Washington Early Offseason Outlook: Adam Peters Targeting QB Early?

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January 17, 2024

by David Earl

New Era Provides Hope and Promise!

Over the last 24 years at no point was there ever a general manager of Adam Peters’s reputation that would ever consider working in Washington under the previous ownership group. The closest the organization came to a respected talent evaluator was Scot McCloughan, who carried his own personal issues and we all know how that ended up. In Adam Peters, we gain one of the top general manager targets of the NFL. His resume includes:

The San Fransisco 49ers have built a roster over the years that is not just deep but keeps a particular philosophy in mind. While every organization strives to build a strong foundation in the trenches, i;e. the offensive and defensive lines, few are as successful as the 49ers in recent years. While featuring an elite edge rusher in Nick Bosa, they filled the remaining defensive line with excellent role players like Javon Hargrave, Javon Kinlaw, and Arik Armstead, along with the trade deadline addition of Chase Young. The defensive line is an excellent mix of agility and power which frees up their second-level stars in Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. Unlike the last few years in Washington, San Fransisco addressed the linebacker position with good productive players who were able to take full advantage of a good productive defensive line. Beyond their top-end strength on the first two levels of this defense, the depth behind these players is solid and can fill more than one role if needed.

Offensively, the 49ers are built similarly on the offensive line, but what is more impressive is their approach at the skill position players. We all know about the huge miss on the Trey Lance trade-up and how the 49ers were probably closer to lucky than good in what they got in Brock Purdy. Beyond that, though, every skill position player added through the draft in WR Deebo Samuel, WR Brandon Aiyuk, TE George Kittle, RB Elijah Mitchell, and the trade for Christian McCaffrey fit a philosophical scheme. Their draft strategy went to more than just the best player available or who was a great character guy; the 49ers paid attention to how players fit into the scheme and whether will those players be effective in multiple roles. A prime example is Brandon Aiyuk, who proved to be more than capable of filling Deebo Samuels‘ role when he was out. Both together on the field is a defensive coordinator nightmare.

There is little question on Adam Peters’ resume and his reputation, but how well will he execute these decisions now that he is the final authority in all football decisions? Assuming the positive, there is a lot of optimism in the coming years for this roster, which needs a major overhaul. As his tenure begins, one of his first decisions to be made after hiring a head coach is to determine which players currently on the roster best fit his philosophy. Daron Payne seems locked, as he has the right attitude entering the 2024 offseason, while Jonathan Allen expressed a disinterest in a rebuild. Terry McLaurin is a steady #1 wide receiver and a great locker room leader, but is about to turn 29 years old. Kamren Curl has been a standout late-round safety who is going to become a free agent. Benjamin St-Juste is surely looking for a new contract. What direction will Peters take? That is just the tip of the iceberg, since Washington has nearly $90 million cap space and four top 100 draft picks including the #2 overall pick of the draft. Could the new head coach hire dictate the possible quarterback selection at pick two?

Head Coach Selection May Forge Path

In his introductory press conference, when asked about the direction this offseason, Peters expressed the importance of hiring the next head coach and then deciding the best path forward. Peters made clear that current roster decisions, draft, and free agency will be a collaborative effort in order to mold the best approach to this offseason. Under previous ownership, this was a foreign concept every single offseason resulting in disaster. When reviewing Peters’ resume and his mentors, you can be confident he is sincere in his direction. Assuming the focus at the #2 pick of the draft will be quarterback, let’s take a different approach, rather than the best choice just solely based on talent. There are three particular head coach candidates that I see would be tied to very different quarterbacks in this draft.

  • OC Ben Johnson, Detriot Lions: Drake Maye comes to mind first in Johnson’s offensive scheme. He may be the most polished pocket passer of the group, and has excellent anticipation in his passes. Seeing the resurgence of Jared Goff‘s career under Johnson, Maye comes the closest in skillset and would be a closer to plug-and-play guy for Johnson. The obvious difference is that Maye carries more elite traits as a passer than Goff while adding excellent mobility, which is needed in today’s NFL.
  • OC Bobby Slowik, Houston Texans: Watching how Bobby Slowik installed his offensive scheme so successfully with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and minimal offensive weapons has been remarkable. Now Slowik is another coaching prospect off the Shanahan tree, which includes Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, as well as Kyle Shanahan. Caleb Williams makes the most sense here, especially with his off-schedule throws when play design is moving the pocket off play-action. A scheme that works heavily off the RPO and play-action, his athleticism and arm strength that allows him to throw back across the field would fit very well in a Slowik offense.
  • DC Mike McDaniels, Baltimore Ravens: There is not another quarterback that comes to mind over Jayden Daniels. While I agree Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are the top 2 prospects in this draft, Daniels offers the closest player to Lamar Jackson in this draft. If McDaniel is hired as the new head coach, it makes the most sense given that the offensive philosophy he’d likely bring is one that he has practiced against and watched be effectively run over the years. There are differences between Greg Roman’s offense and the current system run in Baltimore by Todd Monken but the one constant is Lamar Jackson. A former MVP under Roman and now the leading MVP candidate this year, the growth in Jackson’s game has been incredible which, again, McDaniels has witnessed. I also believe Jayden Daniels is more pro-ready than Lamar Jackson was as a rookie so I could see trading back a couple of spots and then selecting Daniels.

The head coaching search will extend past these three names but Peters talking about being in sync with his new head coach these three names stood out immediately. Yes, Caleb Williams can be interchangeable with Maye and Daniels in many people’s evaluations I’m sure, this is just the preference I believe each candidate would have heading into the draft. Regardless of the candidate, I don’t see a necessity to exhaust future assets to swap with the Chicago Bears at the #1 pick unless, after evaluations, the organization finds that either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye are just that good. Washington is sitting in an ideal position at the #2 spot, if looking for a new quarterback, and has 2 early second round picks plus plenty of cap space for addressing the offensive line to protect a rookie quarterback.

Final Thoughts

During the offseason, we will do a more thorough rookie breakdown and the rookie quarterbacks in particular will give you a much better look at Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels. At the moment my guess is the head coach hiring will tell us a good possibility on about which top quarterback they will target. As far as the current roster, it’s fair to say there will be a lot of changes, including a surprise move that could include either Jonathan Allen or Terry McLaurin. Everything is on the table since Peters and the new head coach are not tied to any of these players.

The exciting part of what is unfolding before us this season is that the egos seem to be completely flushed out of this organization. There is no longer a meddling owner being enabled by top front office executives who seemed more interested in their image and a paycheck. While the draft assets and cap space scream immediate turnaround for the team, Peters made it very clear he will build through the draft and supplement through free agency. The foundation is going to be a focal point this offseason, and a strong foundation will continue to be built in subsequent seasons building a roster upon a strong foundation. Again, this concept was very foreign to the previous ownership. A new day and a new era are upon this organization, so it’s ok to be optimistic because this offseason is 100% unlike any other of the past 20-plus years.