Skip to main content

New York Giants Week 15: Washington Commanders’ Offense

Let's check in and see what's new with the Washington Commanders offense.

Whenever an NFL coach or player is asked whether their upcoming game is a “must-win” or has a playoff-esque feel, notice how they typically respond with the sentiment that their biggest contest is always the next one. That couldn’t be more true for the New York Football Giants as they enter a pivotal primetime matchup with their playoff aspirations on the line.

Last Sunday, despite putting the dissatisfying tie with the Washington Commanders in their rearview, the Giants came out lifeless and unprepared against an elite Philadelphia Eagles team, who routed them out of MetLife Stadium in a good old-fashioned 48-22 defeat. The numbers were haunting on New York’s end, as the franchise allowed their quarterbacks to be sacked a season-high seven times while giving up six touchdowns and 235 yards of rushing offense.

Following arguably their worst performance of the 2022 season, the Giants’ character and poise will be tested as they travel down to Washington for a rematch with the Commanders (7-5-1) on Sunday Night Football. Two weeks removed from their 20-20 overtime stalemate in East Rutherford, the two NFC East rivals will clash again at FedEx Field in a contest that could ultimately dictate their postseason fates in a congested conference picture.

In that Week 14 matchup that earned the Giants their first draw since 1997, the Giants had a 20-13 advantage entering the fourth quarter, with their defense locking Washington up on four consecutive drives, including two of more than ten plays. 

A late breakaway touchdown by Jahan Dotson gave the Commanders life at the end of regulation, but neither side could punch one more score before the final overtime whistle to notch the NFL’s second tie this year.

Much of the discussions that occurred in the aftermath of the untraditional affair centered around the issue of conservatism from the Giants’ offense down the stretch. Daniel Jones had one of the sharpest games of his career, going 25/31 for 200 yards and a touchdown, yet New York only managed 62 yards of offense in the overtime period.

They encroached upon Washington territory twice, playing lax football on the other side until the final seconds before trusting Graham Gano to make a difficult 58-yard kick that fell a few yards short of the walk-off.

As a result of their ‘playing not to lose’ approach, the Giants will have to run it back against the Commanders’ rolling offense while pressure mounts higher for them to leave victorious and spare their falling playoff odds. That offense expects to be led again by quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who has been one of the surprising stars this season due to his leading Washington back from a miserable 2-4 start under Carson Wentz.

Behind his leadership, the Commanders rank 25th and 21st in total points and yards, respectively. However, those standings can be misleading regarding their elevated individual production in both phases of the offense, particularly the run game that has powered their success in recent weeks.

In the air with weapons like Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel, Washington ranks 16th in passing attempts and 23rd yards but has attacked the endzone more frequently, holding the 15th most passing touchdowns in the league. By land, with a duo of Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson Jr., the team ranks seventh in carries and 14th in rushing yards, but they do need to beef up a 27th-positioned scoring attack and average yards per rush.

When it all boils down, a major key to the Giants stealing the matchup will be slowing down the Commanders’ rushing output and forcing more pressure on the receiving core to produce in the trenches.

So long as Washington is piecing together long drives and converting with their ground weapons, it’ll be hard for the Giants’ defense to get off the field and allow the offense to keep the game within punching distance. That doesn’t even mention that Heinicke has a record of 6-6 when he throws at least 35 passes in a game, something he overcame in Week 13 when he had a season-high 41 total attempts.

A secondary concern for the team’s success is the advantage of the schedule leaning in Washington’s favor. While the Giants and Commanders are meeting for the second time in three weeks, the latter is coming off a bye week with extra rest and preparation time. That could spell trouble for the Giants as Washington studied their weaknesses two-fold while they had to brace for a mixed-in contest with Philadelphia.

Either way, there is so much on the table for both franchises and the broader NFC playoff picture as the regular season rounds the final corner. The Giants’ likely need to win at least two more games to punch their ticket into the tournament. What better opportunity to show the league they have life than on the primetime stage in a historic divisional battle?

Let’s now look deeper and recap the critical playmakers on the Washington Commanders’ offense and what to watch for on Sunday night.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) passes the ball against the New York Giants during the second half at MetLife Stadium.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) passes the ball against the New York Giants during the second half at MetLife Stadium.

