Commanders' 2025 first-round pick more comfortable ahead of Year 2

Washington Commanders right tackle Josh Conerly says he is feeling increasingly more comfortable.

>Conerly played his rookie NFL season in 2025. The Commanders were expected to contend for the NFC East title against the Eagles; however, in 2025, they won only 5 games and finished 5-12. When teams don't meet expectations, some people will pay for it. As a result, head coach Dan Quinn was determined to hire two new coordinators: Daronte Jones (defense) and David Blough (offense).

>"I feel like, as a team, we are just learning," Conerly told reporters. "Learn the offenses, learn the defenses. I feel like everyone's starting to get comfortable with it now. Once we step on the field, we are flying around. Personally, for myself, I feel a lot more comfortable in my position. I feel like once I continue to stack days, I feel like I'm getting better and better."

>When asked what he thought about the movement in the NFC East on Monday, Conerly paused and then honestly asked, "What do you mean?" When told there had been some movement (the AJ Brown trade from the Eagles to the Patriots), Conerly replied, "I just worry about the team, but I feel like there was a lot of movement. I mean, some great teams got even better players, and they're going to be even better teams."

>Conerly is approaching his second NFL training camp and his second OTA session this offseason. "I feel like over the past few months, I am continuously getting comfortable in my stance, not necessarily rebuilding it, but just finding ways to make it as comfortable as possible.

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#Commanders rookie OT Josh Conerly Jr. showed some really encouraging development from his first preseason performance to his second, correcting mistakes from the first game quickly in the second. I broke down his performance against the Bengals: https://t.co/SEer0yW5Gvpic.twitter.com/nRLIG7p93z

— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) August 21, 2025As for his second offensive coordinator in two seasons (Blough replacing Kliff Kingsbury), Conerly is glad that some similarities remain. "There's a lot of similar verbiage, so that helps. I feel like that's been the easiest part. It is a little bit longer of calls in a huddle, and actually huddling up is something I haven't done since, I don't know, maybe little league. Playing at Oregon, we were always fast tempo on the ball. And last year, we were obviously in that offense as well. So I do feel like it's been a lot easier to get clear communication."

>The 29th overall selection in the 2025 draft, Conerly seems more confident, more comfortable moving toward his second NFL season.

>This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders RT Josh Conerly is feeling more comfortable