Commanders Face 'Uphill Climb' as 'Worst to First' NFL Division Contender

While the Washington Commanders have made some solid moves this offseason there are still questions about whether or not they truly have a shot at unseating the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East Division.

At the beginning of 2022, the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles were two NFC East Division teams not a lot of people felt confident in projecting. 

Some felt the Commanders and Eagles would both struggle, and some felt they could both be really good.

In the end, neither finished with a losing record in arguably the most competitive division in the NFL, but only one went on to postseason play as the winners of the division. 

This year, Washington is hitching its wagon to second-year quarterback Sam Howell, and aiming for that top spot where Philadelphia currently sits.

"Washington is another club facing an uphill climb," says NFL.com. "Coming off an 8-8-1 campaign, Ron Rivera's squad is dotted with talented players. Receivers Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson are studs. The defensive line remains a force with Daron Payne re-signing and a motivated Chase Young playing out the final year of his rookie contract...One big question is whether all the parts can come together to form a winner. The other massive question mark is at quarterback, where Sam Howell is in line to start the season."

Quarterback is the most important position in football, and that's an assertion that not many will argue. 

So when an NFL team comes in with a second-year player who was a fifth-round pick there is some logical apprehension about such a move. 

But Howell wasn't always a fifth-round pick waiting to happen. 

If he would have left North Carolina for the NFL in 2021 he likely would have been a first-round pick and perhaps could have been the first pick overall. 

Instead, he celebrated as three of his weapons were selected in the first four rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft, and a fourth in the sixth. 

Then, he returned to the Tar Heels and had a predictably less productive campaign without those weapons, resulting in his stock plummeting 140 or so spots in 2022.

Did Howell forget how to play football at a top level? Or was he - like most quarterbacks - an unfortunate victim of a mass exodus in talent?

How you feel about that question will dictate how you view his chances of leading the Commanders to the top of the NFC East Division.

Washington has already answered it though, and that's why Howell is leading the charge against the Eagles and any other team that stands in its way.

Find David Harrison on the Locked On Commanders podcast or text him directly at (202) 760-2188.

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