Commanders' rookie is facing a 'gauntlet,' and his coach is proud

In his 137 career snaps thus far, Washington Commanders’ rookie offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. has been through some of the NFL’s toughest matchups.

From starting off against a New York Giants pass rush featuring players like Brian Burns and first-round pick Abdul Carter to the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 with Micah Parsons on the squad, the Commanders’ rookie has had an expectedly up-and-down debut couple of weeks.

In Week 3, the competition doesn’t get any easier as Washington brings in the Las Vegas Raiders and electric pass rusher Maxx Crosby.

A Trial by Fire

It’s an introduction to the NFL that can only be best described as trial by fire, leaving offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to admit, “he's definitely been thrown into the fire. There's no doubt when you talk about the Giants’ front, [Green Bay Packers DE] Micah [Parsons] is as dominant as any player I've seen since I've been in the league. And then you get Mad Maxx [Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby] this week, he's got his hands full.”

Hopefully, he doesn’t have his hands too full after being flagged twice so far this season for holding, but honestly, who can blame him?

Despite the tough matchups, Conerly is also finding room to get better himself, says Kingsbury. “He's progressing as a rookie should, learning along the way on the job, training. And I've been really proud of just the way he’s battled.”

Conerly earned a lot of confidence throughout training camp and into the preseason by showing the ability to grow under the pressure, leaving room to believe he’ll do so as well during the season.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98). | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iron Sharpens Iron

If iron truly sharpens iron, as they say, then facing the “heart and soul” of the Raiders, as quarterback Marcus Mariota describes Crosby, is bound to give Conerly an edge, even if most of the growth comes after the fact. “He's going to give it everything he's got every single play,” the quarterback added, requiring Conerly to do the same for all 60 minutes.

Of course, nobody expects Conerly to handle Crosby by himself, at least not for the duration of Sunday afternoon’s contest. A mixture of double teams and chip blockers are expected to be employed by Kingsbury to try and ensure that while his rookie learns, it doesn’t come at the expense of the team’s overall success.

A Veteran's Mentorship

Hoping to help accelerate his growth is veteran left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who has taken the young tackle under his wing since the two arrived at the Commanders this offseason.

“That's been awesome to see LT [Tunsil] really take him under his wing. They get out there early, work on pass sets, talk through things. I know he took him down there to Ashburn to work out with him. And that's not anything we asked him to do, that's just the type of person he is,” says Kingsbury.

“You can tell anytime they're together, they're talking football and he's sharing all the knowledge he has, which will only help Josh battle through this gauntlet of tough defenders he's gone against.”

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