With the Washington Commanders set to officially begin their 2025 NFL campaign with a preseason matchup against the New England Patriots on Friday, the team released its first unofficial depth chart on Monday.
I wasn’t impressed.
What could’ve been an opportunity to feed the excitement of fans who just saw their team reach its first conference championship game since 1991 turned into an exercise in precautionary PR measures and expectation management.
Nonetheless, the word on the roster is out. Trey Amos has already been penciled in as a starter, and Eddie Goldman is winning his battle on the defensive line.
On that and more, here are my biggest takeaways from the Commanders’ first 2025 unofficial depth chart release.
No expectations for Josh Conerly Jr.
The Commanders first-round selection (29th overall) was listed second behind veteran incumbent Andrew Wylie at right tackle—however, his name was preceded with an “OR,” which means this is no open-and-shut case
Brandon Coleman and Cornelius Lucas (now of the Cleveland Browns) pioneered a tackle rotation last year, during which the pair frequently checked in and out of games, sometimes between drives, until Coleman, a rookie, was ready to assume the full-time responsibilities.
Dan Quinn already refused to rule out the possibility of Conerly Jr. and Wylie sharing a similar relationship this year.
Conerly Jr. only played two years of college and is learning a new position after switching from left to right tackle. His biggest concern coming out of college was his play strength, and he’s only had a few months in an NFL weight training program. It’s possible that he starts off rotating with Wylie or is a full-fledged backup for at least the first month of the season.
That said, Coleman injured his ankle last Saturday and has not practiced since. A long-term injury to the second-year guard would see Wylie move to left tackle, leaving Conerly Jr. as the full-time right tackle.
Lots of lip service
If fortune favors the brave, the Commanders won’t be nearly as lucky as they were last year, when they went 9-4 in one-score games and 20-23 on fourth down.
Starters aside, the Commanders’ brass mostly ordered their depth chart by experience. That makes it tough to get an indication as to where players are in the race to make the first official 53-man roster that will set the team’s course for the regular season.
For example, for as excellent of a special-teams player as Nick Bellore has been throughout his career, it’s hard to believe that he’s above Dominique Hampton in the linebacker pecking order.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, better known as “Bill,” being fifth in the running back order seems like a flagrant misrepresentation of his situation. Many Commanders reporters have called him the camp standout, and he’s recently practiced (and shone) with the starters.
Veteran receiver K.J. Osborn was listed second in one of three receiver charts, while Jaylin Lane and Ja’Corey Brooks were third and fourth in another. I’d be drop-dead shocked if Osborn was actually more likely to make the team than Lane, and I’d give the advantage to Brooks.
All this means is that closer attention will need to be paid to the preseason games, specifically with whom and where the players play.
Special teams shake-up
Reports out of Ashburn suggested that Austin Ekeler and Deebo Samuel were the team’s primary kick-returners on the first two days the team practiced their returns. Ekeler is still listed as the lead man, while second-year receiver Luke McCaffrey—who impressed while Ekeler battled concussions last year—was second. Samuel was nowhere to be found.
Rookie Jaylin Lane, who Adam Peters called the best returner in the 2025 NFL Draft, was not listed as a kick-returner and was second in the punt-return pecking order. Osborn was listed first, but as mentioned before, the jury is out on his chances to even make the team.
On a simpler note, there’s only one kicker to worry about: Matt Gay.
That’s a welcome change from last year, when the Commanders were forced to cycle through kickers like cashiers during a Black Friday sale. Gay has reportedly been locked in during training camp, and he did not miss any of his 33 extra-point attempts or 28 field goal attempts from inside 50 yards last season.
