Two quiet changes could impact Jayden Daniels and the Commanders in Week 1

Success in the NFL comes from knowing who you are as a team, but also requires a solid amount of awareness of who your rivals are as well. For the Washington Commanders, that all starts in the NFC East Division of course, where six of their 17 regular season games will be played.

One of those teams, the New York Giants, is getting two bits of good news entering their break from the OTA period to training camp, and both are going to have ramifications on how the Commanders see the rival when Week 1 arrives for the regular season.

The most notable name associated with one of them happens to be that of Giants receiver Malik Nabers, one of Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels' best friends.

New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal (73). / John Jones-Imagn Images

"WR Malik Nabers, who sat out OTAs and minicamp with a toe injury, is "doing good" and expected to be ready for training camp, coach Brian Daboll told reporters," according to a news roundup by NFL.com. "The Giants have no concerns with Nabers' availability, Daboll said."

Of course, even rivals don't usually wish injury on their opponents, but in terms of Nabers, Daniels is going to be happy to hear his friend is trending upward even if it means his defense will have a tougher task ahead of them when facing New York this season.

Nabers had a great rookie season, collecting more than 100 receptions and eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards in his first year in the NFL, making good on his high draft status along the way.

In two games against the Commanders in 2024, Nabers made 19 catches for 186 yards of offense. While the stat line is impressive no matter what, the fact that Washington kept him out of the end zone helped lead to two wins for Daniels' side, a mark the receiver will no doubt hope to remedy in 2025.

Helping him do so is the expected elevation in quarterback play as the Giants move on from Daniel Jones with veteran Russell Wilson on the squad and rookie Jaxson Dart waiting in the wings. Helping to protect them will be fourth-year offensive lineman Evan Neal who is moving inside to guard after failing to live up to his own first-round status as an offensive tackle.

"He's doing well so far. Excited to see when we put pads on what happens, but he's embraced it, we've embraced it, it's been good so far," Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo said in a quote from the New York Post, via NFL.com. "Throughout the NFL, plenty of guys have moved from tackle to guard, so we'll see how it goes."

Last season, another Washington rival moved a former tackle inside to guard with great success. The Philadelphia Eagles moved Mekhi Becton inside after three failed years at tackle for the New York Jets. The move revitalized Becton's career, and he was able to parlay that into a new contract and opportunity with the Los Angeles Chargers, who the Commanders will visit this coming year.

Of course, Washington itself is getting in on the inside move trend as well, shifting Brandon Coleman to left guard during the offseason program after he played and started most of his rookie 2024 season at left tackle.

How the updates will develop into and through training camp is still to be seen, but as we form our projections for how well things might go for the Commanders in 2025, understanding how their rivals are developing is an important part of the equation.