- 5 weeks ago
Is the Commanders' offensive line healthy enough for Week 1? While some question the depth, the starting unit with Allegretti, Cosmi, and Conerly could be average-ish. Can they stay healthy and protect Jayden Daniels?
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00:00for our league.
00:01All right, the question I asked the listener,
00:04end of last segment,
00:05I want to pose to you and volley this a second
00:07before we move on to some NFL stuff.
00:09If the commander's starting offensive line is healthy,
00:13is this a disaster or is this some perilous situation?
00:17What I was trying to say pregame,
00:18we got into a debate over this.
00:20My point is just the conversation
00:23that I think everyone's having out in the world right now,
00:26the disconnect between that and the conversation
00:29they're having in the building
00:30is that in the building they're going,
00:32Nick Allegretti's healthy and going to start in week one.
00:35It's like yesterday at Nats Park,
00:36a guy comes up to me and he's like,
00:37dude, we need a center.
00:38We don't have a starting center for week one.
00:40They have Nick Allegretti.
00:41Now, if you want to say that you're not excited
00:43about Nick Allegretti as a starting center,
00:44we can have that conversation,
00:45which is a different discussion altogether.
00:47But in a world where they have Coleman,
00:50Paul, Allegretti,
00:52and then their plan on the right side,
00:53still intact of Cosme and Connerly,
00:58could that be average-ish?
00:59Could that be okay?
01:01That shouldn't derail Jaden Daniels' season.
01:04Now, if you get a couple of injuries,
01:05I can certainly see where the paper-thin depth
01:07becomes a major issue.
01:08But what happens if they stay healthy
01:11as an offensive line?
01:12That is a fair question.
01:13And my response is,
01:15that's the group that ESPN,
01:16and there's the smart people over there.
01:17PFF, I believe.
01:18Well, PFF had him 32nd.
01:19ESPN had him 31st.
01:21Right.
01:21You know, without Laramie Tunsil.
01:23So, we're talking Chris Paul,
01:25who was going to be superseded,
01:26that nobody really wanted in free agency,
01:27who was going to lose his job to Brandon Coleman
01:30before Coleman had to go slide to the left.
01:32Coleman's fine.
01:33Those same smart people, by the way,
01:34at PFF had him a top-five,
01:35pass-blocking left guard in the NFL last year.
01:38Totally fair.
01:39So, again, I don't know what data points
01:41are relevant or not.
01:43Connerly, I still like,
01:44but we haven't had good homework turned into yet.
01:47The grade isn't good.
01:48Cosme, good, I feel good about.
01:49Allegretti, they're counting on,
01:51and that's their plan.
01:52There's a lot of uncertainty around that.
01:54One practice, he made it through healthy,
01:55and this is a guy that started four games
01:57in his final three years in Kansas City,
01:59at guard,
02:00and now they think he's a center.
02:01Yeah, he started at nine games in a year
02:03when they won the Super Bowl
02:04and started in the Super Bowl, I think.
02:06Having said that, to your point,
02:08he's a career backup,
02:09and he got benched here last year at guard
02:11two weeks into the season.
02:13He also, last year,
02:14only started two games at center.
02:16He's playing a position that is new to him,
02:18so there's no reason to assume
02:19he's going to be one of the better centers
02:20in the league.
02:20I think that ranking this offensive line
02:2331 or 32 is dumb,
02:25just personally,
02:26but, you know,
02:27that's what's going to happen.
02:29I mean, when you're looking
02:29from a national view
02:30and you're covering 32 teams,
02:32it's different.
02:32You remember the power rankings
02:34before the 15 season?
02:35They came out
02:36and they had the commanders like 31
02:38or something like that,
02:39and they said,
02:41they're going to Kirk Cousins
02:43and all systems are failed
02:45or whatever.
02:47Internally,
02:47a lot of people kind of knew,
02:49actually,
02:49they're about to be better
02:50because this is,
02:51like, the idea at the time
02:53was Kirk Cousins does nothing
02:53but throw interceptions,
02:54and it's like,
02:55well, that is the national narrative
02:56and perception,
02:57and next thing you know,
02:58he goes out and has,
02:58you know,
02:59Bo Nix franchise quarterback type season
03:01and starts new trajectory,
03:02but going into that year,
03:04they don't know what they don't know.
