Let an NFL expert tell it, the Washington Commanders and Jayden Daniels aren’t just about to hit on a serious resurgence in 2024.
Along the way, they could channel one of the biggest breakouts of the last five years.
So says ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, who recently spotlighted the Commanders as one of the few teams likeliest to improve in 2024—and compared them to the Houston Texans of 2023:
“Jayden Daniels is the player who could most dramatically propel the Commanders forward, and, as with the Texans, there are players here who could look a lot better if the quarterback play improves. We haven't seen Terry McLaurin play with even an average NFL quarterback so far. Jahan Dotson flashed as a rookie before going quiet with Howell last season. Free agent addition Austin Ekeler struggled with the Chargers in 2023, but he's one year removed from a 1,637-yard, 18-touchdown season.”
Barnwell does admit that he’s “loathe” to give any team a comparison to the Texans. Houston, after all, went 3-13-1 in 2022, then got a smash hit in the form of C. J. Stroud at second overall and surged to a 10-7 record, AFC South crown and won a playoff game. Now, they’re one of the favorites in the stacked AFC.
Still, the writeup is on the money about the weapons around Daniels, the second-overall pick this year. And it sure doesn’t hurt that he’s been so good in training camp and preseason action that some have already crowned him the likely Offensive Rookie of the Year over No. 1 pick Caleb Williams.
Much will have to go right for the Commanders to even flirt with the level of Houston’s turnaround. That includes the showing from a so-so-looking offensive line in front of Daniels and a defense with some questions in the secondary, among other potential roadblocks.
But there’s only one way to go from last year’s 4-13 at the end of the Ron Rivera era. And outsiders weren’t exactly predicting Stroud to do what he did as a rookie, so with Daniels, who knows?
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