What to do about the trenches?

[burgold]

I read an article this morning on Commanders.com that reviewed their o line performance and the first thing that surprised me was that none of their starters were ranked as their best players on PFF.

Top performers (per Pro Football Focus)
OVR: Cornelius Lucas (74.1)
RBLK: Chris Paul (72.4)
PBLK: Cornelius Lucas (79.1)

This makes you scratch your head. Why aren't we putting our best guys out there? What are the stats not telling us?

Well, maybe what the stats failed to show was that the group we put on the field had been pretty effective. According to the article, Biadazz allowed just one sack with a 98.6% efficiency rating and-

-- The Commanders had the third-ranked rushing attack in 2024, and that's a credit to the work the offensive line did to clear running lanes for Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler and the rest of Washington's running backs. They had a run-block win rate of 74%, which ranked second behind the Denver Broncos.

So, the o-line story is complex. I do wonder how these performances broke down as the season went on. I remember being pretty impressed with the o-line in the first half of the season. It's possible this was because my expectations were so low and it just didn't feel like we had really upgraded the group from the lot that gave Sam Howell perma-PTSD. That said, the line struggled as the year went on, particularly in the run game. That brings up one of the key questions. How much change is necessary and what will we do about it?

 

[burgold]

Obviously, I started with the o line (because of the article), but equally important is the D line. Feel free to talk about that too.

 

[Chris]

How much of the 3rd ranked rushing attack was based on the QB runs?

 

[RandyHolt]

I am still stunned that consensus is our OL needs major upgrades. I know I am in the minority so please don't over react. I thought our OL kicked ass and am glad to see some stats backing that up. Even if they didn't kick ass, Jayden's awareness and mobility minimizes OL weaknesses. Coleman should improve but he overachieved as a 3rd round raw kid at the toughest spot. Injuries seemed to take its toll but our offense kept leading us to victory. OL should get some credit for Jayden not losing a fumble this year. Wait has any rookie QB not lost a fumble in their first 20 games? Robinson has a terrible year and a dynamic back alone would improve our OL IMO.

We need edge over OL and I sticking to my guns. The fact we brought 5 so often is obvious proof the DL was lacking. Interior DL... did we 1 gap or 2 gap most often. No one seems to know. If we were 2 gap I can give the interior a pass for a year but we have a lot of money and draft capital already invested there.

 

[philibusters]

Here are the PFF grades for the O-Line. First number is overall grade. Second number is the amount of snaps they played in the regular season and playoffs combined. Third number is pass blocking grade and fourth number is run blocking grade. Only listing players with at least 200 snaps (for example Chris Paul had 29 snaps all year so its a very small sample size.

Cornelius Lucas 74.1 overall grade/ 464 snaps/79.1 pass block grade/ 66.7 run block grade
Sam Cosmi 67.8 overall grade/ 1259 snaps/74.3 pass block grade/ 64.8 run block grade
Tyler Biadasz 64.2 overall grade/ 1166 snaps/62.8 pass block grade/ 62.9 run block grade
Andrew Wylie 61.7 overall grade/ 1115 snaps/65.7 pass block grade/ 53.4 run block grade
Brandon Coleman 59.8 overall grade/ 1013 snaps/56.5 pass block grade/ 62.4 run block grade
Nick Allegretti 59.4 overall grade/ 1372snaps/53.5pass block grade/ 62.3 run block grade
Michael Dieter 51.2 overall grade/ 234 snaps/41.4 pass block grade/ 54 run block grade
Trent Scott 46.1overall grade/ 288 snaps/52.9pass block grade/ 39.5 run block grade

 

[philibusters]

I think my take away from the PFF grades is that individually it a below average O-Line. Not a horrible O-Line but below average. Overall we had a team pass block grade of 62.2 (22nd best) and run block grade of 54.8 (28th best). I think a lot of the success in the run game early in the year was teams didn't have as much of a beat on what we wanted to do in the run game. I do think Jayden helped the run game by taking away a defender. This was not a horrible O-Line but overall they were like the 24th best out of 32 teams.

