4 perfect best-case scenarios for the Washington Commanders in 2024

Austin Ekeler ignites Commanders offense

There is always the possibility that former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, despite his credentials, drastically disoriented the offense with his lack of balance. What if the origin of this was his lack of belief in the backfield options at the play-caller's disposal?

After all, Antonio Gibson had serious fumbling issues during his time with the Commanders and left for the New England Patriots in free agency. Despite a notable leap forward as an NFL sophomore, Brian Robinson Jr. still has yet to crack the top 30 of rush yards per carry in a season. However, there is time for that to change if additional improvements arrive throughout the upcoming preparation period.

The arrival of Austin Ekeler could thrust the backfield wide open, changing the passing game along with it. The highly productive veteran free-agent signing from the Los Angeles Chargers is almost a what-could-have-been version of Gibson. He is just as good in the passing game as he is carrying the football. He's also one of the league's best at converting red-zone opportunities into touchdowns.

This will be a tremendous asset for the Commanders to call upon. Ekeler's experience, leadership, and ability to come up with the goods in key moments will be a godsend for Washington's new rookie signal-caller. Having a legitimate backfield tandem to take the pressure off will smooth the transition providing Kliff Kingsbury runs a more balanced scheme than Bieniemy seemed to desire.

If Kingsbury gives Ekeler free rein, this offense could take the division by storm. Especially if the Commanders take Jayden Daniels and his dynamism is translatable to the NFL.

Daniels is widely projected by most analysts to be the frontrunner at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He's also a significant dual-threat weapon that Kingsbury knows how to deploy successfully based on his work with Kyler Murray. Nothing is confirmed, but defenses would have a hard time trying to counteract the threat posed by Robinson, Ekeler, and the Heisman Trophy winner.