03:05They've just seen what they've seen.
03:06Like, as an example,
03:08to make it analogous,
03:09I don't think they know
03:10that Brandon Coleman's actually
03:11a pretty solid left tackle.
03:13Now, maybe I'll be wrong on that,
03:14but I think he'll be average
03:15at left tackle.
03:15I do, too.
03:16I think Chris Paul
03:17is an average-ish left guard.
03:19I think Cosme's an above-average
03:22right guard.
03:23Sneaky,
03:23the one I'm worried,
03:24I don't want to say the most about,
03:26but I'm pretty worried about right now
03:27is Josh Connerly.
03:28Connerly.
03:28I think I'm in the minority on that,
03:29but he's a first-round pick
03:31who did have some really good games
03:32last year.
03:33Allegretti, I'll say,
03:34is a little bit below average,
03:35but even,
03:36let's just say I go
03:37three average players,
03:38two below average,
03:39or two average and three below average,
03:40then we're talking about
03:41a slightly below average offensive line,
03:43like in the 20 range.
03:45To me,
03:45you've got to be like bottom five
03:47to be,
03:48we can't do anything
03:49because this is devastating
03:50and everything I call gets blown up,
03:52which is the projection that they have.
03:53I think that's a little bit off,
03:55but we'll see.
03:56Yeah, it might be.
03:56I mean,
03:57the games are coming.
03:58We'll get to it.
03:59Yeah, they certainly are,
03:59and I don't know that it's a fair eval
04:01week one against Philadelphia
04:02because they're going to do that
04:02to a lot of teams.
04:03I think they're going to look pretty bad
04:05in week one as an offensive line.
04:06Yeah, I'm pretty confident in that.
04:08But yeah,
04:09I mean,
04:10I guess the,
04:12so if the plan comes to fruition,
04:15I guess,
04:15is that okay?
04:16I guess,
04:17is that the ultimate question,
04:18right?
04:18Where,
04:19here's their offensive line plan.
04:20Now,
04:21Tunsell was a really good plan.
04:23I endorsed that.
04:24Endorsed the trade.
04:25I endorsed the contract.
04:25I endorsed him being a starter
04:26because that dude's a star.
04:27That part's not their fault.
04:29The rest of it though,
04:30dot,
04:31dot,
04:31dot,
04:31I don't know.
04:32That's,
04:32that's hard for me to say
04:34that if their plan comes to fruition,
04:36then it's all going to be okay
04:37because I don't know how good
04:38the plan is and was.
04:40Based on,
04:41they told us the plan back in March
04:42and April and May
04:43and all throughout was
04:44all this competition
04:45that was going to happen at center
04:46and it didn't really.
04:47The guy that was competing
04:48is on the practice squad now
04:50and they moved someone
04:51that they had as a guard
04:51now to the backup center spot.
04:53They didn't sign anybody.
04:54Maybe they still do.
04:55And if they do,
04:55that'll,
04:55that'll sort of change the island.
04:56I lost to fond digs
04:57where the entire office,
04:58and I'm going,
04:59I don't want to hear someone
05:00ascending to this number two
05:02receiver role.
05:02I'd like a number two receiver
05:04and they went and got one.
05:04So now everybody's,
05:05we're arguing over
05:06who's the sixth or seventh guy
05:07versus who's the second guy,
05:09which is a bunch
05:09of different situations.
05:11Connerly to me
05:12is the wild card
05:12where I still like him,
05:14but I don't think enough people
05:14are talking about Connerly
05:16in that maybe I'm overrating
05:20like my question mark,
05:22but I don't think you are.
05:22If we're doing a one to 10
05:23in confidence,
05:26where Cosme to me is a 10,
05:27you know,
05:28I'm not saying he's the best
05:28guard in the league,
05:29but I'm saying I'm not spending
05:30a second worrying about
05:31right guard.
