7 guidelines the Commanders should adopt for offensive line improvements in 2023

DON’T draft college tackles who cannot transition

Don’t get me wrong. There have been plenty of examples of players who successfully transitioned from tackle to guard in the pros. But the Washington Commanders seem to consider this SOP.

From Brandon Scherff to Saahdiq Charles to Sam Cosmi, Washington loves drafting tackles and then moving them inside. Even the aforementioned Ereck Flowers had to switch, though he was drafted by the New York Giants.

I am concerned that this year’s fourth-round pick Braeden Daniels will suffer a similar fate. Were this being done intentionally, there may be some logic to it. But this is not being done intentionally – at least not most of the time.

This is being done because for some reason, Washington has utterly failed to properly evaluate the skill sets of the college tackles it has scouted. That’s a very big DON’T.

DO foster good relationships with your best Commanders players

It has been reported that Jason Kelce was considering retiring during each of the last two off-seasons. He keeps re-upping with the Philadelphia Eagles because he appears to really enjoy being part of their team.

The same seems to apply to their all-world right tackle Lane Johnson, who has now signed three distinct contract extensions with the team. That has been crucial in building the best offensive line in football as they have weathered injuries and broken in several younger players.

And, as you can probably guess, the corollary to this is …