The Washington Commanders have a long way to go before becoming the Houston Texans in 2024

Do you know how difficult it is to have a season like the Houston Texans in 2023? Having two key rookie players, a rookie head coach, and a large number of players who had underperformed before this season all come together and become champions is almost unheard of. While the Texans have been rebuilding for a few years, most of the key roster pieces didn’t arrive until the 2023 offseason.

Tank Dell, CJ Stroud, Will Anderson, Dalton Schultz, DeMeco Ryans and others arrived to pump up the noise. Then you already had guys on the roster, but who weren’t turning heads, and you started producing. Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, Derek Stingley Jr. and others picked up the pace under Ryans and the Texans went from 3-13-1 in 2022 to 9-8 in 2023, with an AFC South championship.

It was a convergence of largely unexpected events. It is extremely unlikely that it could be repeated as if it were a set of Lego instructions. There is no formula or manual for going from zero to hero in a single season. The Texans landed a potential MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in Stroud and Anderson. There aren’t many teams that can say they drafted both types of players in a single draft.

The commanders, who SI says are the closest to repeating the success of the Texans’ turnaround,

They drafted Jayden Daniels in the 2024 NFL Draft, a good start to a rebuild. That said, rookie quarterbacks rarely look as good as Stroud. Most quarterbacks fail in the NFL. So while there is hype and enthusiasm around Daniels, historically there isn’t much reason to be. It’s much more likely that they’ll end up with a dud rather than a stud.

It’s still possible that Daniels could be the next Stroud. That possibility exists, but if you’re hoping that drafting the LSU draft alone will put commanders on a path to success, we have some bad news for you. The Commanders can turn things around, but it could take a few seasons to see them reach the playoffs and win a division title.

It is unrealistic to believe or expect them to do this in a year. Especially since the Texans were simply lucky in such a turnaround. So it is unfair and far too lofty to believe that Commanders or any other team can pull off such a miraculous turnaround.