The Washington Commanders spent all offseason believing their offensive line would be a strength in 2026. It made sense considering the Commanders had one of the NFL’s premier left tackles, Laremy Tunsil, and last year’s first-round pick, Josh Conerly Jr., at the other tackle.
Sam Cosmi is fully healthy at right guard, with many believing he could be on his way to an All-Pro berth. At left guard, Washington entered training camp with Brandon Coleman and incumbent starter Chris Paul battling. The biggest question mark was at center. Did GM Adam Peters make a mistake by cutting Tyler Biadasz ahead of free agency? The Commanders say they feel great about Nick Allegretti at center, but he has very little NFL experience at the position.
Here we are, three weeks into training camp, and things have gone horribly wrong for Washington’s offensive line. Tunsil tore his triceps and will miss a significant portion of the upcoming season, if not all of it. Allegretti strained his calf on the first day of camp and hasn’t practiced since. He’s expected to return this week.
The Commanders moved Coleman to left tackle, meaning Chris Paul wins the left guard job — at least for now. Allegretti’s absence in practice has exposed Washington’s center depth.
These recent questions led Pro Football Focus to issue its latest offensive line rankings for all 32 NFL teams. Washington is dead last.
Before the injury to left tackle Laremy Tunsil, this was a group set to rank just inside the top 20, but the loss of Tunsil for a significant amount of time is a huge blow to the group. There will be an expectation of some improvement from Josh Conerly Jr., and his 59.9 PFF grade in 2025 was fine for a rookie, but this is a unit that could really struggle if Tunsil misses the full season.
PFF’s write-up is fair. This group was bound to drop without Tunsil. He’s a Hall-of-Fame talent. But last? Some forget that Coleman was solid at left tackle as a rookie two years ago. Sure, he's not Tunsil, but Coleman can hold the spot down. He recently spoke about his improvements, including taking better care of his body. He credits Tunsil, whom we worked out with for several weeks this offseason.
A lot of excitement surrounds Conerly’s growth, too. Questions remain about this group, and they are legitimate. Can Allegretti provide similar production to Biadasz? Can Coleman remain healthy? Has Paul improved as a run blocker?
We'll see. At the very least, expect Peters to be looking to add more help over the next couple of weeks before final cuts.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: NFL offensive line rankings not kind to Commanders