Hogs Haven
A shutout of the New York Giants’ sack machine demonstrates how far Bobby Johnson’s OL has come
Including “Commanders’ offensive line” and “elite” in the same sentence would have seemed crazy just three months ago. Heading into the season, there were major questions about the ability of the Commanders’ offensive line to protect rookie QB Jayden Daniels. After Sunday’s near shutout of the NFL’s best pass rush it’s worth asking whether the Commanders have pulled together one of the league’s best units in pass protection.
Throughout the offseason, the state of the OL was the subject of angst on Hogs Haven, as writers and commenters fiercely debated whether the new front office had done enough in their roster overhaul to address a protection unit that was blamed for allowing the second most sacks in the league in 2023 (65, tie with Panthers) and the fifth highest sack rate (9.27%) on passing drawbacks.
The biggest issues on the OL last season had been at left guard and center, which ranked at or near the bottom of the league in pass protection. Not surprisingly, those positions were upgraded by the signings of C Tyler Biadasz and LG Nick Allegretti in free agency. Biadasz was a clear upgrade to Nick Gates at center. Allegretti, on the other hand, appeared to be more of a modest improvement over last season’s starters.
There was a disproportionate focus of attention on the OT position, with Andrew Wylie returning at RT and veteran swing tackle Cornelius Lucas getting the start at LT to replace Charles Leno, who underwent surgery and retired. Contrary to claims that Wylie and Lucas were among the worst players in the league at their positions, the pressure stats showed them to be in the average to just below range among NFL starters.
The biggest contributors to QB Sam Howell’s sack totals in 2023 were actually his own deficiency in evading pressure and a league leading pass to run balance which maximally exposed that weakness.
Nevertheless, the team was heading into the season with what appeared to be mediocre players protecting the edges. The selection of OT Brandon Coleman in the third round did relatively little to assuage fears for the safety of the Commanders’ rookie QB. As I have pointed out, fewer than 10% of OTs drafted after the second round are better in pass protection than Andrew Wylie as rookies. Neither did the signing of OL coach Bobby Johnson to lead the unit after seemingly unsuccessful stints with the Giants and Bills. Expectations for the OL’s performance this season ranged from middle of the pack to worst in the league.
When the Commanders finally took to the field, the worst fears of some in the fanbase proved to be overblown. Following a rough game against the Giants in Week 2, in which Jayden Daniels took 5 sacks, the OL started to gel. Heading into the Week 9 rematch, Jayden Daniels had only taken 17 sacks, which was just the 14th most in...
