Conerly Threat Looms: Rookie OT Poised to Knock Wylie Off Starting Right Tackle Spot!

When the Washington Commanders traded for Laremy Tunsil this offseason, it became clear a new left tackle would be protecting quarterback Jayden Daniels in 2025.

After the Commanders drafted Oregon prospect Josh Conerly Jr. in the first round of this year's draft, it signaled that both tackle positions would likely be manned by newcomers this season.

As is the way in Washington these days, Conerly's path may lead to a starting job, but he's going to have to go through incumbent Andrew Wylie to get there, a fact discussed in a recent NFL.com column focusing on training camp position battles.

Washington Commanders guard Andrew Wylie (71). / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"Wylie has been Washington’s right tackle in each of the past two seasons, but the results have been disappointing. What he’s added in terms of intangibles has not offset his subpar play on the field, even with the terrific success of the Jayden Daniels-led offense last year. The Commanders kept Wylie around after he agreed to a $3.75 million pay cut, but his starting job is in jeopardy," NFL.com says.

The column suggests second-year lineman Brandon Coleman could also move over to the right side if Conerly isn't ready, but he's been practicing at left guard exclusively this offseason, and is expected to do so for the forseeable future.

Meanwhile, Wylie continues to get the bulk of first-team reps at right tackle while Conerly rotates in as possible. Recently, while Tunsil was receiving a veteran rest day, Wylie moved over to left tackle with the first-team offense while Conerly got reps at right tackle.

The process appears similar to what the Commanders did with Coleman and veteran Cornelius Lucas last season, when the two rotated until the team felt the younger tackle was ready to take over full-time.

"Dan Quinn made Daniels earn the starting job a year ago, and he’ll treat Conerly the same," the column continues. "But his athleticism and light feet appear to be a fine fit in this offense, so it feels like more of a question of when Conerly will win the job than if."