Some Free Agent Offensive Linemen Who Can Help the Commanders’ Running Game

Free agent options to give the RBs more room to run

This roundup of free agent offensive linemen who can help the Commanders’ running attack concludes my offseason series on rebuilding the running game. In case you missed them, here is the full set:

The 2024 Commanders’ Rushing Attack Was Highly Variable

Were the Commanders’ Running Backs Held Back by the Run Blocking?

Where Did the Commanders’ Running Backs Have the Most Success Running the Ball?

Offensive Linemen in the 2024 Draft Who Can Help the Commanders’ Running Game

The Commanders’ trade for Laremy Tunsil announced yesterday completely changes the outlook the offensive line and gives the front office greater flexibility to address the remaining weaknesses.

My run direction article showed that left guard (Nick Allegretti) and right tackle (Andrew Wylie) were the weak links in run blocking in 2024, along with some softness at center (Tyler Biadasz). Biadasz was strong in pass protection, so it’s doubtful the front office feels an urgent need to upgrade his position. Rookie Brandon Coleman, on the other hand, was the second best run blocker after Sam Cosmi.

The Tunsil signing allows the Commanders to slide Coleman over to left guard, to provide an upgrade over Nick Allegretti in run blocking. This move could provide a significant boost to the running game, since the left A gap, between LG and C, was the most frequent choice for runs by RBs last season. Moving inside would also help to mitigate Coleman’s vulnerability to speed rushers on the edge.

Alternatively, if the FO believes that Coleman has what it takes to stick at OT, the Commanders could move him to RT, allowing Andrew Wylie to slide inside to RG as a temporary solution while Cosmi rehabs from the ACL tear suffered in the divisional round playoff game against the Detroit Lions. Coleman addresses the weakness in run blocking on the right side of the line, although runs through the right A and B gaps could suffer temporarily until Cosmi returns.

In the first scenario (Coleman to LG), the remaining weak link on the offensive line becomes RT, manned by Andrew Wylie. In the second scenario (Coleman to RT), LG remains a weakness. The Commanders also have a gap in the depth pipeline at OL, due to years of neglect by the previous regime. OL depth is best addressed with the Commanders’ remaining picks in the draft, which was addressed in yesterdays’ roundup of strong run blocking prospects.

It can be costly to upgrade from a mediocre OT in free agency, and the remaining market does not offer any appealing solutions. It would then appear that the main weakness in run blocking which is addressable in free agency is the iOL. To conclude the rebuild-the-run-game series, here is a look at free agent options to give the Commanders’ RBs more room to run.

Hopefully, most of the players listed when I wrote this a few hours ago are still available.

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FA Options Who Don’t Fit the Plan

Before getting to the players that Adam Peters should and might consider, here are a few names that have come up whom I don’t see as good value or team fits:

OT Cam Robinson – Robinson had an extended learning curve with the Jaguars and eventually developed into a league average starting OT in pass protection. Nevertheless, the 29 year old is set to earn a big pay raise in free agency because he is the best OT on the market by virtue of not being resigned by his team. Most importantly for this roundup, he has never been a good run blocker. Let him make his money with a more desperate team, like the Patriots.

OT Jedrick Wills – Wills had a good rookie debut for the Browns, then steadily got worse every season at LT, while battling with injuries. In 2024, he was benched, despite the Browns having no better option on the roster, and burned his bridges with some unfortunate comments. He looks like a player on the way to a backup role or out of the league.

OT Tyron Smith – Hopefully the latest neck injury prompts Smith to finally call it quits this offseason. If not, I’m sure we’ll hear that the Commanders are irresponsible for not working him out. Yeeeaah, no.

David Bakhtiari – Just putting this out there, in case anyone’s still carrying the torch. Bakhtiari was a multiple All-Pro during the peak of his career. But that was a few years of career-ending injury and five surgical procedures ago.

Thankfully, the Tennessee Titans massively overpaid to take Dan Moore Jr off the market, so we don’t have to worry about him. Moore could have improved the run blocking at RT significantly, but at the expense of pass blocking that would make fans nostalgic for Andrew Wylie. Pittsburgh fans are delighted at the possibility of getting a comp pick for him.

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Free Agent Offensive Linemen Who Improve the Running Game

The following players could improve the run blocking to varying extents. Contract projections are taken from PFF. I don’t vouch for them. But their numbers seem closer to reality than Over the Cap’s valuations, which look like they are from 10 years ago.