Quarterback

At the start of the week, the Commanders made the expected decision regarding their starter for the most important stretch of the season, and it’s Taylor Heinicke who will get to keep the reins.

Despite returning from the injured reserve list in Week 13 before the first game against New York, seventh-year quarterback Carson Wentz did not return to his starting role for round one at MetLife Stadium. The former Eagles and Colts gunslinger suffered a thumb injury in Week 7, and the Commanders elected to rest him an extra contest while the 29-year-old backup continues his 5-1 charge as the starter.

Nearly putting the Giants on the heels of another tough divisional loss two weeks ago, Heinicke went 27 of 41 for 275 yards and two touchdowns which was his second-best outing of the season. His 2022 stat line reads 131 completions for 1,444 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions (tied 4th most in NFL), and now he will get another opportunity to put a nail in the Giants’ coffin on Sunday Night Football as the Commanders have chosen Wentz to remain as the backup.

A fifth-year undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion, Heinicke became a beloved face in the Washington organization when he came into the Commanders’ 2020 Wild Card contest in relief of the injured quarterback Alex Smith. Nearly putting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on upset alert, Heinicke flashed his talents for 26 completions for 306 yards and a touchdown, adding 46 yards and another score on the ground in one of the best “welcome to the NFL” performances in recent memory.

Since that life-changing night two seasons ago, Heinicke has not gone back to being a stranger on the depth charts, appearing in 23 games for Washington and bringing a successful 5-1-1 rebound this fall after Wentz’s disappointing 2-4 start. His career numbers are 500 completions (63.9%) for 5,330 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions, which makes the Commanders hopeful Heinicke can lead them from NFC doldrums to postseason contenders.

At 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, Heinicke is a much less imposing quarterback than his predecessor in Wentz. Yet, he makes up for his size and arm strength inequities with pro-level pocket patience, ball placement, and accuracy. Even against a pressure-heavy scheme that the Giants’ defense imposed on a quarterback, Heinicke displays above-average poise and will find ways to maneuver the pocket and deliver on-target throws as lasting hits swarm his direction.

When he doesn’t want to climb up the pocket to make a throw into the short or intermediate level, Heinicke has a great feel for pressure coming down the edge, and it triggers his athletic side-door escapability towards the boundaries. Using nifty footwork and small stature, he will elude the defender’s arm tackles and ball swipes and extend horizontally to the play-action offense.

Heinicke maintains his accuracy and passing lanes with his moving receivers by deploying great field vision and eye anticipation, throwing a timely pass across his body for extra power and distance into the play. He is good at leading his targets to the open spaces where he wants to throw a crisp ball, but he also is diligent enough to wait for the routes to develop downfield if he has time to do so.

Unlike Hurts last week, Heinicke isn’t as much of an RPO threat at quarterback, but he isn’t afraid to take off and thrash a defense along the outside to convert a first down or make a red zone score. In his five professional seasons, Heinicke has tallied 92 carries for 435 yards (4.7-yard average) and two touchdowns, with his 2022 total holding 23 rushes for 67 yards and one touchdown.

If he goes into keeper mode, Heinicke displays great ball protection, knows when to slide before taking a serious blow, and is afraid to accept contact if it stands in the way of a big play, especially at the goal line.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. (8) runs with the ball as New York Giants linebacker Jaylon Smith (54) defends during overtime at MetLife Stadium.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. (8) runs with the ball as New York Giants linebacker Jaylon Smith (54) defends during overtime at MetLife Stadium.

Running Backs

In the first meeting of the season, the Commanders continued to show their promise at the running back position, garnering a combined 165 yards on the ground, the second-largest amount allowed by New York in the past five games. 

Brian Robinson Jr., a rookie out of Alabama, led the charge with 21 carries for 96 yards (4.6 average) for his second-best performance in the same span. Tailing him was Antonio Gibson, who gave nine carries for 39 yards (4.3) in complementary work to Washington's offense.

Leading the Commanders’ depth chart as the team exits the bye for round two of this season series is now Robinson Jr, the team’s 2022 third-round pick and one of seven Crimson Tide players selected to the NFL ranks. The 23-year-old has accumulated 147 carries for 563 yards and two touchdowns with an average of 3.8 yards per rush, a nice rebound after a gunshot wound threatened his rookie campaign.

