Let’s get this out of the way: You’re not here to read about Jayden Daniels or Terry McLaurin or Laremy Tunsil or Sonny Styles. We all know they’re vital to the Commanders’ success this season.
But there’s about 70 other guys reporting to Ashburn for training camp next week, and they could very well dictate whether Washington makes a deep playoff run like it did in 2024 or goes 5-12 like last season.
Before the pads come out next week, here are five (fine, technically six) key players to watch in the home stretch of the offseason.
Nick Allegretti, center
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The Commanders are set to return 80% of the starters on their offensive line: tackles Tunsil and Josh Conerly and guards Chris Paul and Samuel Cosmi. The only change will be at center, where Allegretti is expected to replace Tyler Biadasz, who was released back in March.
Allegretti has spent most of his eight-year NFL career at guard, including five seasons with the Chiefs. But he’s played center since childhood and was a top center prospect coming out of high school, according to 247Sports. He spent time at both center and guard over four seasons at Illinois.
While the offensive line has continuity on its side, it wasn’t exactly the best unit in the NFL last season: ESPN placed the group in the bottom half of the league in its run- and pass-block rankings. Allegretti started last season at guard while Cosmi recovered from injury, but he was removed from the starting unit after just two games. Allegretti has said he’s sat in on center-quarterback meetings since signing in 2024, and he put that experience into practice by starting the last two games of the season at center.
There’s reason to believe the Commanders feel optimistic about Allegretti. They signed him to a multi-year contract extension in March after letting Biadasz go, waited until the sixth round of April’s draft to take a center (Michigan State’s Matt Gulbin) and didn’t add any veteran competition in free agency.
Trey Amos, defensive back
They say the best ability is availability. Another popular idiom: You have to see it to believe it.
Both of those apply to Amos. The second-year cornerback didn’t participate in organized team activities (OTAs) or minicamp in June after fracturing his fibula during a Week 10 loss to the Lions.
Amos proved last season he’s one of, if not the best one-on-one defender in Washington. He allowed just one touchdown in coverage last season, and his six pass deflections ranked third on the team despite the fact that he appeared in just nine and a half games. He played particularly well against the Packers in Week 2.
The Commanders need Amos’ speed and physicality. Last season’s pass defense was more accommodating than an AirBnB host, allowing the second-most pass plays of 40 yards or more.
It’s not clear how Washington feels about Amos’ recovery, but it’s apparent the team is focused on the secondary: Earlier this month, they signed veteran Rasul Douglas to a one-year contract. Douglas started 13 games for the Dolphins last season and was one of the better lockdown defenders in football last season with 13 pass deflections and a 54% completion percentage allowed in coverage.
For what it’s worth, Amos said on a Twitch stream last week that he’s healthy and ready for training camp, according to the Full Command Youtube channel.
Bill Croskey-Merritt, running back
On paper, Croskey-Merritt had as good of a 2025 season as could be expected of a seventh-round draft pick who played one game in his final season of college ball. He finished with a team-high 805 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
But look closer and you can see areas Croskey-Merritt will need to improve. He lacked the pass-catching skills and explosive runs that make an offense dangerous: Of players with 800 or more rushing yards last season, he ranked last in receptions (9) and receiving yards (68) and tied for last in rushes of 20 yards or more (3). Croskey-Merritt also tied for the third-most fumbles (3) by a running back.
If the second-year back, who has visibly bulked up this offseason, wants to be more of a bell cow than a member of a committee, he’ll have to prove it in these coming weeks. And that’s not me talking, that is his head coach: After minicamp, coach Dan Quinn said he wanted to see improvement from Croskey-Merritt in pass-catching and explosiveness, and foresees him splitting reps with the other backs, including free agent signee Rachaad White (205 receptions, 1,450 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns in four seasons with Tampa Bay).
“I do like the competition in the group,” Quinn said. “I think we’ll for sure be more than just one [running back].”
Leo Chenal, linebacker
Seeing as most Americans choose the Super Bowl as the one NFL game they watch each season, Chenal’s name should sound familiar. In the Chiefs’ championship wins in 2022 and 2023, he totaled 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and one quarterback hit. The linebacker, who signed a three-year deal with the Commanders this offseason, stuffed All-Pro 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey at the line of scrimmage on a third-and-2 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVIII.
That nose for the football is desperately needed in Washington. The Commanders missed the second-most tackles (131) in the NFL last season, according to Pro Football Reference. Chenal’s 5.2% missed-tackle rate is the lowest among linebackers since 2023, per Next Gen Stats.
Chenal will be battling for first-string camp reps with first-round draft pick Styles and returning starter Frankie Luvu, but his ability to pursue, cover tight ends in coverage and fight through offensive linemen should go a long way towards improving a defensive unit that has struggled the past three seasons.
Antonio Williams and Treylon Burks, wide receivers
To paraphrase the immortal words of Rick Pitino: “Brandon Aiyuk ain’t walking through that door.”
For all the chatter about the Commanders needing another receiver ahead of training camp, it seems pretty clear they’re rolling with what they currently have. Which means someone has to line up opposite McLaurin, and it would appear Williams, a 2026 third-round pick, and Burks, a 2022 first-rounder in Tennessee, have the upper hand.
During 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills at OTAs and minicamp, Williams and Burks got a lot of time working with quarterbacks Daniels and Marcus Mariota.
Williams was primarily used out of the slot at Clemson last season, and his production didn’t exactly scream modern NFL starter (55 receptions, 604 yards, 11.0 yards per reception). But he is versatile and slippery, often used in jet sweeps and screens that take advantage of his speed. Much like most of the rest of the receiving corps, Williams is not a deep threat, but he can feast on defenses in intermediate routes.
Injuries have derailed Burks’ career, limiting him to just 35 games played in the last four years. But he’s shown big-play ability, albeit in spurts.
If Williams can find gaps in coverage and Burks can stay healthy, there’s a good chance one of them will earn a starting spot by the end of camp.
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