The most distressing thing about the Washington Commanders’ regression last year was not the record. It was the way much of the young core built by Adam Peters in his brief time as general manager seemed to plummet.
Getting these players back on track may be the single greatest challenge Dan Quinn and his coaches face in 2026.
One of those young players is in a slightly different situation from the rest. The players Peters drafted in 2024 can be split into two broad categories. There are the high-end prospects who immediately stepped into starting roles — Jayden Daniels and Mike Sainristil. There are many others who were trapped behind veterans and did not really get much of a chance as rookies. That covers almost everyone else.
Except for Brandon Coleman.
Brandon Coleman quickly became a Commanders' afterthought in his second season
Coleman was a prototype for Peters' early success story. Going into the draft, everyone knew the Commanders needed help on the offensive line. They had to spend their first round pick — No. 2 overall — on a franchise quarterback. By the time their pick came up in the second round, eight offensive tackles had been drafted.
Peters exhibited great patience. He did not reach for a tackle in the second. He followed his board. Whether Johnny Newton and Ben Sinnott ever reach their expected potential is a separate question. The point is, Washington's front-office leader did not panic.
Four more tackles were drafted in the second round before Peters chose Coleman at the top of the third — No. 67 overall. For much of his rookie year, it looked as if Peters had gotten a steal.
Coleman shared snaps at left tackle early on with veteran Cornelius Lucas. By midseason, he was the starting blindside enforcer on an ascending team. With the exception of a couple of top-of-the-draft blue chippers, the TCU product was as good as any edge threat drafted that season.
Things took a complete turn in Year 2. While many of those rookies drafted ahead of him solidified their positions — players like Patrick Paul in Miami and Roger Rosengarten in Baltimore — Coleman essentially vanished.
Of all the young Commanders, Coleman was the one most negatively impacted by Peters’ shift toward a win-now mindset. Even if there’s no question that veteran Laremy Tunsil represented a significant upgrade.
Tunsil is among the league’s best. Trading for the five-time Pro Bowler and then drafting right tackle Josh Conerly in the first round gave Washington better tackles in 2025.
But the general strategy to get older was a massive flop. And it leaves Washington with many questions.
Re-signing Zach Ertz and Bobby Wagner may well have slowed the development of Sinnott and Jordan Magee. Trading for Deebo Samuel Sr. may have put a roadblock in front of Luke McCaffrey. But does any of that really matter? None of those players had shown they deserved a major role in their rookie season.
Coleman did. Those other rookies may have been stalled, but he was actually pushed back.
Washington tried him at left guard for a couple of games, then rather abruptly abandoned that plan. It was odd to watch. If he was indeed so helpless on the interior that he needed to be benched after just two games, questions must be asked about why Kliff Kingsbury and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson didn’t recognize that in advance.
Both coaches were let go by Quinn almost immediately after the campaign concluded. That says a lot.
It also raises questions about why the Commanders have seemed utterly incapable of developing their own homegrown offensive line talent through multiple coaching staffs. With the exception of Sam Cosmi, Washington has not turned a single draft pick into a quality offensive lineman over the past decade.
Check out the line that just won the Super Bowl. Four draft picks in as many years and one undrafted free agent. All five were originally acquired and developed by the Seattle Seahawks.
Perhaps Conerly will prove to be a success story. He seems to be on a good track. But so did Coleman last year.
Maybe Coleman just needs a little time to grow into a quality guard. Or maybe he’ll settle in as a quality swing tackle. In the end, it may not matter where he plays. But the Commanders can’t afford to squander a third-round pick who, less than a year ago, seemed to be a cornerstone of their younger, more talented roster.