Washington Commanders 2025 Season Preview (9-1-25)
By: Jaden Golding
Headline Photo Credit: Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders’ regular-season football is back! Next Sunday, they will host their division rivals, the New York Giants, at Northwest Stadium with kickoff starting at 1 p.m.
After achieving a historic season last year, which saw Washington finish 11-5 and reach the NFC Championship for the first time since its 1991 Super Bowl victory, the fanbase and the media have unprecedented expectations.
So the question on everyone’s mind is, what will the Commanders look like in 2025? Let’s find out.
Offense
Key additions:
OL Laremy Tunsil
WR Deebo Samuel
RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt
WR Jaylin Lane
OL Josh Conerly Jr.
After the tough loss in the NFC Championship against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, two things became apparent for the offense: first, the offensive line needed to be improved. The Eagles have built a core roster behind arguably the best offensive and defensive lines, which means it starts in the trenches. That said, general manager Adam Peters traded for five-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil to protect Jayden Daniels’ blind spot. Then drafting versatile offensive lineman tackle Josh Conerly Jr. in the first round. When Sam Cosmi returns from injury, he can slide back into the guard position, have Conerly Jr. on the right side, Tunsil on the left, Tyler Biadasz in the middle, and second-year Brandon Coleman in his natural position at guard next to Biadasz on the left side, building a formidable line that can be a top-10 unit.
The second need was another receiver to help Terry McLaurin. Samuel will provide another dynamic piece for Kliff Kingsbury to move all over the field and make explosive plays. He’s a two-way receiver who can make explosive plays vertically and in the short-yardage game with yards after catch. Another addition the team is high on is the rookie running back from Arizona, Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Merritt, who goes by Bill, was a seventh-round steal that will provide an explosive, dynamic style in the backfield that the Commanders have been missing for a while. The confidence in Bill and the other backs (Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols, and Chris Rodriguez) is part of why Brian Robinson Jr. was traded to the 49ers earlier this month.
Player to watch: Luke McCaffery
McCaffery was a third-round draftee last season, who didn’t have a high snap count throughout each game. He posted 18 catches for 168 yards. When he was on the field, he didn’t get the ball a lot but did a good job getting open and creating separation despite the lack of targets.
Zach Shelby, senior writer of the Commanders, reported some of what Kingsbury said about McCaffery in year two, a couple of weeks back, stating;
“Luke has come a long way from last year this time to now just the confidence [is there],” Kingsbury said.
Kingsbury described the difference as “night and day” from year one to year two, which should excite Commanders fans. McCaffery has a lot to prove because of Lane and Samuel’s additions. He’ll have to split time between lined up in the slot and being used for those short-yardage explosive plays. But I believe McCaffery has the talent and skill to provide a steady presence and be used to make plays on third downs.
Defense
Key additions:
DB Trey Amos
LB Von Miller
DT Javon Kinlaw
DE Deatrich Wise Jr.
S Will Harris
DB Jonthan Jones
This unit started the season slowly in the opener against Tampa Bay last season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield carved up the defense, going 24-of-30 with 289 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. However, the unit devised a game plan and learned how to play together to improve throughout the season. Mike Sanirstill was a huge pickup for the defense; he played on the outside, which wasn’t his natural area. PPF ranked Sainirstill with a 65.8 overall grade, a 64.5 coverage grade, and an impressive 14% forced incompletion rate. The Commanders picked up former NFL DROY and Pro-Bowler cornerback Marshon Lattimore in November last year, looking to help a secondary unit needing a bona fide No.1 corner. Lattimore has entered the season in 2025 healthy and looking to regain that superstar form after some struggles with injuries and adjustment to a new scheme. They mainly struggled with stopping the run and forcing turnovers, but ranked fourth in passing yards allowed per game.
Despite the departure of team-leading sack leader Dante Fowler Jr. (10.5 sacks), Washington added future Hall of Famer Von Miller, who can still get to the quarterback and help seal the edge. They also added veteran Deatrich Wise Jr., a two-time Super Bowl winner, who provides a significant presence that can use his length and knows how to put his moves together to get to the quarterback. Kinlaw was the shocking signing by Peters to a three-year $45 million deal. He’s a former first-round pick of Peters who hasn’t quite panned out to that title and is on his third team now. After moving on from long-time defensive tackle Jonathan Allen earlier in the offseason, they added the younger Kinlaw to replace him. He has displayed great power, motor skills, and relentlessness that can be molded into a Pro Bowl-level talent if fully developed. In 2025, Rookie Trey Amos, out of Ole Miss, will see the field a lot and look to start opposite Lattimore. He provides size, length, and speed, and his nice footwork gives him the burst to contest the passing lanes.