Whenever Robinson Jr. is on the field, he usually earns his reps as the Commanders’ physical, early-down running back. Standing at 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds, he is a complete unit with tireless feet and great power capable of wearing down defensive fronts in a hurry. Robinson doesn’t mind taking a heavy workload—as he was prone to in college—and will run with a discontented attitude through the interior on every play.

The Commanders love to feature Robinson Jr. on the inside zone rushes because of his ability to bulldoze weary defenders for intermediate early yardage. However, the justification goes beyond his physicality with a concern for his indecisive running beyond the tackles. The rookie lacks strong processing of the field at deeper levels and the flexible creativity needed to shift his body laterally along the line of scrimmage toward wider rushing lanes.

Although he doesn’t have the above-average elusiveness and footwork to thrash the outside zone, Robinson Jr. can make an impact through rare plays in the passing attack. The one rule for the Giants’ defense to remember is to prevent any momentum coming off swing passes from the backfield, as with good blockers and space, he can build up freight train speed and power to flank past defenders and earn chunks of yardage for big-time conversions.

Gibson, the Commanders’ 2020 third-round pick from Memphis, sits behind Robinson Jr. after being the team leader in rushing through the first 12 games. The 24-year-old has 139 carries for 515 yards and three touchdowns, including an average of 3.7 yards per rush, for his career's slowest start to a season. His overall resume in Washington spans 567 attempts for 2,347 yards and 21 touchdowns, with his best campaign coming last fall when he earned 1,037 yards and seven scores.

The third-year ball carrier hailing from Stockbridge, Georgia, juxtaposes Robinson Jr. by taking his snaps as the Commanders’ late down, short yardage weapon, and extra receiving back. For the latter, he tends to line up in the slot, running quick routes to the flat, wheel routes up the sideline, or short crossing routes in the interior. His receiving numbers are in their second-best year, posting 42 receptions for 326 yards and two scores.

From the backfield, Gibson runs with confidence and explosiveness, regardless if he’s attacking the interior gaps or extending the play outside. He shoots off his stance with a quality burst, decisively choosing his rushing lane based on the scheme and what the defense is giving him as the play develops. At 6’2” and 220 pounds, he runs into contact with a big frame, absorbing the hits and shedding tacklers for extra yardage.

When he does extend the rush to the perimeter, Gibson uses a quick gather and sharp cuts with his feet to push the football past the edge and up the hash marks. As soon as open space arrives, Gibson will unleash a feline sprint toward the endzone while deploying excellent field vision to maintain his breakaway play. He can do damage in various ways, and it will be imperative for the Giants to keep him contained if they want a chance to win on Sunday.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) runs with the ball past New York Giants safety Julian Love (20) during the second half at MetLife Stadium.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) runs with the ball past New York Giants safety Julian Love (20) during the second half at MetLife Stadium.

Wide Receivers

Following their recent meeting with the Giants, the Washington Commanders’ offense still boasts a fairly productive passing attack in the middle of the NFL in most important statistics. In 13 games thus far, the wide receiver corps has risen to 16th in attempts (444), 23rd in yards (2,692), and 15th in passing touchdowns with 19 scores. The trio of playmakers that will once again challenge Big Blue’s secondary is, you guessed it: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Jahan Dotson.

Leading the group is McLaurin, the fifth-year receiver out of Ohio State. Selected in the third round of the 2019 draft by Washington, the veteran player has quickly ascended to one of the best playmakers on their roster and receivers in the entire league. Dating back to his rookie season, McLaurin has collected 284 receptions for 4,035 yards and 19 touchdowns, including two 1,000-yard outings with at least 12.9 yards averaged on a single catch.

In 2022, McLaurin has collected 62 receptions for 945 yards (15.2 average) and three touchdowns, ranking ninth among receivers in the second category. Against the Giants two weeks ago, he had eight receptions on 12 targets for 105 yards and a touchdown, leading the roster with his third-best game of the season.

The 27-year-old receiver can’t be simplified to one area of the field nor limited to a select few routes on the overall tree. If forced to give a one-word review on the player, McLaurin is the Commanders' “everything” pass catcher holding a special ability to take over a ball game with his receiving talents.

