Josh Conerly Jr. didn’t have the kind of rookie season that lets a first-round pick coast into Year 2. He started all 17 games for Washington and played every snap as the only Commanders offensive starter to do that in 2025, but the performance came with plenty of rough edges.
Pro Football Focus graded him at 59.9 overall, with marks of 57.8 in pass blocking and 63.5 in run blocking. He gave up 43 pressures and eight sacks, and he was flagged 13 times.
Those are not the numbers Washington wanted from a player it was leaning on so heavily.
Even with that rocky start, Conerly began to settle in as the season wore on. He was still ranked fourth in our Commanders Training Camp Pressure Index at the end of July, but the offseason work he put in was aimed squarely at changing the conversation.
Conerly went back to Oregon to work with strength coaches, hired a personal chef, and changed the way he ate after finishing his rookie year at 318 pounds. The goal was to trade body fat for muscle. Later in the summer, he also trained in Alabama with fellow Commanders linemen Laremy Tunsil and Brandon Coleman, spending a lot of that time on his stance and how comfortable he felt at the line.
"Sitting on a bull rush is a little bit easier," Conerly said after OTAs. "Just finding ways to make it as comfortable as possible.
So, once I stepped out there, I just felt a lot more confident, and I'm just able to be free," he said. "I feel a lot more comfortable in my position...
I feel like I'm getting better and better."
Three weeks into his second season, that work is showing up on the field. Conerly’s PFF numbers have jumped to a 71.2 overall grade, with a 72.6 in pass blocking and a 73.3 in run blocking across 210 offensive snaps.
In 124 pass-blocking snaps, he has allowed seven pressures, but no sacks or quarterback hits. He has also been penalized three times.
Seattle was his least effective outing so far. In that game, PFF had him at 60.9 overall, including 62.2 in pass blocking on 38 pass-blocking snaps and 67.3 in run blocking. He allowed two pressures, but no sacks and no hits on the quarterback.
Washington has already dealt with instability up front, and now the need for Conerly’s growth is even more obvious. Laremy Tunsil went down in camp with a triceps injury, and Sam Cosmi has been ruled out for Week 4.
Still, Dan Quinn did not move Conerly to left tackle after Tunsil’s injury, even though that is the spot he played in college. Quinn said, "We liked the progression where Josh is."
Three games won’t solve everything, but Conerly’s offseason changes and the early returns are pointing in the same direction. Washington drafted him to be a long-term anchor on the right side, and through three weeks, he’s beginning to look like the kind of player the Commanders can trust.
Last season, he was a rookie they had to ride with while he learned. This year, he looks more like a lineman they can count on when the pressure is on.
In Other News...
Commanders Suddenly Have A Bigger QB Question Than They Wanted
Marcus Mariotas relief turn against the Seahawks did more than steady the Commanders for a week. It also put him in the same conversation Jayden Daniels had been owning all season, as Mariota was voted FedEx Air Player of the Week after stepping in for the injured rookie and helping keep Washington on track.
Mariota completed 19 passes for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns with a 110.0 passer rating, and he even added a key rushing first down late in the game. Daniels had already won the same award three times during his rookie season, which is what makes this latest honor feel a little more complicated for Washington as it waits to see how the quarterback picture settles going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders May Have Found The Protection Answer Jayden Daniels Needed
Against a tough Seattle front, the Commanders offensive line turned in one of its more encouraging outings of the season, keeping Jayden Daniels upright and giving the offense a fighting chance. Washington allowed only two sacks and handled the pass rush well enough that the game never felt like it was slipping away because of protection issues, which has been a real concern at times this year.
The improvement came from a mix of schematic tweaks and cleaner individual work up front, and that combination mattered against a defense built to punish mistakes. For a team trying to maximize Daniels impact, Sunday offered at least a glimpse of a more workable formula, even if the bigger question is whether Washington can make that level of protection hold up once opponents have more film on it. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Daniels Injury Outlook Just Became A Real Commanders Concern
Jayden Daniels has been working through another layer of discomfort as Washington prepares for the Colts, practicing with a large brace on his left arm to guard against further elbow dislocations after injuries last year and again earlier this season. The Commanders quarterback has opted to put surgery off until after the season, if he needs it at all, and his availability for Sunday remains part of the weekly uncertainty around a team trying to keep its season on track.
Daniels said the brace does limit his range of motion, but not his throwing motion, which leaves Washington in the familiar spot of balancing caution with urgency. He is taking things day by day, and for a Commanders team already watching closely, his status against Indianapolis now looms as one of the more important storylines of the week. [Read more 🡒]