If there is a decent tackle prospect available at pick 29 I giving that prospect a lot of thought. Getting another Tackle allows us to move Coleman inside where I think he is slightly better suited so drafting a Tackle could allow us to upgrade two O-Line positions. They probably go D-Line is round 2 simply because there is a risk by round 3 all of the top 100 D-Lineman in these draft boards are gone by then and its a deep D-Line class. That said if there is simply no value at Tackle at pick 29 obviously don't force the pick. In terms of free agency I am a little interested in Patrick Makari from the Ravens. He is probably a Nick Allegretti (at guard) Brandon Coleman (at Tackle) quality player but the fact that he can play four positions means you have better depth at both Tackle and Guard. I am just not sold on Ronnie Stanley given his injuries and his age and the likelihood that some team gives him a lot of money that we would have to outbid. Maybe a reclamation project like Jederick Wills Jr. makes sense if he is cheap. We saw a project like that work out for the Eagles with Beckton and we had our own success there with Eric Flowers a couple years back.

But the O-Line does need to be upgraded. Look at the Texans. There offensive overachieved with a rookie QB and below average O-Line in 2023, but the same combo of QB and O-Line sputtered in 2024. I'd like our O-Line to be in the top half of O-Lines. With Kliff and Daniels we may not need to build what the Eagles and Lions have (though that would be nice), but if we get the bad side of natural variance with our O-Line we could be in the same situation that the Texans were this past season.

 

[Chris]

Trent Scott was terrible in the NFCCG. Terrible with a capital T. Chris Paul was much more effective.

 

[burgold]

How much of the 3rd ranked rushing attack was based on the QB runs?

Has to be a substantial part, right

 

[Chris]

Has to be a substantial part, right

 

[Ghost of Sarge]

The only reason this line even begins to look good is because we have a mobile QB. Yeah, you can say "That works and we don't need to upgrade, we'll just keep doing what we're doing", but one day Daniels might not be as mobile and one day, God forbid, he gets RGIII'ed because he's running for his life and trying to do too much. If THAT happens, and we end up with a less mobile QB, he's gonna get killed, just like Howell did last year. It all begins in the trenches.

 

[burgold]

Everyone seems to want to move Coleman.

I think I'm in the minority who want to see him have a second year at the same position. From what I read, in college and now in the pros, the kid has yet to play two years in a row at the same spot. I thought he did pretty well especially if you consider his rawness, his lack of an offseason due to injury, and the quality of play around him. I think we have a player. At the very least, I'd give him a chance to win the job.

My quick take is that I'd leave Coleman at left until someone beats him out of that position. I'd move Wylie to guard at least until Cosmi comes back. Then, I'd nab the best offensive lineman I can get in free agency and the best o linemen I can in the draft. If the best free agent is a guard so be it. If it's a tackle then we have someone on the right side. I think the biggest problem with this o line was depth. Our starters when healthy did fine.

When they got nicked or had to sit we had trouble. Having said that, I think that the o line as it stands has to be healthy to compete and that never happens through an entire season. Our B-/C+ players when injured become C/C- players. So, I do want to upgrade, but I also want to upgrade our depth because we know O linemen get hurt and I think our depth is an even bigger problem than our starting unit.

 

[burgold]

View attachment 9749

That is, in fact, what she said.

 

[Boone]

Yes Chris, I would think that factors heavily into it. Look - we only have so many opportunities to upgrade each season. Those assets are precious. I am a build from the lines out old school guy. Philly is a Super Bowl champ (ugh!) largely because of that approach. Dominant lines on both sides of the ball still gives you the best chance to win consistently and it's right up there with QB play as a key component.

