UKHTTC Season Preview!

Here we go again, Commanders fans.

Most analysts are overlooking Washington heading into the 2026 season. With standout left tackle Laremy Tunsil on IR and an offensive line that inspires little confidence, could it be a difficult year for the burgundy and gold?

UKHTTC founder Christian Burt and regular contributor Tony Wheat share their predictions.

Main reasons for a successful Commanders season

Tony: there are a lot of moving pieces for the Commanders in 2026, from new coordinators on both sides of the ball and a totally overhauled defence personnel wise, to questionable depth on the offensive line.

So, if the season is going to be a success it will mean one thing, then Jayden Daniels is healthy and returns to elite QB status. That’s a bit of a chalk answer, but without him, or if for any reason he doesn’t hit the heights of 2024, Washington have little chance of having a successful season.

An elite Daniels will automatically bring out the best in the supporting cast, elevating them and ensuring that they are moving the ball and scoring points, which has the added value of taking some pressure off the defence. This team goes as Jayden Daniels goes.

Christian: as a starter, I’d point to the 2024 season – Washington had naysayers then – but came within just one game of a spot in the Superbowl. This tells us that in-house, the Commanders have more faith than external to the building.

The DEF has been boosted especially at the Edge positions. Odafe Oweh — signed from the Los Angeles Chargers on a 4-year, $100 million deal, with $68m guaranteed - was the standout capture and the hope will be this is a firmly ascending player in the National Football League.

K'Lavon Chaisson — signed from the New England Patriots on a 1-year deal worth $12m. He had a breakout 7.5 sacks and 18 QB hits in 2025 and represents that good value available with a healthy cap. If Dorance Armstrong can also return healthy, that is an above average pass rush trio.

On the offensive side of the ball, Daniels has new receivers in veteran Stefon Diggs and the initial impression rookie is that Antonio Williams is a steal in the third round. When you throw in WR1 Terry McLaurin, fully healthy and contracted in burgundy & gold, that is no bad unit for David Blough to conjure up some magic.

What gives you pause for thought?

Tony: there’s a lot of new stuff, and how long is it going to take for everything to bed in?

With a new offensive and defensive scheme and 7 or 8 new defensive starters there’s a lot of justified excitement, but with virtually no preseason action and a seriously disrupted by injury joint practice, it is fair to assume that both sides of the ball may need some time to find their feet.

A murderous opening 3 game stretch isn’t going to allow for a gentle acclimation process, so let’s hope that the work put in through the spring and summer has them ready to hit the ground running. If they don’t and those opening games go the wrong way, it’s a tough road to recovery.

Christian: every NFL franchise will have some questions going into a season. The Commanders, however, have just too many to overcome them all.

Will the likes of Quan Martin (S), Ben Sinnott (TE) and Mikey Sainristil (CB) answer their critics and demonstrate they are fully-fledged NFL players to justify their second-round pick status? The Centre spot is a major concern with the name of Nick Allegretti not one that you would be praying to suit up on any given Sunday; but that is the position that Washington find themselves in.

Who doesn’t love Jeremy Reaves for example? But as a starting safety rather than special teams ace; jury is firmly out.

Who will be the Washington MVP in 2026?

Tony: I’m going to be captain obvious here, but it will be QB Jayden Daniels.

There has been a buzz throughout the summer about how well Daniels has taken to the more under centre-based offense of David Blough. The local beat reporters have been falling over themselves to say how good he has looked; how poised and accurate he has been and how he has mastered the huddling and longer play calls required in the new system.

Daniels will still be a threat with his legs, hopefully more on scrambles than designed QB runs, but his ability to extend plays while keeping his eyes downfield will be crucial to the success of the offense. The national media seems to have forgotten about him, with all the focus being on how Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are the two superstars of the 2024 draft, but Jayden Daniels is going to remind everyone who the real star of that class is in 2026.

Christian: number 17 for me. David Blough as the new OC has explicitly said he wants the offense built around getting McLaurin around 10 targets per game.

Could Terry have a monster season in 2026 - something like 90–110 catches, 1,400+ yards and double-digit TDs? If that happens then the burgundy & gold will be looking at a post-season game or 2! I feel McLaurin will be fired up this year and will finish as the team MVP.

Who doesn’t get it done this year?

