Commanders mailbag: Daronte Jones, David Blough, Adam Peters’ grand plan

The NFL spends the entire summer building up to the regular season, with training camps and preseason games leading up to initial 53-man roster construction at the roster cut deadline.

Then you've got this relatively quiet week leading up to Labor Day, where nothing much outside a few mostly closed practices. Gone is the cutdown drama and all those practice video clips that are given too much stock.

There's a small dead period without roster moves or big news. We're in it right now.

Next week is officially Week 1 . In other words, go time.

That makes this little lull a perfect time to discuss your questions and comments about what the Commanders have and what comes next. I asked for conversation topics and we got plenty. Let's get right to them in this Commanders mailbag:

I like the mystery to the coordinator plans. And I love that it's hopefully going to be revealed in 3D Technicolor minimum 4K reality surprise the Iggles into getting embarrassed. And they need to reserve just enough surprises for Dallas.

How this happens? No idea, not that it can't happen, I just don't know how it plays out. But there's guys all over that D that should be able to add a few bumps to Hurts. — ComplainingIsAPayne

The Commanders have played up the mystery element when talking about what we've seen schematically to this point, which is exactly what they should do heading into the 2026 campaign.

We can point to Brian Flores and Mike Zimmer and others as Daronte Jones influences, but we're not sure exactly how that will look. We can anticipate an attacking scheme with exotic looks when the Commanders blitz heavily or not. I think it's fair to assume there will be plays where the pressure is the coverage and Washington tries to live in the offensive backfield.

Jones should use mystery to his advantage, and then play off the Week 1 game tape in Week 2. With the schemes being implemented and the talent available, the Commanders should be a fun watch.

Will this new offensive scheme commit to the run? Can the new defensive scheme stop the run?Last year the Bears created a blueprint to beat the Eagles which they did 24-15 — JayGrudenSucks

I was at that game covering the Bears at the time, and it was a dominant showing to be sure. If you can run like the Bears did that day, you're going to win a ton.

There's plenty we don't know about how Commanders coordinator David Blough will ultimately call plays, but Ben Johnson's influence is virtually guaranteed. That means a heavy reliance on the run game and playaction off of that.

I would expect Blough to run a ton if its effective, using it as the foundation for everything else the Commanders do. Here's a start difference between the Bears' roster assembly and what the Commanders did this offseason. Chicago gave eight-figure AAV deals to the entire interior offensive line. They invested heavily in Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman.

The Commanders spent elsewhere, and are trying to get by inside with Nick Allegretti and Chris Paul, alongside Sam Cosmi on the right. Washington has a first-round right tackle and spent heavy on Laremy Tunsil, who's no longer available.

Blough will have to adjust to that and play to the offense's strength, which is at receiver and tight end.

Is Washington's strategy of turning over the roster 20-30% a year and signing veterans to one and two year deals going to become the way this team does business beyond just the first year or two of this front office?

Unlike New England which started where we were in 2024 with a rookie quarterback and a questionable roster, they have made the commitments to go out and sign free agents LONG TERM and garner some element of roster stability.

Washington has avoided giving out any contracts that signal a player is going to be here for more than say 2 years, and I have never really seen an NFL team in the free agency era do that and be successful. — Ghost Rider

I believe I've mentioned this before in the article comments but, for those unaware, I'm a huge salary-cap and roster construction nerd. Always have been.

General manager Adam Peters' current use of the salary cap – the Commanders are in a good space with it – follows the strategy of a team that A. has a franchise quarterback on a rookie deal who's eligible for an extension soon. and B. hasn't drafted well in the recent past.

GMs love to hand out contract extensions to homegrown players. It's a pat on the back for a smart draft pick and a reward for a player working well within an organizational culture. Problem is that the Commanders have no one to extend.

They invested in a young, presumably ascending free agent like Odafe Oweh (four years) and gave three year deals to Leo Chenal and Chig Okonkwo.

Everything they've done to this point is about preparing to absorb the Daniels extension and function well after that. You can generally keep the first year cap number of a massive deal low (thanks to a signing bonus), so Washington can afford to pay bigger salaries to free agents over the next few years. In the Patriots example, Drake Maye was in his second season, so they had three years to spend big on other positions.

The Commanders lost a year in 2025, and are in a slightly different boat.

Does the team increase its life insurance coverage for the players (and traveling fans) when playing in Philly? — via Eidolons

Visiting fans have to pay a premium for hit-by-battery coverage, but it's always worth it. Those guys love chucking AAs. But, buyer beware: Dressing up as Santa Claus automatically voids the emotional distress plan. Get booed at your own risk.

Is DQ's hat on correctly if he walks backwards? — DGOLD510

This was but one question in a list of awesomeness y'all should check out in the mailbag Feed post. And, to answer this question directly, yes. And I'd love to see it. Quinn supposedly wears the hat backwards to create a relaxed environment and to foster players being themselves. Stories have been written on it. Like, several, to my shock. As a fellow backwards hat guy, I dig it.