Fantasy Football 2024 projections: Projecting the Commanders offensive players from Jayden Daniels to Terry McLaurin and more
Before diving into Fantasy analysis for each team, I'll present a brief overview containing their offensive ranks in my baseline team projections as well as any notable coaching or offensive line changes.
Projected Offensive Plays – (9th)
Projected Passing TDs – 20.5 (28th)
Projected Rushing TDs – 20.5 (8th)
Notable coaching changes:
- Hired Dan Quinn as head coach
- Hired Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator
- Hired Joe Whitt Jr. as defensive coordinator
Essentially, the entire coaching staff is new. Quinn brings Whitt Jr. over from Dallas, where those two found tremendous success defensively. Quinn worked as the Cowboys DC, while Whitt Jr. was the secondary/defensive passing game coordinator. Whitt Jr. has been coaching in the NFL since 2007, and this is his first opportunity to work as a defensive coordinator.
As Quinn gets a second crack at head coaching, he will be joined by another coach in search of a career resurgence. Kingsbury spent his 2023 football season working as the Senior Offensive Assistant at USC. What changed for the Trojans in 2023? The pace of play was up, even more noticeably so in neutral situations (score within six points). That was the only clear change that I found that felt like an actual signal of Kingsbury's influence. It's possible that he influenced the fact that the percentage of USC's total touchdowns that came via passing touchdowns dropped to just 50%. Kingsbury's offenses have typically been run-heavy when in scoring distance.
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I'm projecting Kingsbury's offense to produce one of the lowest passing touchdown totals in the NFL. Jadyen Daniels passed for 40 touchdowns at LSU in 2023, but his pass-to-rush touchdown ratio the year prior was 17 to 11. He scored double-digit rushing touchdowns in each of his final two seasons. Rookie quarterbacks often don't produce high passing touchdown rates, something that absolutely can be said about Kingsbury's NFL quarterbacks to date. His four years with Arizona produced a 91 to 78 pass-to-rush touchdown ratio and topped out at 27 passing scores in any single season.
Notable offensive line changes
- Released veteran left tackle (three-year starter on this line) Charles Leno Jr.
- Lost center Nick Gates in free agency
- Drafted tackle Brandon Coleman in Round 3
- Signed center Tyler Biadasz and guard Nick Allgretti
PFF graded Leno Jr. as Washington's best pass blocker and second-best offensive lineman in 2023. The one lineman who graded out better was 2021 Round 2 selection Sam Cosmi, who has developed into one of the NFL's best guards. He'll be joined on the interior by quality free agency acquisitions. Allegretti only played 80 regular season snaps but did fill in as a serviceable starting left guard for the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Championship and Super Bowl games. Allegretti is unproven, but he has performed well when given opportunities. Biadasz has served as the full-time starting center for the Cowboys in each of the past three seasons and never registered a PFF grade below 60 in a season.
This offensive line could be decent in 2024. Left tackle is a question mark, and there's little familiarity or continuity, but there are enough quality pieces to warrant some optimism. The presumed starter at left tackle is 10-year vet Cornelius Lucas. Lucas has been a member of five NFL teams in 10 years, but he's found a home in Washington for the past four. He has experience at both left and right tackle, with his most recent and his best (2020, not 2023) experience both coming on the left side. Ideally, Lucas will be able to hold down the fort while the rookie gets to take a "redshirt" year, but it's good to know that Washington does have Coleman available if injury strikes. This offensive line has options!
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Notable offensive line changes
- Lost tackle Tyron Smith and center Tyler Biadasz in free agency
- Drafted tackle Tyler Guyton in Round 1 and guard Cooper Beebe in Round 3. Also drafted a guard in Round 7
Smith is a huge loss. His presumed replacement, while drafted in Round 1, never has played on the left side of the line and only spent the final two years of his collegiate career playing tackle. He's an exciting prospect with athletic traits, but he has big shoes to fill as Dak Prescott's new left tackle.
Beebe is also expected to make a positional transition to fill the center spot following the departure of Biadasz. The guard spots are locked down by All-Pro Zack Martin and third-year Tyler Smith, a former Round 1 selection who has posted nearly identical PFF grades to Martin since entering the league. Playing alongside those two might allow the rookies to more successfully transition to the pros, which would still leave the right tackle spot as a question mark. Dallas has at times received passable play from UDFA tackle Terence Steele; 2023 was not one of those times. Steele allowed the third-most pressures of any offensive lineman in 2023.
All things considered, this line feels extremely risky. There is absolutely enough talent to make things work, but it could all fall apart if either guard were to miss time with injury. Dallas is putting a lot of faith in the hands of a couple of 23-year-old rookies.
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