Hogs Haven
The 2024 Commanders enjoyed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in NFL history. Can these three secret superstars get Washington into the Super Bowl next season?
The 2024 Washington Commanders were able to make NFL history in two important ways. Their ascent from a 4-13 disaster of a season in 2023 under Ron Rivera to the 12-5 mark and trip to the NFC Championship Game under Dan Quinn marked one of the most amazing one-year turnarounds in pro football annals, and second overall pick Jayden Daniels put together perhaps the best rookie quarterback season... well, ever.
Washington’s 55-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in that NFC title match was less of a disappointment, and more of a realization that this was now a great team that needed a few more pieces to be truly transcendent. There was no brain-drain in the offseason, as Quinn, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. are all back in the fold for 2025.
General manager Adam Peters was specially aggressive in the offseason trade market with deals that brought Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel to an offensive line and receiver corps in need. The addition of first-round pick Josh Conerly Jr. will do a lot to further assist that front five, as the Oregon alum was one of the best overall offensive tackles in this draft class.
Ole Miss cornerback Trey Amos went in the second round, and that is a big deal for a team that would like to play more press coverage than it did in 2024, because the Commanders really didn’t have the guys to do that across the defense. Amos changes that right away.
Overall, the Commanders attacked the offseason exactly as they should have — as an organization that understands it’s just a few of the right people away from potential dominance.
In the continuation of our “Hidden Gems” series, we look at three underrated players who could put Quinn’s team over the top in 2025 — one veteran, one free-agent signing, and one draft pick.
The Commanders did what they did last season without what you might call an alpha pass-rusher; the group of quarterback disruptors worked well together as a unit as opposed to one guy standing out all the time. Perhaps the most unexpected contributions came from Dorance Armstrong, a fourth-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 who played more of a rotational/backup role until Quinn became Dallas’ defensive coordinator in 2021. That’s when Armstrong started to thrive with six sacks and 36 total pressures in 2021, nine sacks and 43 total pressures in 2022, and nine sacks and 35 total pressures in 2023.
It was pretty easy for Quinn to convince Armstrong to follow him to the nation’s capital, which he did with a three year, $33 million contract including $16.125 million guaranteed. Quinn gave Armstrong the most snaps he’d seen in a season so far (747 total, and 450 as a pass-rusher), and the...
