Creativity & 'Rave Reviews' Led to Commanders' Kliff Kingsbury Hiring O-Line Coach Bobby Johnson
The improvement of the Washington Commanders' offensive line will go a long way toward deciding if the offense can take the next step in 2024 and potentially set up a rookie quarterback for success.
The man tasked with improving the trenches on the offensive side of the ball is offensive line coach Bobby Johnson. Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury noted how he had been impressed with Johnson's work as the Buffalo Bills (2019-2021) and New York Giants (2022-2023) offensive line coach, which included quarterbacks John Allen and Daniel Jones' ability to run the ball.
Bobby Johnson speaks to reporters on day two of mandatory minicamp at the New York Giants training center on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in East Rutherford.
© Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
"He has been at a lot of great places. Worked with some great offenses there in Buffalo with Josh Allen and some of the creativity and the run game stuff they were doing and tempo and some different things that I really liked. And then go to the Giants [and in the] very first year make the playoffs with Daniel Jones. From afar, I liked how he handled himself, some of the stuff he did in the run game and then had got rave reviews from people I really trust in the profession, and so did Dan. So, it worked out.”
The Commanders allowed the second-most sacks last season with 65 and only trailed the Giants, who allowed 85. While the Giants' lack of success is a cause for concern, their offensive line was ravaged by injuries, which included left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was a second-team All-Pro in 2022, missing seven games last season. Rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito's lack of pocket presence was also instrumental in him getting sacked 37 times across the nine games he played in.
The Giants' offensive line struggles led to Johnson being fired after the 2023 season. One bright spot from his first season with the Giants was their ability to run the ball, as they were fourth in rushing yards per game (148.2).
Johnson's ability to improve the offensive line will be instrumental in the Commanders' success on offense. If he can grow from his experience with the Giants, that'll go a long way toward setting Kingsbury and the rest of the offense up for success next season.