Standing at 6’0” and 210 pounds, McLaurin has good size, insane speed, excellent route running, and competitive physicality at the top of his progressions. That combination of intangibles allows him to thrive both inside the slot and outside, where the Commanders will feature him anyway between the lone receiver and three-receiver sets. Expect him to run various routes, but Washington does love to showcase McLaurin as the speedy, vertical threat.

McLaurin has been one of the best at winning one-on-one matchups since his collegiate days in Columbus, Ohio. He executes a clean release and gets physical against the press coverage to the top of his routes. He deploys quick lateral steps and hand jabs to ward off pesky cornerbacks and then separates with crisp angles at the stem of his route to create distance between him and the defender.

Going back to his routes, McLaurin is uber-detailed regarding the particulars and polish of the play and his overall tree. He has a great feel for cornerbacks that are out of position and uses that to take a new angle on his route and get open for an uncovered catch. If he has to change fields to find his quarterback, McLaurin is more than willing to abandon his route and find spaces in scramble situations.

Second on the Commanders’ depth chart is Curtis Samuel, the fifth-year receiver and fellow Ohio State Buckeye. Samuel is a product of the Ron Rivera regime in Carolina, which selected him 40th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. He’s in his second season with Washington, during which he has amassed 54 receptions for 556 yards (10.3-yard average) and three touchdowns.

Last Sunday against New York, Samuel had six receptions on seven targets for 63 yards and an average of 10.5 yards per play, his second-highest outing in the last five weeks. The 2021 campaign started with him missing five games due to injuries and COVID-19, but he has since found ways to contribute to the passing and rushing attacks in his former head coach’s new system.

Like McLaurin, Samuel is another jack-of-all-trades receiver who can gain yardage and create scoring opportunities in several ways. He has some experience as an H-back in college. However, his lineup role has been centered around the slot and inside receiver positions. From there, he deploys crisp footwork, long strides, deep-range explosiveness, and creative fakes to test or throw off the best of opposing cornerbacks.

At 5’11” and 195 pounds, Samuel performs at his best when he’s given space to catch and turn upfield with the football. Yet, the 26-year-old has a gift for changing direction with his legs and creating space from press coverage to make a quality play on the field.

Shooting out of his stance, Samuel will enter a pattern of long strides for his initial progression with the press coverage defender. Nearing the top of his route, he can sometimes throw an exaggerated jab fake at the opposition to create separation before continuing vertically. On comeback routes, he will use stutter steps and a sudden stop in his break to push back the defender and open up a throwing window for intermediate yardage.

To top it all off, Samuel has the shifty explosiveness in his arsenal to revert the route break to a deep vertical attack that challenges all three levels of the field. If the catch is over the top of the coverage and he has open grass to develop the play, he will ramp his speed back into top gear and take the football on a torcher into the endzone.

Despite running back Antonio Gibson still beating him out in terms of total receiving production, the rookie Dotson rounds out the top contributors in the Commanders’ wide receiving barracks. Drafted 16th overall by Washington this past April, the Penn State product has put himself on the opposing team’s radars since the season opener with his limited but impactful 19 receptions for 233 yards (12.3-yard average) and five touchdowns.

Among his contributions to the recent tie with the Giants were five receptions on nine targets for 54 yards (10.8-yard average) and a touchdown, the first score since Week 4 and one that knotted up the game at 20-20 in the fourth quarter. Dotson’s role was limited to start of the season due to injuries, but he’s become someone Taylor Heinicke will look to a handful of times throughout a football game.

Dotson is another example of a speedy, athletic wideout with the ability to operate and be dangerous at all three phases of the field. His route running is incredibly smooth, and he knows how to integrate various acceleration levels and brakes to shake defenders and create space for open-catch opportunities.

Whether being pressed from the start or swarmed at the point of the catch, Dotson boasts pro-level confidence, competitiveness, and ball skills to extend himself into the air and hawk down big-time contested grabs. He tends to play in the slot receiver hole when Samuel or McLaurin isn’t there, but he can also take reps as the outside man due to his agility and vertical presence.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders tight end Logan Thomas (82) runs with the ball after a catch against the New York Giants during the first half at MetLife Stadium.

