'I'll probably get cussed out' – Kliff Kingsbury knows he has a very good problem on his hands heading into 2025
Jayden Daniels is clearly the Washington Commanders' quarterback of the future, so the team made sure it upgraded the infrastructure around him during the offseason.The Commanders traded for Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil during free agency and then proceeded to draft Josh Conerly Jr. in the first round of the draft. Fourth-round rookie Jaylin Lane, […]
Jayden Daniels is clearly the Washington Commanders' quarterback of the future, so the team made sure it upgraded the infrastructure around him during the offseason.
The Commanders traded for Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil during free agency and then proceeded to draft Josh Conerly Jr. in the first round of the draft. Fourth-round rookie Jaylin Lane, a speedy and explosive wideout, was added to the mix, as well.
These guys are added on top of most of the players that helped the Commanders score the fifth-most points in the NFL last season. In other words: Washington really beefed up the offense during the offseason.
Daniels now has plenty of weapons at all levels of the offense and what should be an above-average offensive line protecting him. That's going to open up Kliff Kingsbury's offense even more than we saw last year, which obviously means good things.
The problem though -and it's a good one to have- is figuring out the right guy to get the ball to in the right moments. Sure, game script will dictate a lot of that, but there's a game inside that game and it involves trying to dictate the script oneself by out-maneuvering the opposition.
The Commanders have an advantage that will help them out and it comes in the form of the culture that was quickly established in Year 1. This team wants to win and that comes first and foremost.
"I've never had a great player that didn't want the ball and so that kind of comes with the territory," Kliff Kingsbury told reporters Wednesday. "But that's one thing I think that DQ has created where it's, you know, the team above anything else. And these guys that had their success last year and got their touches, they know bringing Deebo in, there's going to be less, but we're going to be better. And I think when they're able to sacrifice for that and understand that the ultimate goal is winning, then it all works itself out.
"But you want those guys, they're going to be pissed. I'll get cussed out a few games – it just comes with the territory. You'd rather have really good players cussing you out than bad players cussing you out."
There's another factor working in his favor and it's the fact that Commanders receivers learn every position, as Terry McLaurin talked about around this time last year. That maximizes everyone's opportunities to receive targets because they aren't pigeonholed into one position that may not be the primary read on a certain play. Hell, it may not even be the second or third read.
Having the ability to move around the formation will allow guys to see better matchups, which naturally improves their chances of getting the ball.
"We're working towards that," said Kingsbury. "Noah Brown being back, I thought, [it] was huge to get him back… but a lot of guys who understand the system now played at a really high level. [They] played great in critical situations last year and so that'll help the young guys come along, but most of those guys can play either inside or out, which is really what you're hopeful of."
In all, it's a big step in the evolution of Washington's offense. Last year, everyone knew McLaurin was the guy in the passing attack (and they still struggled to stop him), but this year, things are a lot different with Samuel and Lane in the mix and Zach Ertz and Brown back in the fold.
When you combine that with Brian Robinson Jr.'s and Austin Ekeler's receiving abilities out of the backfield, this is about as complete a passing attack as an NFL team can build. And it should be as good as advertised once things get rollilng.
