In Week 18 of the 2022 season, the Washington football team closed out its first season as the Commanders by inserting rookie fifth-round pick Sam Howell into the starting lineup, and he proceeded to beat a Cowboys team not resting starters by a 26-6 score. That gave Howell the opportunity to win the starting job for the 2023 season, where the results were not as pleasant, as the Commanders went 4-13 as Howell led the league in interceptions (and pass attempts, to be fair).

The ugly season, which also included allowing more than 30 points in 10 different games, allowed Washington to get the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, which they used to take their latest potential franchise savior in Jayden Daniels (unlike the last time they spent the second pick on a QB, they didn't back it up with another potential Kirk Cousins later in the draft). The Heisman winner enters an offense with plenty of potential, including a star receiver to target in Terry McLaurin, a solid 1-2 punch at running back if Austin Ekeler isn't completely spent, and a potentially underrated offensive line.

The other big change for Washington comes at coach, where Ron Rivera is out and another experienced defensive-minded head coach in Dan Quinn is in. Quinn was the architect of some excellent Cowboys defenses over the last three years -- including the one that couldn't stop Sam Howell at the end of 2022 -- but he has his work cut out for him joining a team that allowed the most points in the league last year. Fortunately, the Commanders gave him plenty of new faces to make an immediate impact, but this still figures to be a tougher test than what he accomplished in Dallas. It's a team trending upward, but how quickly they can turn into a legit playoff contender remains the question.

Below, we'll go through the futures and win total markets for the 2024 Washington Commanders, sharing recently updated odds from major U.S. and Nevada sportsbooks as well as the SportsLine Projection Model forecast for each betting market. We'll then take a look through the schedule, share my power ratings line projections for every game and note any rest or travel advantages or disadvantages to remember. Then we'll examine the changes to the depth chart and what the effect of each could be, before wrapping up with our early forecast of what to expect from this team in 2024.

What are the key factors to consider before locking in Washington Commanders futures bets? And how does the SportsLine Projection Model see the season going? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Commanders betting strategy from the expert who's 636-534-34 on ATS picks from 2017-23, returning $4,899 to $100 players!