Player to watch: Quan Martin
This one was hard; I wanted to say linebacker Jordan Magee, maybe safety Tyler Owens, defensive tackle Jer’Zahn Newton, and even Lattimore. But I selected Martin because he is a highly underrated part of this defense that isn’t mentioned enough. Last season, he stepped into the starting free safety role and finished the year with 87 tackles, three pass breakups, one interception, and three forced fumbles. Despite the PPF grades, I felt Martin stepped up last year, trusting his instincts and playing physically out of the backfield, whether making open-field tackles or preventing chunk plays. He will build on that this season, causing more turnovers and becoming a game-changer for the secondary, leading by performance. I want to see him in the box and in packages lining up against tight-ends or running backs, disrupting the passing lanes.
Schedule
● Week one: vs New York Giants
● Week two: at Green Bay Packers
● Week three: vs Las Vegas Raiders
● Week four: at Atlanta Falcons
● Week five: at Los Angeles Chargers
● Week six: vs the Chicago Bears
● Week seven: at Dallas Cowboys
● Week eight: at Kansas City Chiefs
● Week nine: vs Seattle Seahawks
● Week ten: vs Detroit Lions
● Week eleven: at Miami Dolphins
● Week twelve: Bye week
● Week thirteen: vs Denver Broncos
● Week fourteen: at Minnesota Vikings
● Week fifteen: at New York Giants
● Week sixteen: vs Philadelphia Eagles
● Week seventeen: vs Dallas Cowboys
● Week eighteen: at Philadelphia Eagles
Washington’s schedule is brutal. They play two of the NFL’s best divisions, the AFC West and NFC North. Both divisions produced three playoff teams each and will be a measuring stick to see how this 2025 group fairs against them. I think the Commanders have enough talent on both sides of the ball to fare well and come out with wins. They also head to Spain for a matchup against Tua Tagovailoa and host the Seahawks in a Sunday Night Primetime matchup.
Ceiling Finish: 11-6
They are just a game short of last season’s record of 12-5. The losses that I could see are a split in the season series against the Eagles. With the Micah Parsons trade, the Packers became much tougher, especially on the road at Lambeau Field. The matchups against the Broncos and at Arrowhead against Patrick Mahomes are always no slouches. Detroit will be out for revenge from the Divisional round shocker, and the Cowboys, despite the trade, will always get high for a division rival matchup.
Worst Possible Outcome: 7-10
Finishing second in the NFC East and grabbing the sixth seed last year provided a much more difficult schedule for the following season. Let’s say the defense continues to struggle to play consistently, causing some overreliance on Daniels and the offense. Maybe the Deebo Samuel addition doesn’t pan out the way Washington wanted it to, hence the one-year rental tag attached to him. The team’s lack of a consistent running game continues to plague them despite the running by committee approach. That’s the challenge of NFL seasons: anything can happen, and as a fan of the team myself, I don’t wish this to happen, but everything doesn’t go your way in the NFL.
Jayden Daniels Year Two Expectations?
Will Daniels have the curse of the “sophomore slump” season in 2025? I don’t think that will happen, even if the team takes a step back this year or doesn’t make it to the NFC Championship again. Daniels is a poised player unsatisfied with his historic rookie season despite the accolades, records, and improved team success. He wanted to win one thing, and that was the Super Bowl. The Team was two victories short, and he was almost there as a rookie. Daniels has built a 1-2 punch with star receiver McLaurin and has used the time in the offseason and Training Camp to build a rapport with Samuel. The O-line has improved on paper and will be even better when Cosmi returns. Finally, the key point is Kingsbury’s return, which involved meetings with other teams for their empty head coaching slots. Still, he opted to return with Daniels in D.C. Another year in Kingsbury’s system will provide wonders for Daniels because he’ll have the familiarity and comfort with running the system, and can run the offense like a veteran who’s been there, done that. This season, I believe, we will see more of Daniels being able to drop back and carve up defenses in not only the short game but the intermediate and deep game as well. Part of that is the game slowing down for him due to his already impressive ability to know when and where to make the right play. That’s not to say we won’t see Daniels using his legs to extend plays or specifically designed plays that feature him running. Still, there will be less reliance on that due to the additions of the supporting cast around him.
