The Washington Commanders enter the 2026 season with major roster upgrades on paper at most positions that desperately needed one during their miserable 5-12 campaign last fall. But there's one area where mistakes were made on general manager Adam Peters' part, leaving the team with what seems like a downgrade.
That would be the center position. Tyler Biadasz was inexplicably released, with Washington hoping it could reel in a big fish such as Tyler Linderbaum. That didn't happen, and now Nick Allegretti is set to start.
But let's not write the veteran off yet. The Commanders believe in Allegretti, and with training camp right around the corner, it's his time to return on investment.
Nick Allegretti can flip the script with a strong training camp showing ahead of make-or-break season
The Commanders are placing a lot of trust in Allegretti by giving him virtually uncontested control of the starting center position, unless sixth-round rookie Matt Gulbin emerges as a major surprise. The former Kansas City Chief has started for Washington before, back in 2024, but that was at left guard.
Center is a whole different animal, and it's a position Allegretti has never played in the NFL for an extended period of time. He filled in for Biadasz during the final two games of the 2025 season and clearly was impressive enough to earn the full-time role this time around.
There is very easily a world where this experiment goes horribly wrong, much like the Brandon Coleman experiment at left guard last season, and Allegretti reminds Commanders fans why he has been a rotational backup for the vast majority of his NFL career. If Gulbin is impressive enough, the Illinois product might find himself riding the bench sooner rather than later.
However, there is also room for optimism. Allegretti has embraced the opportunity and already has chemistry with quarterback Jayden Daniels, whom it will now be his duty to snap the ball to. Entering his eighth professional season, the 2019 seventh-round pick is ready to take on a greater leadership role that will ideally translate to his performance on the field as well.
Allegretti signed an extension with Washington this offseason, so the team is counting on him to be part of its immediate plans. He has everything to prove, but he also has more confidence from his coaching staff than he's perhaps ever had before in the NFL.
Entering training camp, the decision to settle on Allegretti as the starting center is considered by many fans to be Washington's biggest mistake of the 2026 offseason. It will be up to him to prove the doubters wrong.
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