The argument 'the line only looks decent because of Jayden Daniels' may be close to factual. But the fact is, we DO have Jayden Daniels, and that will likely continue to elevate the relative effectiveness of our OL in the future (at least while he is young and super mobile). While we all want the best OL possible, that is a factor the Front Office will weigh heavily when it comes to how many of our assets to spend on OL upgrades. You don't rebuild a roster in a vacuum, you do it based on your strengths and vulnerabilities and how all of the pieces you have (and don't have) will mesh together.

 

[Boone]

Everyone seems to want to move Coleman.

I think I'm in the minority who want to see him have a second year at the same position. From what I read, in college and now in the pros, the kid has yet to play two years in a row at the same spot. I thought he did pretty well especially if you consider his rawness, his lack of an offseason due to injury, and the quality of play around him. I think we have a player. At the very least, I'd give him a chance to win the job.

My quick take is that I'd leave Coleman at left until someone beats him out of that position. I'd move Wylie to guard at least until Cosmi comes back. Then, I'd nab the best offensive lineman I can get in free agency and the best o linemen I can in the draft. If the best free agent is a guard so be it. If it's a tackle then we have someone on the right side. I think the biggest problem with this o line was depth. Our starters when healthy did fine.

When they got nicked or had to sit we had trouble. Having said that, I think that the o line as it stands has to be healthy to compete and that never happens through an entire season. Our B-/C+ players when injured become C/C- players. So, I do want to upgrade, but I also want to upgrade our depth because we know O linemen get hurt and I think our depth is an even bigger problem than our starting unit.

It doesn't matter what any fan thinks about Coleman. It only matters what the coaches think. He has always been viewed as a 'steal' where we got him, but also as a 'project' as he probably wasn't ready to be a NFL starting LT right out of the gate. I think the question it's too early to answer is, what is his absolute ceiling? And can he stay healthy is the other big question. I think we just have to trust the coaches in terms of whether we've found our long-term LT starter or if they will move him inside and take another swing at that position.

 

[burgold]

I thought Coleman's size and measurables were great for left tackle, especially his quickness and basketball agility, but his rawness and lack of game experience was the big drawback? That the reason why "experts" wanted to move him inside was to shield him from that inexperience as tackles is a harder position to learn.

In any case, I am hopeful he continues to grow and cements the position. The coaches will be the final arbiter of that though if Coleman works hard he will have a powerful voice in the argument. I think his play provided cases in both directions.

 

[Chris]

My view, much like Ghost of Sarge, is that although Daniels is special…how much do you want to rely on your QB, your most valuable asset, to prop up the running game? With Jayden it seems obvious to me that every possible measure should be taken to protect his and the teams future.

 

[Boone]

Yeah, I worded that awkwardly burgold. He is a physical beast. But as you said, to plug in a rookie at LT who only played that position part time at TCU and who has a lot to learn in terms of technique, it's not something most NFL teams try to do at the most important position on the OL. But you are 100% right, he has the size, athleticism, and wingspan to dominate wherever they put him if he continues to develop the skills and techniques.

 

[burgold]

I agree with that. I think even the team understands that the next step in his evolution is to run about 25% less and take that extra beat to trust his arm and his receivers a little more. Part of that will come with experience, but part of that is also giving him a line he feels he can trust for an extra second or two.

 

[burgold]

Another thing I wonder about is since the early season platooning of Coleman proved very effective should this be something we do across the board? Every other unit (except QB) rotates regularly to keep players fresh and reduce wear and tear, why not do this with the offensive line? I guess getting all the players in sync and having the type of coordination a good line needs might be tough, but it'd be great for development and might just reduce injuries. Plus, if someone did go down you have someone battle tested ready to step in.

Just a thought.

 

[Boone]

As far as how much of an overhaul the OL needs based on the stats posted a few posts ago, and what we 'saw' in 2024, I would say that regardless of what you think about the guys who were 'starters', our depth was inadequate. Late in the season, we saw that the guys we ended up relying on just didn't have the physicality to be effective stand-ins and frequently got abused and dominated. If nothing else, we have got to improve the depth and quality of reserves on the OL.