Three with something to prove?

There is much to look forward to as a fan of the Washington Commanders in this post-Snyder era.

With a respected new Head Coach, hotshot rookie General Manager and determined high-profile ownership group, it seems only a matter of time before the burgundy and gold remind the National Football League that there is indeed a storied franchise ready to rise again in the Nation’s Capital.

However, 2024 is season one of this new dawn. The Commanders are not yet expected to be challenging for Championships or arguably even a play-off spot. Which means, for the coming campaign, there will still be number of areas where, as fans, we might be more hoping for success than expecting success to be realised.

This revamped roster and coaching staff means that the Commanders will look significantly different both in terms of personnel and systems. The front office appears to be taking a sensible, long-term approach, rather than throwing huge free agency contracts for a quick fix, so the 2024 season is going to be unpredictable, up and down, but ultimately a stepping stone to future contention.

Here at UKHTTC, we welcome back Tony Wheat of Full Press NFL and Andy Eckert in the US, who, along with founder, Christian Burt, offer up a player whereby there are lingering questions marks heading into ’24.

First up, Andy.

Benjamin St Juste CB

I'm really concerned about Benjamin St-Juste for the 2024 season.

His injury history is troubling, and now there’s news from camp that he's already missed some practice due to a "minor" hip issue​.

With the uncertainty surrounding what second year CB Emmanuel Forbes can really bring to the table and the depth behind them what it is, I'd seriously consider the idea of bringing in a veteran presence like Stephon Gilmore, who's still available as a free agent.

Gilmore could provide much-needed depth and mentorship for the younger DBs from his years playing under Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jnr, and in the worst case, he might end up starting sooner rather than later.

Christian continues:

Riley Patterson/Ramiz Ahmed Kicker

Washington picked up placekicker Riley Patterson from waivers last Wednesday.

The former Jacksonville Jaguar does have some decent stats from his 38 games played in the NFL; in fact his extra point percentage (95.9%) is considerably better than the outgoing placekicker Joey Slye.

However, there is less evidence of Patterson having the leg to hit the 50+ field goals.  Riley seems accurate, without huge leg strength – perhaps a Wish version of Duston Hopkins (a release from Rivera that was pretty unforgivable).

I would expect that Patterson beats out Ahmed, whose NFL experience is minimal. Or might the Commanders still be awaiting roster cuts elsewhere at the placekicker position?

And final thoughts from Tony.

Jahan Dotson (WR)

With all the changes and justifiable optimism comes potential concern in a number of areas.

The offensive line has been a hot topic for discussion and could have easily been my answer here, as could several players in the secondary. The pass rush rotation contains a number of solid but unspectacular players and generating consistent pressure to help those on the back end remains a concern.

However, I’m going to go with one of the bigger name players who faces a pivotal season for the direction of his career. Jahan Dotson is my concern and his development and emergence as a genuine WR2 is crucial to the offense and the teams shiny new toy, QB Jayden Daniels.

Dotson was the 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft and his rookie season generated much optimism and praise.

He recorded 35 receptions for 523 yards and 7 TD’s despite missing time with a hamstring injury and appeared to be a real big play threat with a nose for the end zone. However, last season, despite featuring in all 17 games,

Dotson recorded a disappointing 49 catches for 518 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had issues with dropped balls and his confidence appeared to be affected amongst the general malaise of Eric Bieniemy’s unbalanced offense.

With Bieniemy gone, and a new offense installed by Kliff Kingsbury the time is now for Dotson to emerge as a genuine WR2 to take some pressure and attention from Terry McLaurin and give Daniels as many viable options as possible.

If he can make the jump he will feature heavily, but if his regression from 2023 continues, the Commanders receiver room looks worryingly thin.