Commanders' postseason aspirations riding on Jayden Daniels' shoulders
· Yahoo Sports
The 2025 NFL season wasn't pretty for the Washington Commanders. After making it to the NFC Championship in 2024, the Commanders won a mere five games in 2025. This is largely due to injuries, but it still signaled that changes were needed.
General manager Adam Peters made some big changes during the offseason. There are new offensive and defensive coordinators in town, and there are plenty of new faces on the roster. But did Peters do enough to make the Commanders a legitimate contender in 2026? Maybe.
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FOX Sports analyst Ralph Vacchiano recently grouped all 32 NFL teams into tiers based on their potential to be a contender in 2026. There were eight total tiers, and the Commanders landed in Tier 6: Need some help (and some health).
The thinnest team in this group, though, might be the Commanders, who seem to be betting everything on the healthy return of QB Jayden Daniels and a first-year coordinator (David Blough) — so much so that they didn’t bring in much offensive help. They did rebuild their defense with mostly solid but unspectacular players, and a stronger defense will help. But they really need Daniels to be the star he was as a rookie two years ago. Otherwise, they’ve got no shot.
The other teams in this group were the New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Vacchiano's assessment of the Commanders isn't wrong. They are definitely relying on Jayden Daniels to be healthy, and while they brought in Chig Okonkwo, some new running backs, and retained Laremy Tunsil to protect his blind side, expecting Daniels to be the entire offense isn't the best plan.
Daniels managed in 2024, partly because he surprised many teams with his fast transition to the NFL. There was no lag in the learning curve for Daniels, but if the Commanders want their star quarterback to have any longevity, he needs a strong supporting cast. Right now, the skill positions are mostly untested outside of Terry McLaurin. We don't know what to expect.
One thing is certain, though, if the Commanders want a shot at the postseason in 2026, Daniels has to stay healthy.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: 2026 season is riding on Jayden Daniels