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Oregon Ducks tackle Josh Conerly Jr. is selected as the No. 29 pick by the Washington Commanders. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

First Commanders depth chart has a huge surprise at starting RT

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By David Harrison | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Just like every initial 53-man roster has its surprises, so too does the first official depth chart of every new season. For the Washington Commanders, two rookies headed up the list of surprises in, well, surprising ways.

They were surprises wrapped in surprises because, quite frankly, we should expect a Commanders’ seventh-round pick to be buried on the depth chart while a first-round pick should be at the top, but that’s not what we thought would happen.

Instead, most of us thought first-round offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. would start the season backing up Andrew Wylie at right tackle, and that seventh-round running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt would be just about anywhere but fourth on the depth chart in his group. When it was revealed on Tuesday, however, we got different results.

The Rookie Report

In the first depth chart of the season for the Commanders, Conerly is listed as the starting right tackle, while Andrew Wylie is listed as an ‘OR’ candidate with Nick Allegretti to be the starting right guard.

Now, what we feel may be in store is still a rotation between Wylie and Conerly at right tackle while Allegretti starts at guard, but we’ll get more clarification on that, hopefully, on Wednesday when we speak to head coach Dan Quinn for the first time this week.

Meanwhile, Croskey-Merritt starts the season as the team’s fourth running back behind Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols, and Chris Rodriguez Jr., respectively.

The presumption here for a while now has been that all four backs will be involved in a fantasy-frustrating rotation with Ekeler getting the most consistent workload of them all.

Regardless of who emerges from the other three, Ekeler is going to be part of the plan, and that’s about all we have cemented at this point.

Special Teams Clues

With only five receivers on the active roster, it's no surprise that second-year player Luke McCaffrey is not only Terry McLaurin’s listed backup but also Noah Brown’s. Meanwhile, rookie Jaylin Lane is filed behind Deebo Samuel Sr. and is the team’s primary punt returner, a position McCaffrey is also No. 2 in.

Samuel is also the team’s primary kick returner, with McCaffrey listed second there as well. Perhaps we should call him ‘Deuce’ McCaffrey, so it would appear that both receivers might be back to return kicks. If so, that’s just further evidence that Ekeler’s share of running back reps will indeed be significant.

The Rest of the Starters

Outside of those areas, there aren’t many surprises here. Jayden Daniels is your starting quarterback, Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw are the primary interior defensive linemen, while Deatrich Wise Jr. and Dorance Armstrong set the edge. Von Miller is the team’s only listed outside linebacker, which answers the question about how they would list him without making him a backup, because he’s not going to be an every-down player but a ‘three-point assassin’ as he put it.

Rookie cornerback Trey Amos is the only other starting first-year player, joining Mike Sainristil and Marshon Lattimore in the main lineup.

The surprises in this year’s initial depth chart aren’t seismic, even if they are a little surprising. They’ve certainly opened up further questions, of which we’ll get to ask Quinn in the first press conference of the new regular season, ahead of the first practice, on Wednesday afternoon.