2023 NFL Power Rankings: Washington Commanders

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 3 roundup for the Washington Commanders in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 12

Player: DE Montez Sweat
Current contract situation: Under contract through the 2023 season

Sweat and fellow end Chase Young will be free agents after the season. But Washington has made it clear the Commanders would like to extend Sweat, playing on his fifth-year option, at some point. Any movement toward an extension, though, was slowed by the ownership change with the group having more urgent matters to focus on. Sweat has been a terrific edge run defender, but his highest sack total is nine. However, through two games this season, Sweat has two sacks and two forced fumbles. He's learning from assistant line coach Ryan Kerrigan, the franchise's all-time sack leader. "RK has been helping him to finish at the top of the rush," said defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina. "He's doing a hell of a job doing it." -- John Keim

NFL.com -- Rank: 19

The Commanders are 2-0 for the first time in a dozen years. Coming back from down 18 on the road and going on a 32-6 scoring run are pretty positive signs; Sunday's win over Denver was far more impressive than the smaller comeback against the lesser Cardinals at home in Week 1. Washington has played better in the second halves of games than in the first. That pattern might work against Arizona and Denver, but will it stand up against the Bills in Week 3? What gives the Commanders a chance is the play of Sam Howell. Kid has some guts, doesn't he? After some empty series early, he was battered around, but Howell was dialed in down the stretch, confidently leading five scoring drives in the final 32 minutes.

Continue reading Washington Commanders NFL Power Rankings Roundup

2023 NFL Predictions: NFC East

Before the start of the season, we will post NFL division-by-division predictions for the 2023 NFL regular season and postseason.

Instead of projecting an outright winner and loser in all 272 regular-season games, we've assigned a win probability to each team in every game and totaled them up.

The four NFC East teams are projected to win the third-most games combined as a division, but the most out of the four NFC divisions, in our 2023 full-season projections.

See where the Commanders stand in our 2023 NFC East Predictions

2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Washington Commanders

Our Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.

Below you will find our 2023 fantasy football projections for the Washington Commanders.

MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams

QUARTERBACKS

Player	Att.	Comp.	Yards	TD	INT	Rush	Yards	TD	Points
Sam Howell	511.8	319.9	3685	20.73	14.59	78.9	303.8	2.37	245.74
Jacoby Brissett	44.5	28	307.1	1.6	0.73	12.3	48	0.43	24.6

Sam Howell: Slipping to the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Howell started the season finale and enters 2023 as Washington's starter. Howell completed only 11-of-19 pass attempts for 169 yards (8.9 Y/A), a touchdown and an interception in his lone regular-season start, but he also ran for 35 yards and a touchdown on five carries. With a talented receiving corps, a new offensive coordinator and some mobility, Howell has a chance to deliver better-than-expected results in 2023.

MORE: Continue reading our 2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Washington Commanders

Washington Commanders: 2023 NFL Schedule

Below you will find the weekly NFL regular-season schedule for the Washington Commanders in 2023.

MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET) / Tickets
Week 1	Sun., Sep. 10	vs. Arizona Cardinals	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 2	Sun., Sep. 17	at Denver Broncos	4:25 PM / Tickets
Week 3	Sun., Sep. 24	vs. Buffalo Bills	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 4	Sun., Oct. 1	at Philadelphia Eagles	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 5	Thu., Oct. 5	vs. Chicago Bears	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 6	Sun., Oct. 15	at Atlanta Falcons	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 7	Sun., Oct. 22	at New York Giants	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 8	Sun., Oct. 29	vs. Philadelphia Eagles	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 9	Sun., Nov. 5	at New England Patriots	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 10	Sun., Nov. 12	at Seattle Seahawks	4:25 PM / Tickets
Week 11	Sun., Nov. 19	vs. New York Giants	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 12	Thu., Nov. 23	at Dallas Cowboys	4:30 PM / Tickets
Week 13	Sun., Dec. 3	vs. Miami Dolphins	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 14		BYE
Week 15	Sun., Dec. 17	at Los Angeles Rams	4:05 PM / Tickets
Week 16	Sun., Dec. 24	at New York Jets	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 17	Sun., Dec. 31	vs. San Francisco 49ers	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 18	Sun., Jan. 7	vs. Dallas Cowboys	TBD / Tickets

MORE: Washington Commanders historical W-L records - Washington Commanders historical head-to-head records

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SOS)

How easy or difficult is the fantasy football schedule for Washington Commanders players?

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule by position:

Washington Commanders Mock Draft Roundup 1.0

Throughout the year and leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we will update our Washington Commanders Mock Draft Roundup showing picks for the Washington Commanders from several prominent sites and draft analysts.

The following are picks in recent mock drafts for the Washington Commanders:

EDSFootball - Kevin Hanson (5/9)

6. Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

Verse excelled following his jump from FCS-level Albany to Florida State, but he has an opportunity to boost his draft stock even further after his return to Tallahassee. He has an explosive first step and finished his first season as a Seminole with 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks. The Commanders declined to exercise the fifth-year option for Chase Young.

CBS Sports - Josh Edwards (5/8)

5. Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas

If Washington is picking No. 5 overall, then one would think the Sam Howell experiment did not go well. The Commanders will not pass on a quarterback in that scenario.

ESPN - Todd McShay (5/4)

TRADE - 3. Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

Maye is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and has a massive arm. Not only did he throw 38 touchdown passes last season, but he also ran for seven scores and almost 700 yards. Washington might be comfortable with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett at the moment, but the former is a fifth-round pick with one career start, and the latter is a 30-year-old veteran backup on a one-year deal. I understand the Commanders passing on quarterback down the board at No. 16 in 2023, but if they have a chance to get someone like Maye next April, it could change things for the franchise. Washington was outside the top 20 in nearly every passing metric last season.

The Athletic - Dane Brugler (5/2)

6. Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas

Only a redshirt sophomore (plus he skipped his senior year of high school), Ewers is still very young in several areas. But he has the top-shelf arm talent to make wow plays look routine. If the mental development catches up to his physical skills, Ewers will be an easy top-10 pick.

MORE: Continue reading our 2024 Washington Commanders Mock Draft Roundup

Washington Commanders - 2023 Draft Results

The table below are all of the 2023 NFL Draft picks selected by the Washington Commanders.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School
1	16	Emmanuel Forbes	CB	Mississippi State
2	47	Jartavius Martin	CB	Illinois
3	97	Ricky Stromberg	C	Arkansas
4	118	Braeden Daniels	OT	Utah
5	137	K.J. Henry	EDGE	Clemson
6	193	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	RB	Kentucky
7	233	Andre Jones Jr.	EDGE	Louisiana

More: 2023 NFL Draft Results - Washington Commanders Draft History