Dec 4, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders tight end Logan Thomas (82) runs with the ball after a catch against the New York Giants during the first half at MetLife Stadium.

Tight Ends

The Commanders didn’t receive much production from their tight ends department at East Rutherford two Sundays ago, but when they do, it still tends to come largely from sixth-year player Logan Thomas.

A former 2014 fourth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals and brief visitor with the Bills and Lions, Thomas is in his third season with the Commanders, who have taken the 31-year-old’s career from underused depth player to starting-caliber tight end threat.

He has accumulated 114 receptions for 1,076 yards and ten touchdowns through that span, averaging 9.7 yards per catch. His breakout year came in his 2020 debut when he earned 72 receptions for 670 yards and six touchdowns in his only healthy season with the Commanders.

Injuries have plagued the past two seasons for the Virginia Tech alum, which appeared amid hamstring and knee ailments in just six games last fall. In nine games during the 2022 season, he has 24 receptions 210 yards (8.8-yard average), and a touchdown, including the three catches for 20 yards he earned against the Giants in Week 13.

Whenever he faces the Giants—a total of four meetings since signing with Washington—Thomas tends to be featured a decent amount. Against Big Blue, he’s had at least three receptions in every game and has totaled 135 yards in the air. His best game came last September when Thomas saw five targets for 45 yards in Washington’s 30-29 victory.

Aside from the statistics, which don’t have him ranked this year among other active tight ends, Thomas has a load of intangibles to watch out for when he takes the field for the Commanders’ offense. At the baseline, he is a versatile tight end with outstanding size, stature, and strength to run good routes and make big-time plays at any level of the field. The Commanders will showcase him inside the line of scrimmage, but it’s not rare to see him take off from the slot or the outside receiver position.

No matter what part of the field he’s attacking from, Thomas has an imposing frame and likes to get physical with opposing cornerbacks coming off the snap. He has an extremely athletic release with loose strides and deploys fighters hands to shed aggressive press coverage and create space for an open throwing window.

If the Giants’ defense thinks they’ll contain him to just the short field, they’ll be easily deceived by Thomas’s ability to pass on the low ball and stretch the play to the intermediate or deep levels for big-time throws. Towards the red zone, he has a knack for doing this along the boundary and bringing down fadeaway catches along the corner of the endzone for game-changing touchdowns.

For a more extensive route tree, the Commanders like to run Thomas through many short slants over the middle in 11-man personnel or corner posts toward the sidelines in three-receiver sets. Get down towards the end zone, and Thomas will flash some of his decent speed on a crossing route looking to cash in points or line up outside. His vertical prowess should always be watched for, especially by a Giants team that struggles deep and in the back of the endzone, where Thomas can make contested plays.

Along with Thomas at the position, the Commanders will mix in second-year player John Bates and rookie Cole Turner for select passing snaps. The two seem to get involved more in blocking and jumbo sets, as Bates just surpassed ten receptions and 100 yards receiving in Week 12, and Turner (2 catches for 23 yards) has just started earning production in the aftermath of fellow rookie Armani Roger’s IR designation.

Offensive Line

Expect little to nothing to change with the Washington Commanders’ offensive line, which still is one of the oldest and most experienced units in the entire league entering Sunday’s contest.

Altogether, the Commanders’ starting blockers feature five veterans with a combined professional experience of 42 years, including three players with nearly a decade at the NFL level. Their one weakness may be a lack of experience with the organization, as all five players have less than three seasons with Washington. Still, the comfortability is easily fixed by three linemen holding ties to head coach Ron Rivera from his Carolina days.

Despite losing two veteran pieces in the offseason, including Pro-Bowl right guard Brandon Scherff, the Commanders’ offensive line has remained one of the best at protecting the backfield. According to ESPN Analytics, Washington ranks 14th in run block win rate (72%) and has one player—Cornelius Lucas—ranked in the top 10 for offensive tackles in that area. At the start of 2022, they were ranked 15th in the NFL by Pro Football Focus, which has fluctuated since.

Holding down the left edge of the offensive line is left tackle Charles Leno Jr., a 31-year-old out of Boise State. A ninth-year veteran, Leno Jr. was drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 draft by the Chicago Bears, where he spent seven seasons as one of their stalwarts before joining Washington in 2020.