05:32I know who that dude is.
05:33We're fine there.
05:33Yep.
05:33I'm going to put
05:35Allegretti at a five.
05:36Where are you on Allegretti?
05:37Three.
05:38Okay.
05:39Within the margin,
05:41if you will.
05:41Yeah.
05:42But both of us are kind of
05:43whelmed.
05:44You're a little underwhelmed.
05:45Left guard with Paul.
05:47This is one where
05:48I don't know how to,
05:49I'm confused on him
05:50because the narrative
05:52about him right now
05:53is way worse
05:53than how he played last year.
05:55Or at least how we talked
05:56about him last year.
05:57So yeah,
05:57what I thought,
05:58I thought I had X,
05:59whatever your number
06:00you want to call it.
06:01The offseason,
06:02the fact that he was
06:03losing his job to Coleman
06:05and he kind of came back
06:06here with his tail
06:07between his legs
06:08tells me maybe,
06:09was I wrong?
06:10Could you say a lot
06:10about Coleman
06:11and less about him?
06:12Could.
06:12I'm going to say,
06:13if I'm a five on Allegretti,
06:14I'm going to say
06:15I'm a five on Paul.
06:17Again,
06:17for all of the negatives,
06:19whatever they are,
06:21PFF rated him
06:22a top five guard
06:23in the National Football League
06:24in pass pro last year.
06:26If we care about
06:27where they rank their O-line,
06:28that seems like a data point.
06:29It's a relevant data point.
06:30But I'm going to say
06:31five on him.
06:32And then Coleman,
06:34now this is a little bit hot,
06:36so prepare for the water
06:37to burn a little bit.
06:38I think I'm like,
06:39my confidence on him
06:40is like a six and a half.
06:41I actually feel pretty good
06:42about it.
06:42So here's how I flip that.
06:44For me,
06:45Paul,
06:45I'm at a four.
06:46I have to be shaken
06:47by the trend line.
06:48The latest,
06:50the last however many months
06:51you want to call it,
06:51where I thought I knew
06:52what I had in Chris Paul.
06:53I feel pretty good about that.
06:54Hey, what a nice find.
06:55Doesn't seem to be
06:56trending that way.
06:57Now maybe,
06:58again,
06:58it's back to what it was
06:59and my last year was correct,
07:01but right now
07:02it doesn't seem
07:02to be going that great
07:04for Chris Paul.
07:04Maybe new scheme,
07:05who knows, right?
07:06I feel confident in Coleman.
07:08I'm an eight.
07:08I know exactly
07:09who Brandon Coleman is.
07:10That is a solid,
07:11I'm not saying he's
07:12an eight out of ten
07:13as a player.
07:14My confidence in,
07:15I know who Brandon Coleman is.
07:16He'll be just fine over there.
07:18So I hope that that's right.
07:19And I'm kind of with you.
07:22I come back to Connerly
07:23to say,
07:24when I see him go up
07:25against strong,
07:27big,
07:28physical,
07:29bull rushing edges,
07:31it's not great.
07:32Right.
07:34I want to say
07:35like four and a half,
07:36five.
07:37Yeah, I'm a four.
07:37But the upside
07:39for him is massive.
07:40And I always say that
07:41because I think
07:42it's important.
07:43Like if you told me
07:44that one offensive lineman
07:46on this team
07:47makes the Pro Bowl
07:47this year,
07:49Cosme is the most likely guy.
07:50The second most likely guy,
07:52and it's not close,
07:53is Josh Connerly.
07:54He has that type of
07:56physical
07:57tool bag of gifts
07:59and attributes.
08:00It just hasn't been
08:01connected yet.
08:02He hasn't put it all together.
08:04So there's a huge variance
08:05with him
08:06in terms of floor
08:07and ceiling.
08:08But I just feel like
08:09if they're healthy,
08:10and maybe this doesn't matter,
08:11because maybe the equivalent
08:12is I'm asking the question,
08:14if the Nats
08:15don't have any injuries
08:16to their rotation
08:17and these are the five guys
08:18all year,
08:18don't you feel okay?
