Josh Conerly Jr.
started all 17 games for the Washington Commanders
as a rookie and has the distinction of being the only Commanders offensive starter to play every snap in 2025. While he played every snap, it wasn't the smoothest rookie season by any means. Pro Football Focus
gave him a 59.9 overall grade, including 57.8 in pass blocking and 63.5 in run blocking. He also allowed 43 pressures and eight sacks while being called for 13 penalties. Those aren't numbers you want to see from a first-round pick the franchise is counting heavily on. Conerly did start to improve toward the middle to end of the year. Even so, he was ranked fourth in our Commanders Training Camp Pressure Index
back at the end of July.
In an effort to get stronger this offseason, Conerly went back to his alma mater, Oregon, to work with strength coaches. Along the way, he hired a personal chef and started eating healthier after finishing his rookie season at 318 pounds, wanting to replace body fat with muscle. Later in the summer, he trained with fellow Commanders linemen Laremy Tunsil and Brandon Coleman in Alabama
. Conerly spent a good portion of that time working on his stance and overall comfort at the line. "Sitting on a bull rush is a little bit easier," Conerly said after OTAs. "Just finding ways to make it as comfortable as possible. So, once I stepped out there, I just felt a lot more confident, and I'm just able to be free," he said. "I feel a lot more comfortable in my position... I feel like I'm getting better and better."
Three games into his second year, the improvement is obvious. His PFF grades are way up: a 71.2 overall grade, including 72.6 in pass blocking and 73.3 in run blocking over 210 offensive snaps. In 124 pass-blocking snaps, Conerly has allowed seven pressures, but no sacks or quarterback hits. He has been called for three penalties.
Seattle wasn't his best game
; his PFF grades put him at 60.9 overall, with 62.2 pass blocking (38 pass-blocking snaps) and 67.3 run blocking; he gave up two pressures, no sacks, and no hits on the quarterback.
With Washington having already faced instability across the offensive line
, now is the best time for Conerly to step up, and he has done just that. With Tunsil going down in camp with a triceps injury
and Sam Cosmi now ruled out for Week 4
, the team is leaning on Conerly even harder. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn specifically chose not to move Conerly to left tackle, the spot he played in college, after Tunsil went down, saying, "We liked the progression where Josh is."
While three games don't make a year or fix an issue, the physical changes, offseason work, and cold, hard PFF-coded stats all point in the same direction. Washington drafted him to be a long-term anchor on the right side they can depend on, and through three weeks, that development is showing. Last season, Conerly was a rookie the Commanders had to live with while he was learning. So far this year, he's starting to look like a player they can lean on when all the chips are pushed in.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/commanders/onsi as Commanders Might Have Found Their Next O-Line Anchor .
