Carson Wentz can throw it deep, but Commanders’ supporting cast allows team to do more

ASHBURN — Logan Thomas spent most of the summer rehabbing from the knee injury that prematurely ended his season last year. But as he focused on his recovery, the Washington Commanders tight end noticed a thing or two about the team’s offense. 

“Man, we can push the ball down the field,” Thomas said. “There’s no doubt about that.” 

Call it the Carson Wentz effect. 

The frequent display of Wentz’s big arm in this year’s camp has reinforced expectations that Washington plans to air it deep in 2022. Offensive coordinator Scott Turner already had a history of being aggressive, and now he has a quarterback who, in theory, should enable the Commanders to go over the top occasionally.

But when the season begins Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Turner should have more options at his disposal than just dialing up deep shot after deep shot. 

For the first time in a while — perhaps since the days of DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jordan Reed in 2016 — Washington has a bevy of playmakers who can give the coordinator the freedom to open up the playbook. 

If the Commanders want to run the ball, they can utilize Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic — two crafty backs with the ability to break off big plays. At wide receiver, the trio of Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and first-rounder Jahan Dotson share similarities — namely, speed — but are different enough stylistically that they give Wentz choices. Thomas, too, is one of the team’s bigger, athletic tight ends — pairing with rookies Cole Turner and Armani Rogers. 

Most of the playmakers were with Washington a year ago. But key contributors like Samuel (five games played) and Thomas (six) missed significant time. 

The group may not be considered among the best in the league, but Turner and his staff have pieces to work with. Now, it’s a matter of blending them together.

“There’s only one ball,” coach Ron Rivera said. 

One of the adjustments that Washington will have to go through, Rivera said, will be to figure out how the players mesh as the season progresses. Over the first four or five weeks specifically, Rivera said he’s “just trying to find out who’s establishing themselves.” 

That’s not unique to the Commanders. Coaches around the league are always evaluating, and offenses generally take time to find a rhythm. But for this season, the Commanders’ offense may look much different after the first month.

Part of that, Rivera noted, is due to the absence of Brian Robinson Jr., the rookie running back who was shot last week in an armed robbery attempt and is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. The Commanders had planned for the third-rounder to play a prominent role as his physical rushing attack was an element coaches felt the team had lacked last season. With Robinson sidelined, the Commanders will try to make up for his absence in other ways. 

But when Robinson returns — and the Commanders are optimistic that will happen this season, possibly even in Week 5 — coaches will be tasked with trying to reincorporate the rookie into the fold.

“How will that affect and impact the rest of the offense?” Rivera said. “You’re always looking at those things.”

The Commanders surprisingly finished with a better offense than expected last season, even after journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a season-ending hip injury in Week 1. Backup Taylor Heinicke helped Washington rank 21st in offensive DVOA, a Football Outsiders metric that measures efficiency. Turner found creative ways to scheme players open — relying on heavy dose of play action, pre-snap motion and different route concepts.

Heinicke, by some measures, matched Wentz. According to Pro Football Reference, the two passers each averaged 7.6 yards in intended air yards — the distance the ball travels through the air — per attempt. Heinicke, who grew up a fan of Hall of Famer Brett Favre, was more than willing to air it out. 

Wentz, though, was the more efficient of the two. The 29-year-old averaged 5.9 completed air yards per attempt to Heinicke’s 5.2. That may seem small, but it’s a difference between being ranked 16th and 28th. 

Wentz, of course, comes with concerns and flaws. Washington could easily regress on offense this season if the quarterback resembles anything close to the type of player he was in 2020, when the Philadelphia Eagles benched the former No. 2 overall pick after he ranked statistically as one of the worst passers in the league. Wentz rebounded a year later with the Indianapolis, but a late-season slump led the Colts to ship Wentz off to Washington. 

But if the Commanders’ skill players are as good as Rivera and Co. expect, then they should make the job easier for Wentz.

“Everything can work together very well,” Thomas said. “Our offense understands what we can do, too.”