The Washington Commanders will have one of the NFL’s most athletic quarterbacks in 2024. Jayden Daniels has drawn comparisons to Lamar Jackson primarily because of his running ability, although he is a more advanced passer than Jackson when he entered the NFL in 2018.
But how athletic is the rest of Washington’s roster?
Kent Lee Platte, the creator of the Relative Athletic Score metric that tests player athleticism, ranked the Commanders as having the 20th-most athletic roster in 2024.
Interestingly, Washington had the highest RAS from the 2024 NFL draft, with an average of 9.427. This was the first draft class for new general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn.
Regarding the 20th-ranked team RAS in 2024, the Commanders have an average RAS of 7.29.
20. Washington #Commanders
Avg #RAS 7.26The Commanders had a highly athletic draft class, but they're still ranked 20th for their roster. The last three classes have been around this area or higher, so might be a renewed focus on athleticism there.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) May 23, 2024
This tells us that Peters and Quinn are targeting elite athletes. Washington obviously wants good football players, but the Commanders have often been the slower team on the field each week in recent years. Yes, you prefer good football players, but ideally, you want good football players who are high-level athletes.
In recent years, Washington hasn’t had enough of either.
