Washington Commanders: Grading every rookie's preseason Week 1 performance

Yahoo

7 days ago

The Washington Commanders lost their preseason opener against the New England Patriots in ugly fashion. New England defeated Washington 48-18 in a game that was never close.
What do we make of this? Head coach Dan Quinn was upset afterward, saying his team didn't live up to the standard set. He wasn't about to make the excuse that Washington was without 30 players. The Commanders chose to sit their starters after they received plenty of work in Wednesday's joint practice with the Patriots.
What upset Quinn the most was the penalties. The Commanders were penalized 13 times for 98 yards. You're going to lose almost every time, preseason or regular season, when you are penalized that frequently.
Ultimately, the most critical part of the preseason is development. How did the younger players perform? Are they improving?
The Commanders have five rookie draft picks from the 2025 class. Let's look at how each of Washington's rookies performed in Friday's loss.
The first-round pick played 21 offensive snaps. He looked good. Conerly is still adjusting after moving over from left tackle to the right side. The biggest knock on Conerly is play strength. Remember, he's only 21. That will improve as his body continues to change and adapt to the NFL. Conerly looked excellent blocking in space—a very encouraging debut.
Trey Amos played 13 snaps. It was an almost perfect debut. Amos had coverage on one deep throw and was stride for stride with the receiver, forcing Drake Maye to throw it out of bounds. It was perfect coverage. Down near the goal line, Amos also made an excellent run stop. Two different plays show why this coaching staff is high on Amos.
Lane played 18 offensive snaps and four on special teams. He did not catch a pass, but was targeted once and the throw was errant. He returned two punts for five yards. It's tough to judge Lane in this game. It was almost like the Commanders were intentionally hiding Lane on offense. Remember how the team used — or didn't use — Terry McLaurin in 2019?
It was a busy night for the athletic sixth-round linebacker. Medrano participated in 89% of Washington's defensive snaps and also 16 snaps on special teams. Medrano finished with three tackles, all solo. He is an aggressive player, which you love. Sometimes, that aggression gets him in trouble, but it's a trait you can't teach. Any coach would prefer an aggressive player over one who is labeled as soft. There's a lot to work with here. Medrano's progress will be fun to watch. A solid debut for Medrano.
There aren't many seventh-round rookies getting as much attention as Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The most intriguing player in training camp, Bill, showed off some of those violent cuts against the Patriots. He played 17 offensive snaps, carried the ball seven times for 24 yards, and caught one pass for eight yards. Watch this run to see why Washington is so excited about JCM.
There wasn't a lot there, and Bill still managed to make something happen.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Grading every rookie's preseason debut