OG Will Fries, Age 27

6-6, 305 lbs, RAS 9.15

Contract Projection: 4 yrs – $14.3m APY, $30m guaranteed

PFF Grades: Run 84.9, Pass 74.9

The former Penn State product showed massive improvement in run and pass blocking in the four seasons since he was drafted in the seventh round by the Colts. He was on track to have a breakout season in his contract season in 2024, when he fractured his tibia in the Week 5 game against the Jaguars. Through 5 games, including matchups against the Texans, Packers and Steelers, he excelled in both blocking phases, with particular strength as run blocker. If he passes medicals, he provides an immediate option to fill in for Sam Cosmi, with little or no dropoff in run blocking at RG. Down the road, he could be an upgrade at LG, depending on what the Commanders decide to do with Brandon Coleman. It’s possible the recent injury history lowers his asking price from PFF’s projected figure.

OG Teven Jenkins, Age 27

6-6, 321 lbs, RAS 9.74

Contract Projection: 3 yrs – $13.3m APY, $24m guaranteed

PFF Grades: Run 74.3, Pass 75.8

Jenkins has missed 12 games with injury in the three seasons since becoming the Bears’ staring guard in 2022. When he is on the field, he is a bulldog in the running game and not bad in pass protection either. He provides an upgrade over LG Nick Allegretti, but only for an average of 13 games a season, if the last three years are any guide. PFF’s projection might be a high price to pay for a player who has never demonstrated the ability to stay healthy. Allegretti did at least play all 20 games last season, albeit at a much lower level.

OG Kevin Zeitler, Age 35

6-4, 340 lbs, RAS 7.66

Contract Projection: 1 yr – $6.25m, APY

PFF: Run 87.2, Pass 71.8

Do you bring in a 35 year old free agent to compete with the guard you signed to a three year contract last season? Yes, if he can bring a massive improvement to the run blocking on the left side of the Commanders’ line, which Zeitler can hopefully do for at least another year. But it probably makes more sense for him to follow Ben Johnson to Chicago. PFF’s projection appears to be heavily discounted for age. Spotrac values him at $9.2m APY.

OL Mekhi Becton, Age 26

607, 363 lbs, RAS 9.85

Contract Projection: 3 yrs – $10m APY, $18m guaranteed

PFF: Run 70.3, Pass 60.1

Mekhi Becton is a massive human who can move faster than should be possible. After struggling for three years to make it work at LT for the Jets, he switched to RG with the Eagles and had a career renaissance, under tutelage of OL coach Jeff Stoutland. Becton isn’t the first player to have a career uptick after leaving the Jets. He is an absolute beast in the run game, and poses problems for pass rushers to get around on the interior as well. If the Eagles don’t resign him, he would be an interesting option to explore as an upgrade to Nick Allegretti at LG. Or do you assume that the Jets were the problem and give him a second try at RT? I suspect he stays in Philadelphia.

iOL Nate Herbig, Age 26

6-4, 334, RAS 2.77

Contract Projection: 1 yr, $1.0M

PFF (2023): Run 71.9, Pass 48.5

To this point, the focus has been on improving the run blocking among the starters, including filling in for the injured Sam Cosmi. The Commanders also have needs in the OL depth rank, particularly at center. In 2024, when backup Michael Deiter had to fill in for starting center Tyler Biadasz, the dropoff in play was so extreme, you could see it from space. In the two full games Deiter played at center, the RBs averaged -0.25 YBC/att on runs through the A gaps.

Herbig signed with the Eagles as a UDFA out of Stanford in 2019. Over the next five seasons, he earned significant playing time, including 30 starts, with the Eagles, Jets and Steelers. He has logged playing time at all three iOL positions, with the bulk of his experience at guard. In the 2024 offseason, Herbig lost out to rookie Zach Frazier for the Steelers’ starting center position. He was set to enter the season as the primary backup center, when he suffered a season ending rotator cuff injury.

While the Commanders should focus on rebuilding the OL depth pipeline through the draft, Herbig provides a cheap vet option who can back up all three iOL positions, and is almost certain an upgrade over Michael Dieter. His pass protection seems to have gone backward over time, but he has always been a solid run blocker. Herbig is also a native Hawaiian, and brings the Polynesian warrior mentality to his blocking assignments.

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