Josh Conerly Jr. came in for some unfair criticism during his early transition to the Washington Commanders. It didn't take long for the first-year offensive tackle to silence his doubters.
And one Commanders insider revealed the potential plan for Conerly after his impressive surge at training camp.
The Commanders thought a lot of Conerly. They had to wait anxiously to see if he would be available at No. 29 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, but general manager Adam Peters got a bit of good fortune. And after taking time to settle, the edge protector picked up his performance levels in recent weeks.
Commanders could give Josh Conerly Jr. shared right tackle duties to start the season
This didn't go unnoticed by team writer Zach Selby. He listed Conerly among his standouts of training camp. The insider also thought the first-year pro could get a similar role to last year's rookie tackle, Brandon Coleman, over the early stages of the campaign.
"It's still unclear as to when [Josh] Conerly will be part of the Commanders' starting offense, but it's closer to being a reality after seeing how he improved over the final weeks of camp. Conerly spent the last week of camp splitting reps with Andrew Wylie at right tackle. The Commanders used a similar strategy with Brandon Coleman, who split time with Cornelius Lucas at left tackle before taking the job for himself."
Zach Selby
Selby went on to say that things could change if Andrew Wylie is forced onto the interior until Sam Cosmi returns from a torn ACL. Nobody should be panicking if the Commanders go down this route with Conerly. They'll give him what he can handle initially., If he comes through some early tests with flying colors, that's when he could potentially become the starting right tackle on a full-time basis.
Conerly might have done enough to gain this responsibility from the moment he steps onto the field in a competitive setting. It'll be a baptism of fire for the Oregon product in Week 1 versus the formidable New York Giants pass rush, but the signs suggest he's more than capable of meeting fire with fire.
The Commanders will take things step by step with Conerly. Dan Quinn makes his rookies earn everything, and he'll be no different. But judging by the praise he's received from coaches and five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, it's not hard to see why hype is building.
Matching it is the next challenge. That'll be much more difficult.
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