordinator David Blough's scheme. The communication has been cleaner as well, he said, which is to be expected with the transition to calling plays from the huddle.
What's been most helpful is that the new system is molded to match Conerly and his teammates' skill sets.
"I feel like with us being such an athletic offensive line, and I feel like that's definitely how he \[Blough\] caters to us, getting us moving side to side," Conerly said. "Really just allowing us to go out there and just be the athletes that we are."
And Conerly already had a good idea of what Blough was like as a coach prior to him becoming the offensive coordinator. They sat next to each other in meetings last year, and they developed a close relationship during that time. Based on what he's heard and seen from Blough during their time together, there's reason to be excited about him leading the unit.
"I feel like we're a lot more interactive, I'll say that," Conerly said. "I feel like me...and the guys, we're in a really great space right now. We're just gonna continue to just elevate."