08:20And you're like,
08:21yeah, that's okay, I guess.
08:22But that never happens.
08:23That never happens.
08:24And maybe that's the point.
08:25Who cares if these five guys
08:27together are okay
08:28when you don't have depth
08:30behind these players?
08:31So we need to worry more
08:32about the second level of this.
08:35At left tackle,
08:36I actually think they've
08:36got a good plan
08:37with DJ Humphries.
08:39Haven't seen a lot of him,
08:40but he's played a ton
08:41in the league.
08:41That's a pro.
08:42No problem.
08:42Been to a pro bowl.
08:43At left guard,
08:45what would they do?
08:46They would either
08:48move Coleman over,
08:49maybe,
08:49if it was a long-term injury,
08:51and move Humphries
08:52into the lineup,
08:52possibly.
08:54Or,
08:55what could they do
08:56at left guard?
08:56The undrafted free agent?
08:58I mean,
08:58they're not going to play.
08:59Togi Eye?
09:00I don't think so.
09:00They would do that, right?
09:02Would they do Wiley?
09:03Would it be Goulbin?
09:04Because that's what he was doing
09:05until they had to move
09:05him to backup center.
09:06Just my opinion,
09:07I didn't think Goulbin
09:08looked like he could play guard.
09:09Okay.
09:09Yeah, anyway.
09:10I mean, he struggled there.
09:11I think you've got to go
09:12probably Wiley
09:13as your backup guard
09:14for now.
09:16Wiley would definitely
09:17be the backup right guard,
09:18and I don't know
09:19if Humphries plays
09:20right tackle
09:21at a high level or not.
09:22Wiley could also be
09:23their backup right tackle.
09:24Wiley's done that, yeah.
09:25So, Wiley becomes important.
09:27Yes, he does.
09:29It's not like they're
09:30broken anywhere but center
09:31with an injury,
09:32but it's a big drop-off
09:33pretty clearly,
09:34especially at left guard,
09:35maybe,
09:36if Wiley,
09:36who they like more
09:37on the right than the left.
09:38And they've still got
09:38Trent Scott on the
09:40practice squad,
09:41so he would come back up
09:43to maybe be the right tackle
09:44if he needed it.
09:45I mean, they just cut him,
09:46so that tells you how they feel.
09:47Although they cut Julian Good-Jones
09:49and said he's still competing
09:50for a spot,
09:51a starting spot
09:52or whatever they said
09:53about that.
09:54But, yeah,
09:55I don't know.
09:56I just,
09:56I think the one position
09:57where if they have an injury,
09:58they're in massive trouble
10:00is center.
10:01Otherwise,
10:01I think you go from being
10:04pedestrian to below average.
10:05And you can still coach
10:06around some of that.
10:08But the problem is
10:09when you start getting
10:09two spots,
10:10you've got to coach around
10:11or three spots.
10:12And that's,
10:12yeah.
10:13If Connelly's not playing well,
10:14you have an injury
10:15at center,
10:17that starts to become
10:18a lot more of a problem,
10:19especially in a division.
10:21Eagles,
10:21D-tackles,
10:22Quinnen Williams for Dallas.
10:24The Giants luckily
10:25don't have a great
10:25defensive line.
10:26Wait,
10:26they might have
10:27the deepest defensive line
10:28in the league.
10:29they do.
10:30That's why the O-line
10:32in the situation
10:32it's in,
10:33in the division you play in
10:34with those opponents,
10:35it's just curious
10:36that you didn't throw
10:37a lot more resources
10:37at this thing throughout.
10:39Because they might say,
10:39well, we did.
10:40Look,
10:40we signed Tunsell,
10:42we traded for him
10:42and signed him,
10:43we drafted someone
10:43in the first round.
10:44And I guess the comeback
10:46to that comeback is
10:47the Tunsell thing
10:48is nobody's fault.
10:49That's terrible luck.
10:50You may not have
10:51drafted the right guy.
10:52Again,
10:52I like Connerly.
10:53I see it.
