Some good news and bad news for Commanders in 2024 projections

The Washington Commanders were arguably the NFL’s worst team in 2024. The Commanders lost their final eight games, and if the season had been a week or two longer, they could have surpassed the Carolina Panthers and secured the No. 1 overall pick.

In addition to new ownership, Washington’s struggles led to an offseason full of change for the Commanders. After firing Ron Rivera as head coach, the Commanders hired Adam Peters as general manager and Dan Quinn as head coach.

Peters went to work on Washington’s roster, overhauling more than 50% of the 90-man offseason roster. The Commanders had 30 newcomers on their initial 53-man roster.

Washington’s more significant changes to the roster included a brand-new quarterback room led by No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels. Defensively, the Commanders upgraded the entire linebacking corps, led by Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu.

With those changes, there’s no way that the Commanders rank dead last defensively in most statistical categories, right?

ESPN’s Mike Clay released his latest projections for the 2024 NFL season, and they contained some good news and some not-so-good news for the Commanders.

Let’s start with the good news:

Clay projected the three teams to allow the most points in 2024, and Washington was not in the top three. The Commanders were the runaway leader last season. That’s the Dan Quinn effect.

For the not-so-good news:

Clay projects that Washington will be the third-lowest scoring team in 2024, with only the Giants and Patriots scoring fewer points.

That would be surprising under new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Daniels. The Commanders believe Daniels’s addition significantly upgrades the offense, but how significant remains to be seen. There are still offensive line questions and which receiver will step up opposite Terry McLaurin.

As for his power rankings, Clay has Washington at No. 30.

The Commanders open the 2024 season on the road next week against the Buccaneers.