Commanders Gain 'Added Bonus' With NFL Draft Selection of Utah OL Braeden Daniels
The Washington Commanders didn't just get younger on the offensive line by selecting Utah offensive lineman Braeden Daniels in the NFL Draft, they got more versatile.
That versatility is something the Commanders noticed and just one of the reasons the team decided to add him to their roster.
"Positional flexibility is always gonna be key along the offensive line," senior director of player personnel Eric Stokes said. "So, as it pertains to Daniels, the fact that he's been a left tackle, and we feel like that he also has the flexibility of moving to guard that's just an added bonus in terms of what we're trying to do in terms of establishing depth along the offensive line and really rebuilding that front and getting some youth back into that offensive line even more importantly. So, that's what really has us excited about him."
Washington's efforts to get younger and establish depth on the offensive line aren't without inspiration.
In 2022 left tackle Charles Leno Jr. played every offensive snap for the Commanders while guard Andrew Norwell joined him as one of two linemen that played over 1,100 snaps.
No other offensive lineman played more than 770 offensive snaps last season while several were forced to play multiple positions along the line to make up for the injuries that occurred in the unit.
Some of those can be attributed to the final game of the year being used as a growing opportunity for younger players like guard Chris Paul, but even without that consideration it was clear Washington needed to stabilize its frontline unit.
The team believes it's done just that this offseason, and with the addition of veteran lineman Andrew Wylie, they'll at least be able to provide Sam Cosmi with a consistent position listing after he spent much of last season bouncing between right tackle and guard.
Of course, that stability will once again rely on the health of other Commanders linemen around him to stay consistent.
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