Veteran core powers Commanders' 2025 hopes despite youthful buzz

The Washington Commanders are looking to stun again, even as many experts expecting the team to take a step back, at least in the win column, following an impressive 12-win campaign in 2024.

Even though quarterback Jayden Daniels is already generating low-decibel MVP buzz as the Commanders’ leader in his sophomore season, the team seems to be teetering on the edge of getting full buy-in from the national media and being considered a flash in the pan candidate.

With all of the excitement and sudden turnaround credited in large part to such a young quarterback, a lot of non-Washington fans might be surprised to learn how many older veterans are helping fuel the hype train. But when ESPN’s Bill Barnwell sat down to do superlatives for each NFC squad this season, that is exactly where he zeroed in.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates with linebacker Bobby Wagner (54). | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

“Most likely to eat an early dinner and go to sleep at a sensible time” is the superlative Barnwell selected for the Commanders in his column.

“When a team breaks through as quickly and dramatically as the Commanders did last season, it's natural to think of them as a young squad on the rise,” Barnwell began in his synopsis of why he chose this superlative for this Washington squad. “The Ron Rivera regime didn't deliver many successful draft picks to general manager Adam Peters, who took over in 2024, so the former 49ers executive filled in the many gaps on the roster with free agent additions. Tight end Zach Ertz, linebacker Bobby Wagner, offensive lineman Andrew Wylie, and pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. all held their own in propelling Washington to an unexpected playoff berth.

“Those four all have something in common: They're over 30.”

Because of those additions to the roster last season, the Commanders were in fact the seventh-oldest team when looking at players who earned snaps on offense and defense, Barnwell continued.

And this year isn’t exactly a turn toward the fountain of youth. With only five picks in the NFL Draft, Washington didn’t bring in a ton of rookie blood to the roster and instead looked to older veterans like receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, cornerback Jonathan Jones, and safety Will Harris–all of whom are expected to replace players in the 2024 lineup who are significantly younger.

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