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Commanders veterans report to training camp exactly one week from today, so let’s go ahead and break down the biggest questions facing the team.
The Washington Commanders begin training camp next week following a disappointing 5-12 season that was supposed to produce another playoff run. Instead, the franchise landed a top-10 draft pick and spent the offseason retooling both sides of the ball with new coordinators, free agent additions, and a reshuffled roster.
Naturally, questions come with all the change. Therefore, we need to go ahead and break down the 10 biggest questions surrounding the Commanders entering training camp.
1. How long will it take Jayden Daniels and the new offense to find level ground?
This is the biggest question of the offseason. Jayden Daniels is the franchise quarterback, and if Washington wants to win games, it all starts with him. That means he needs to be comfortable in David Blough’s new system.
There’s familiarity between Daniels and Blough, who served as the quarterback’s coach over the last couple of years. But this is a totally different offense than what Kliff Kingsbury ran, as there will be more under-center responsibility, different language, and a different philosophy altogether. While Daniels doesn’t have to hit the ground running, it would certainly be nice for him to find a solid comfort level, sooner than later, before the regular season starts.
2. What does the Daronte Jones defense look like?
Big changes at both coordinator positions over the last few months, and the styles both guys bring are completely different from what their predecessors ran. Joe Whitt leaned on Cover 3 and even front concepts, whereas Jones will run a lot of split safeties and multiple looks up front. We still don’t have an exact idea of what this defense will look like because of Jones’ diverse background. He has plenty of new and returning pieces to work with that should make the Commanders defense formidable in 2026 and it will be intriguing to see how he uses them.
3. Will anyone step up behind Terry McLaurin?
Who becomes that reliable second option in the passing game? And it doesn’t have to stay in the receiver room. A lot of people think tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo is going to be a big factor in this passing attack, and for good reason. He could very well end up being the second option in the lineup. Still, it would be nice for somebody to emerge at that second receiver spot because McLaurin can’t do it all on his own, especially since he’s getting older and is coming off a year where he dealt with a quad injury. Training camp will help provide more clues as to who this becomes.
4. Does anyone stand out in the running back room?
The Commanders are fine going with a running-back-by-committee approach, and that’s sensible reasoning when you look at the depth chart. However, you would like for somebody to take the lead and show the team they can provide more quality snaps on a consistent basis than their counterparts. There are several top options like Rachaad White, and everybody’s expecting Bill Merritt to take a Year 2 jump. Whether any of those guys actually distance themselves remains to be seen.
5. What happens at center and left guard?
Washington’s offensive line has a lot of promise heading into this season, especially with Laremy Tunsil leading the way and Brandon Conerly Jr. potentially taking another leap. Sam Cosmi remains one of the NFL's better guards, as well.
However, the center and left guard spots remain unsettled. Nick Allegretti is the leading candidate for the center job, but he’s a mid-tier veteran with a low ceiling. At left guard, Chris Paul played well last year, but neither the rest of the NFL nor the Commanders themselves thought he played well enough to deserve any kind of payday. He’s on a cheap contract. With Brandon Coleman lurking at guard, it’ll be worth watching how that competition shakes out. There’s also rookie Matt Gulbin, who can challenge Allegretti. They always say an offensive line is only as strong as its weakest player, so it's an absolute must the Commanders find the best five guys in training camp.
6. How long will it take the front seven to establish itself?
The Commanders totally retooled the front seven, and on paper it looks pretty sick. Odafe Oweh and K'Lavonn Chaisson appear to be entering the prime of their careers and should represent an upgrade at the EDGE position.
Up front, Daron Payne should be motivated in a contract year, Tim Settle has always been underrated, and Javon Kinlaw was good in Year 1 with the Commanders. At linebacker, Washington arguably has the NFL’s strongest rotation in Sonny Styles, Leo Chenal, Frankie Luvu, and Jordan Magee. This group has to be the driving force on defense and can’t slow-walk its development whatsoever.
7. Can Rasul Douglas provide answers at cornerback?
Douglas could end up being one of the bigger steals of the offseason. Trey Amos is expected to be ready for training camp but is still coming back from last year’s bad injury. Mike Sainristill and Amik Robinson are both coming off rough 2025 seasons, and there’s no starting-quality depth behind them. Douglas’ addition creates instant competition on the outside, and he can also play inside if needed. He’s got to show that his strong 2025 season can carry over into 2026 and the Commanders secondary will be in much better shape if he does just that.
8. How does the nickel position shake out?
There are rumblings that the Commanders want to move Quan Martin into the primary nickel role, and honestly, that doesn’t make much sense to me. The majority of the safeties on the roster lack range, and Amik Robinson is a perfectly capable inside player. If Martin does slide to nickel, that leaves two cornerbacks under 5-foot-10 starting on the outside in both Robinson and Sainristill.
And while both guys have shown they can play bigger than their body size, you don't want your starting outside corners to both be under 5-foot-11. The Commanders could easily make a big mistake here and set themselves up in a bad spot by not only depriving themselves of their most capable centerfielder, but exposing the perimeter, as well.
9. What does the linebacker rotation look like?
Going back to the linebackers, the Commanders have four strong options. Odds are Styles and Luvu lead the way with Styles wearing the green dot. However, don’t count out Chenal. He’s a playmaker who is violent against the run and could very well be the team’s base linebacker, with Luvu coming in for subpackages or obvious passing downs. And then there’s Magee, an athletic, hard-hitting, smart player the coaching staff likes. I don’t think they’re going to keep him on the bench for the heck of it. Either way, this is one of the more compelling rotations entering training camp, and it’ll be fun to see how it shakes out.
10. Can Drew Stevens unseat Jake Moody at kicker?
This is totally fair game. Coach Dan Quinn has had no problem stating this is going to be a competition. If Stevens does win the job, he will be the 10th kicker on the Commanders’ roster at some point since Adam Peters and Quinn arrived. That’s just crazy to think about, and it’s wild that Washington hasn’t been able to find any consistency at this position. Stevens has the leg, but like Moody, he’s got accuracy problems. We’ll see who’s the best man left standing.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Jayden Daniels' massive adjustment easily tops the list of the 10 most important questions facing Commanders before training camp
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