10:54I see the,
10:56you know,
10:56the thing that would entice
10:58a scout or GM to go,
11:00that guy's going
11:01to be really good.
11:02Someone that's,
11:02that is that agile
11:03and that quick.
11:04You go,
11:05yep,
11:05that size,
11:06we'll figure it out.
11:06And it may take longer
11:07to figure out,
11:08but you don't really
11:08have time right now.
11:09He's sort of thrust
11:10in the limelight.
11:11So if there,
11:11if there are more questions
11:12than answers,
11:13you're left with
11:14whether you're 21st
11:16or 30th,
11:16we looked at those
11:17other quarterbacks
11:17in that 2024 group,
11:19the worst offensive line.
11:21Again,
11:21these are,
11:21these are rankings.
11:22So what do they really mean?
11:23You've done a good job
11:23pointing out that it may not
11:24mean everything,
11:24but New England is 14th.
11:26Those other teams
11:27are top three,
11:28Chicago and Denver.
11:29There's no way
11:30you would say
11:30Washington's O-line
11:31is better than
11:32Denver's,
11:33Chicago's.
11:33We could have a fun debate
11:34about New England,
11:35maybe if you're optimistic
11:36about one,
11:37pessimistic about the other.
11:38But if you're in that
11:40range towards the back
11:40of the league,
11:41it's an issue for folks,
11:42I think.
11:43And I get it.
11:44And this would be
11:45somewhat acceptable
11:47or normal
11:48if you'd already
11:49paid Jaden Daniels
11:50all the money.
11:51If he was making
11:53$70 million a year
11:54on his second contract,
11:56you're going,
11:57hey man,
11:58sorry,
11:58but we can't pay
11:59a bunch of dudes
11:59on the line
12:00because you're taking up
12:01all the money
12:02that we want to pay
12:03for that part of the field,
12:04so to speak.
12:06That happens in places.
12:07You've seen it with
12:07Josh Allen and some
12:08other guys occasionally.
12:10But they're not there yet.
12:11You're not paying him yet.
12:12So that's why
12:12it's that much more odd.
12:15But I'm not worried
12:16about Connerly.
12:17You mentioned the draft pick
12:18and the big picture
12:19thinking of if he's
12:20the right guy.
12:21I'm not there.
12:21It's way too early
12:22for me to get there.
12:23Halfway through the season
12:24maybe if he's still struggling
12:25we could have a conversation
12:26like that.
12:28I still,
12:28I'm looking for like
12:29those traits
12:30and he's got them all.
12:30Yes, he does.
12:31So now I see a guy
12:32that should have got drafted
12:33in the first round
12:33who's just way too inconsistent
12:35in the matter of
12:37how consistent he gets
12:38and how often he plays
12:39at a high level
12:39is now going to determine
12:40kind of his fate.
12:42But same way we talk
12:44about quarterbacks.
12:45When I watched him last year,
12:46my wonder when you're
12:48a first round tackle is
12:49does this make sense?
12:50And it totally makes sense.
12:52I just wonder like,
12:53okay,
12:53why doesn't he turn in
12:56or to use a Dan Quinn
12:57phrase here, Danny,
12:58why doesn't he throw
13:00a better performance
13:01more consistently overall?
13:03Just seems like he
13:04struggles with size.
13:05Was it in Moneyball
13:06where Billy Beans character
13:08or Brad Pitt's character
13:09said he was a good hitter
13:10why didn't he hit good?
13:12It sort of reminds you
13:13of that.
13:13Like, again,
13:14I'm with you.
13:15I see it.
13:16I see the frame.
13:16I see the attributes
13:17and I go,
13:17yes,
13:18it's worth doing.
13:19But it may not be
13:20happening yet.
13:21That was your
13:21Cliff Kingsbury draft pick.
13:23Remember,
13:23he wrote on the note.
13:24Yeah.
13:25Gave it to Peters.
13:26Gotta get me Josh Conner.
13:28I wonder what he'd say
13:28about it now.
13:29Tough to reach
13:30because he's not here.
13:30He is no longer
13:32in the building.
13:33Grant and Danny
13:34on the family.