PFF commends Commanders draft and roster overhaul

A mostly positive and realistic preview of the Commanders’ 2024 season.

Pro Football Focus provided their season preview Friday, of the Washington Commanders.

Sam Monson and Dalton Wasserman of PFF gave their evaluations. Here we go:

Monson began unfairly calling Dan Quinn “a retread head coach” and noted a “huge proportion of the roster was overhauled.” Quinn once won the NFC; how is he merely a retread?

Wasserman began much more optimistically. He thinks, “Dan Quinn is going to come in there and change things quickly. And for me, this was a monster draft class. This was actually my favorite draft class in the whole league…These are players all over the place who are really good college players…There’s probably no one in our building who hypes up Jayden Daniels more than I do.”

Not being shy about Daniels, Wasserman continued, “I look at him and go, that could be a down-the-line MVP caliber player…He, to me, is the full package. If Caleb (Williams) wasn’t sitting there, he would have been the number one pick pretty easily…I think he is every bit in the Rookie of the Year race as Caleb Williams or anybody else is.”

“I find Washington a really difficult team to project forward,” countered Monson. He pointed to the massive turnover on the entire roster and referred to the NFC East as “that weird division,” noting that no one has won the division in consecutive years in two decades.

“Overall I think you are right, Jayden Daniels could be really, really good. Their offensive line is still a bit of a concern for me. They still don’t have a great-looking one on paper.”

“I don’t think they will be where the Cowboys or Eagles are, but I think this could be a close division, maybe tighter than people are expecting it to be.”

Dalton echoed Monson regarding the offensive line, “I don’t think it is the worst line in the league. It could certainly be a concern, and offensive tackle especially is a spot where that could be a sore spot.”

Dalton likes Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu’s additions at linebacker but sees questions at defensive end and cornerback.

“If they hit on Johnny Newton and Mike Sainristil, you’ve got a seriously better base to work with.

So both guys see things looking up for the Commanders with the new staff and new overhauled roster.

Who does PFF analyst prefer the Commanders take at No. 2 overall?

PFF analyst discusses the top three QB options for the Commanders.

Sam Monson was a guest on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” and discussed the top quarterbacks available when the Commanders are on the clock, Thursday night, for the second overall pick.

Here are some selected quotes from Monson.

Each of these guys (quarterbacks) has something that scares you:

“Drake Maye misses way too many of these layups…it’s true, why is it there? And can we fix it?”

“Jayden Daniels’ great season was when he was throwing to multiple first-round receivers. That is absolutely a factor…He, for his career, has had a really concerning, problematic pressure to sack rate…generally, that data translates well to the NFL.”

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“J.J. McCarthy has a real lack of tape. He just didn’t have the same responsibilities and requirements of the other top quarterbacks. He was on a dominant national championship team that didn’t want or need him to throw the football.”

“Maye had the most big-time throws of any of the other quarterbacks the last two seasons…he has an incredible volume of big plays and the capability to do special things.”

“Michael Penix has a lot of talent, and coaches love that guy. Whatever are the intangible things they are looking for, he’s got them…He has the arm to make things happen. He has the athleticism, way more than he ever deployed in college. Maybe extending plays and scrambling can be a bigger part of his game at the NFL level.”

“The conversation (Commanders pick) has been a lot about Daniels; the narrative on Maye has been overwhelmingly negative. Be prepared; the NFL likes that guy (McCarthy) more than anyone else does. He is going to go higher than you think he will. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that McCarthy goes No. 2.”

“He (Daniels) needs to change the way he plays in that regard (running). He makes special things happen, but come on, we need you to slide at the end of this play. We need you on the next down. Jayden takes some of the most ridiculous hits for a guy his size and ability.”

“He (Daniels) plays the game with this Josh Allen recklessness, only minus 35 pounds. That can’t work at the next level. You need to be more cognizant of protecting yourself.”

If he were selecting at No. 2 overall, Monson said he would select Drake Maye.