“With the second pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders select Jayden Daniels,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced to NFL fans anxiously watching around the country. The fan favorite dynamic quarterback out of LSU is only one piece of the giant puzzle that has propelled the Commanders to early season greatness not seen by fans in decades.
Until this year, high school Commanders fans have not seen the team succeed. The Commanders (formerly the Redskins) have the longest conference championship drought out of all 32 teams in the league, with their last conference championship happening in 1991. The 1991 season was also the last time the Commanders had an 11 win season, a drought 16 years longer than any other team. “The Commanders have struggled a lot in recent years,” freshman Vikram Gidwani said.
However, everything turned around when new owner Josh Harris bought the team from someone that people consider to be one of the worst owners in sports history, Daniel Snyder. Under Snyder’s ownership, the Commanders had a disastrous regular season record of 164-220-2, and a postseason record of 2-6. Snyder’s tenure was also riddled with controversy, with him “leaning into the team’s racist nickname, stymieing team stakeholders, gathering ‘dirt’ on other owners, and fostering a culture of workplace sexual harassment so toxic that it triggered a congressional investigation,” according to an article in The Guardian.
Josh Harris and his business partners have brought hope and much needed optimism to Commanders fans recovering from the Snyder era. Harris “will focus on the team’s culture and long-term success more,” Gidwani said.
Harris took his new role seriously from the beginning. Soon after buying the team, Harris hired new head coach Dan Quinn and new general manager Adam Peters. Both had experience being successful with past teams, and both had multiple coaching opportunities to choose from. According to an article from Yahoo Sports, Dan Quinn “said he wasn’t taking a job unless it was the perfect fit. Washington was it.”
In addition to a new staff, the Commanders brought in over 20 veteran players through free agency signings in the offseason. None of these players are amazing and some are considered to be out of their primes, but they allowed the Commanders to fill in key positions on the roster without taking too much of a hit to the cap space (money available for the team to spend). Running back Austin Ekeler, tight end Zach Ertz, linebacker Bobby Wagner were all examples of solid offseason grabs for the Commanders.
As for the draft, Adam Peters recognized that the key to long term success is developing young players, and produced a solid rookie class from this year’s draft. Obviously, Jayden Daniels in the first round was huge, but the Commanders did not stop there. They had three picks in the second round, using them on defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton, corner Mike Sainristil, and tight end Ben Sinnott. The Commanders also went on to get wide receiver Luke McCaffrey (brother of superstar 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey) in the third round. These picks among others led analysts to say that the Commanders had the fourth best draft class in the league, according to Yahoo Sports.
With all of these pieces in place, the rebuilt Commanders have started out with their best record since 2008, with four wins against the Giants, Bengals, Cardinals, and Browns after a season opening loss against the Buccaneers. Since then, the Commanders lost a close game to the Ravens and blew out the Panthers at home. This unprecedented start has left them 5-2, leading the NFC East. “The Commanders are finally a good football team,” senior Giants’ fan Aiden Post said.
With that being said, the Commanders are not Super Bowl contenders yet. Fans believe that the defense, especially the secondary, needs a lot of improvement before the Commanders can shine against the best in the league. “They are not contenders right now. I say this because their defense is not good simply put, but over the next couple years it can get better and if Jayden Daniels keeps playing like this then they will be a contender soon,” Post said.
There is no denying that the Commanders electrifying start to the season has excited Commanders fans at school and in the general DMV area. “This start of a great season for the Commanders has created a buzz around school especially because of us living in Maryland,” Gidwani said.
The Commanders play the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Oct. 27, where they hope to improve to a 6-2 record with a win.
