One year ago, the Washington Commanders had just hired general manager Adam Peters. Peters and owner Josh Harris were in the middle of a search for a head coach that would eventually land on Dan Quinn.
Now, the Commanders are heading to Detroit to face the top-seeded Lions in an NFC divisional-round playoff game. This comes after Washington went 12-5 in the regular season, marking an eight-game turnaround from one year ago.
It was a remarkable turnaround. Peters flipped the roster, Quinn changed the culture, and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels took care of almost everything else. From bringing in veteran leaders like Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz, and Austin Ekeler, players known for being great locker room leaders but also still productive players, to signing under-the-radar players such as Frankie Luvu to an outstanding draft class, Washington did almost everything correctly.
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah was impressed by the Commanders’ turnaround.
“I think the AP (Adam Peters) I’ve known forever, over 20 years, and I think he’s going to be, like, use the term like a rockstar GM, he’s going to be this for the next 10-plus years,” Jeremiah said on the “Jim Rome Show.”
“The Niners’ team, he has fingerprints all over that talented roster that they’ve built there. You go back to his time in Denver, winning a Super Bowl previously, and in New England, winning a Super Bowl. This guy has just been around championship football his whole career. He understands the value of the vets. Not only the vets but the vets who have been on great units, great teams, championship teams. Like, you go out and get Zach Ertz, who makes big clutch plays. The guy’s caught a game-winner in the Super Bowl to knock off Tom Brady and the Patriots. You think he’s nervous? You think he can impart some knowledge and wisdom to guys on the offensive side of the ball?”
Then he turns his attention to Bobby Wagner.
“You got Bobby Wagner, who is the centerpiece, the middle linebacker for one of the great defenses of the last 25 years, and a Super Bowl champion. Do you think that experience he brings to the table doesn’t matter?” Jeremiah continued.
“It’s a good thing they’ve got going there. They’ve done it the right way.”
Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) calls the @Commanders the ‘North Star’ for franchises looking to turn things around. pic.twitter.com/uVMyJnk4ws
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) January 17, 2025
“Very focused and deliberate on who they brought in and how they were going to help elevate the sum of their parts………This Commanders’ team, this is the ground floor. He’s going to continue to add pieces. Dan Quinn is a stud, like a total stud, who went out and brought a couple guys with him from Dallas that are familiar with his scheme that he knew were a little undervalued around the league in Armstrong and Fowler. It’s a good thing they’ve got going there. They’ve done it the right way. They should be the organization, which is nuts to say considering what they’ve been over the last 15, 20 years, but that, if you’re a team that’s hiring a coach and GM right now, that’s your North Star, just do what they did.”
Jeremiah is as respected as any analyst across the NFL. Before working in the media, he worked as a scout for the Ravens, Browns, and Eagles.
What Jeremiah didn’t discuss was rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels has been instrumental in Washington’s turnaround, but the Commanders, mainly Peters and Quinn, laid the foundation before selecting Daniels second overall in the 2024 NFL draft.
Washington’s turnaround is remarkable. And, unlike previous playoff seasons, the franchise is now set up for long-term success.