One of the best parts about Leno Jr. is the consistency he brings to the left tackle position—playing all 918 snaps this season at that spot—but he has versatility on the right side. He’s also been a very efficient pass blocker at 6’3” and 302 pounds, as the nine-year pro holds a 96.6% rating over that span of his career.

This season, seeing 148 more passing snaps than he has rushing, Leno Jr. has blocked with a 96.8% efficiency rating and has only allowed two penalties to be tacked onto his resume, per PFF. His 85.3 pass-blocking grade is the second-best mark of his career that is only bested by his number last year of 87.3. Protecting the ball carrier is a different story, with a 58.8 mark.

If there’s a caveat with Leno Jr.’s game, it’s that his age might make him somewhat susceptible to giving up pressures against younger, speedy defensive rushers. This year, he has allowed five sacks, six hits, and 27 pressures in the backfield, the middle category ranking him eighth among fellow offensive tackles.

After Leno Jr., the left guard position is held by Andrew Norwell out of Ohio State. A 31-year-old player in his ninth season, Norwell was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers in 2014, where he spent four seasons with Ron Rivera before moving to Jacksonville for the next four. This is his first season in Washington, reunited with his first head coach as a starter on the front lines.

Norwell has played the fourth-highest snaps among left guards (915) but also adds solid consistency to the spot. While being a pretty strong blocker during his stints in Carolina and Jacksonville, his numbers have faded since joining the Commanders, posting career-low scores of 58.7, 58.0, and 60.4 in all of PFF’s blocking metrics.

On the season, Norwell has succumbed four sacks, three hits, 18 hurries, and 25 pressures, the first and last numbers ranking him in the top-10 among fellow guards. The pressure element also stands tall, ranking 7th in the NFL for active players. The good news for Washington is those numbers have been stifled in recent weeks, perhaps due to Norwell getting acclimated to his coach’s system.

In the middle, seventh-year player Tyler Larsen snaps the football at center. Like Norwell, Larsen is another product of the Carolina undrafted free agent community, signing with the team back in 2016 out of Utah State and playing five seasons there. He signed with Washington one year prior and has earned the starters role in his second campaign.

Larsen has played 534 total snaps this season, ranking him 29th among centers in that category. His protection has been average, with the better side of his game coming in run protection, where he sits on a 63.4 overall grade and 95.4% efficiency rating. It’s fair to say Larsen has had at least some role to play in the recent success of the Commanders’ rushing attack behind Gibson and Robinson Jr.

However, he is much weaker in the pass-protecting realm, something to watch for against the Giants pressure heavy defense. Larsen has only allowed one sack in 2022, but the quarterback has taken some beatings on his watch with five hits, ten hurries, and 16 pressures allowed.

There could be some change at the right guard position held by Trai Turner, the 29-year-old lineman out of LSU. A 2014 third-round pick by the Carolina Panthers. Turner injured his ankle in Week 12 and could not go for the game against New York in Week 13. His status is in question again for Sunday, but it’s fair to assume he will go since Washington has other injuries to worry about down the depth chart at right guard.

In 526 total snaps this season, Turner thrived more in his 305 passing snaps than 221 in the ground-blocking game. He’s allowed just two sacks, four hits, and two penalties, ranking him in the middle of the group of active guards in the league. Turner also holds one of the lower-pressure totals on the front line, giving up 14 through 12 games.

Finally, eighth-year pro-Cornelius Lucas rounds off the offensive line at right tackle. A 6’8”, 327-pound player from Kansas State, Lucas is the third undrafted free agent on the starting front, but he’s also the biggest journeyman of the bunch. The Detroit Lions picked him up in 2014, where he spent two seasons before taking the next three to the Rams, Saints, and Bears and signing with Washington in 2020.

Lucas excels more in run protection, giving the Commanders a weapon to deploy in outside rushing schemes. He has a 94.0% efficiency rating in 240 run block snaps and has been penalized twice over that span. Pass blocking is still a hurdle he has to climb over, posting four sacks, seven hits, and 28 pressures as the starting left tackle.


 

Join the Giants Country Community