Commanders' Kliff Kingsbury Loves His Backfield Combination

The Washington Commanders are firmly into Year 1 of their rebuild. General manager Adam Peters has put some great pieces together for this coaching staff to work with.

The offense, led by this year’s No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels, is making great strides, but according to coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, the running back combination could steal the show.

“I watch (Austin) Ekeler and I’m like, ‘This guy is tremendous.’ So, I’m not sure what it was last year, but he hasn’t lost a step,” raved Kingsbury. “He’s as quick and as fast and as strong as I’ve seen him.

"Have just been really pleased. I didn’t study him much in free agency. I didn’t think he’d be there and he was there late, and once we got him, ‘This is unbelievable that we got this guy and he is in this form.’

And how can Ekeler and running back Brian Robinson Jr. work together in the offensive backfield?

“The complement of him and B-Rob is great.,” Kingsbury answered. “You have a power back who has great hands, and then you have a quick-twitch, smaller guy who’s been a 100-catch guy in the NFL.

“So, couldn’t be more pleased with that one- two punch and the different things that we’ll be able to do with both those guys.”

With a rookie quarterback, the running game will be extremely helpful in keeping defenses honest, and helping Daniels to adjust to the NFL game. Robinson and Ekeler are going to get a lot of touches this year.

As the season progresses and Daniels becomes more comfortable, Kingsbury will open this offense up and let him take the reins.

Until then, they will pound the rock.