Tony: I have some concerns about the secondary overall, particularly in the early stages of the season without Trey Amos.

If the front 7 is able to work its magic and puts opposing QBs under consistent pressure, I am less concerned but if that doesn’t materialise then I fear the secondary could be exposed.

The corners are all flawed, and although I love Jeremy Reaves, if he is starting, he will be targeted by opposing offensive coordinators. If the new defense plays a lot of nickel or 3 safety looks, the likes of Quan Martin are going to have to play well, and I worry about that dynamic.

A consistent pass rush will mask those potential weaknesses by speeding up the opposing QBs clock, and that’s how things worked in DC Daronte Jones’s last stop in Minnesota, so it is possible.

Christian: Chris Paul at Left Guard. Paul is a man of opposites: His run blocking was genuinely poor. This is the biggest red flag. PFF gave Paul a 38.2 run-blocking grade in 2025, which was among the worst marks for starting guards. By contrast, his 77.4 pass-blocking grade ranked sixth among 81 qualified guards. For an offense that Washington wants to make more balanced in 2026, that could be problematic.

You see, Tunsil going down wasn’t just about that gap at Left Tackle; it was the ripple (or maybe Tsunami effect!) across the OL.

Bold prediction

Tony: given how much has changed heading into 2026, there is plenty of scope for bold predictions!

UKHTTC has given me scope to go positive or negative here, so I’ll go positive.

Sonny Styles took a ridiculous amount of criticism for his brief pre-season appearances, which in most cases told you more about the person criticising than it did about the player himself. What Styles was being asked to do in those 3 or 4 drives that he played is night and day from what he will be doing come week 1.

He is going into only his third year a linebacker so is still learning the position and there will be some mistakes as he acclimates to life in the NFL. He needs to get his pad level lower and in time he will settle in and play without having to think so much. His closing speed, dynamism, and coverage ability are impressive, but I think there’s a real opportunity for Daronte Jones to use him as a blitzer.

Overall, I think it may take a few weeks for Styles to get going but when he does the league won’t know what hit it and my bold prediction is that he will win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Christian: with Tony going positive, should I balance this out Good Cop, Bad Cop style?

No, I will take the cup-half-full approach and throw in that the main receivers in Washington – McLaurin and Diggs – go for a combined 2,200 yards in 2026.

Behind the OL personnel, that is a reach and then some, but they both have elite attributes – Diggs is that high-IQ, separation-based possession receiver with elite route-running skills, excellent hands and the ability to win at all three levels — particularly from the slot and against man coverage. If Daniels is under pressure and has to throw somewhere before the play develops perfectly, McLaurin's competitiveness gives him a chance on a contested or imperfect ball. If Daniels has time and the defence is playing coverage, Diggs' route manipulation can create the easy completion.

Final record

Tony: this is such a tough one to predict, as there can be a huge difference from how we look at the schedule in the summer to how it actually pans out when the ebbs and flows of the regular season with injuries, momentum and other variables that don’t immediately jump out, come into effect.

What we do know is that the schedule looks tough, particularly in the opening weeks and it’s going to be vital not to get too far behind the 8 ball early on. Even 1 win from the opening 3 games wouldn’t be a disaster, but a slow start will really ramp the pressure up on Dan Quinn and his new coordinators.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but for me a successful season may not necessarily be reflected in the record. Of course I want a winning record and to make the playoffs, but I think that given how last season went, a return to somewhere around .500, being competitive against everyone and a full, healthy season from Jayden Daniels will be acceptable.

I’d like to see an identity on Defence and a clear path forward for the team as a whole beyond 2026. I’d be happy with 9–8 and being in the playoff mix right up to the end of the regular season.

Christian: the Commanders did try to ‘go big’ in free agency with reports of substantial offers to centre Tyler Linderbaum. Linderbaum was coming off his third Pro Bowl in four seasons and was widely viewed as the best centre on the market. The Ravens ultimately kept him, and the contract reset the positional market.

I have a nagging feeling that the burgundy and gold are light in a few positions and do not have enough truly elite players on the roster.

The loss of Tunsil for at least the majority of the season cannot be sugar-coated either. If Washington can exit the London game with a 2–2 record, then anything is possible – but overall I feel it might be a 7–10 record and a high pick going into the 2027 draft.