ASHBURN, Va. — The new Washington Commanders regime didn’t draft running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., but they’re going to benefit from arguably the last best pick the last group of decision-makers made.

A more physical, aggressive, play style from the Commanders offense under head coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury suits Rodriguez’s playing style well. Something he proved despite limited opportunity in his rookie season in 2023.

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Following OTA practice this week we caught up with the young Washington back and he had an interesting description of the new feeling around the team these days.

‘It’s a lot of ‘us’. They brought in a lot of leaders I would say,” Rodriguez said. “For instance, you got Bobby (Wagner), you got (Frankie Luvu), you got Zach Ertz, you got a lot of people. A lot of people are stepping up.”

Nobody would be wrong to be surprised about a player commenting on the ‘us’ approach being new and feeling refreshing. Football is the ultimate team sport, after all.

“It’s different when you want to go to war with your brother, so you can preach all day like, ‘Oh, that’s my brother. We’re on the same team.’ But it’s different when you get close to those guys.”

– Chris Rodriguez Jr., Commanders RB

But when money and livelihoods get involved the inspiration to work, play, and put in effort for others can become compromised.

The challenge for any organizational leader then becomes finding a way to not only connect with your players, but find a way to get them to connect with each other in a way that transcends simply wearing the same uniforms.

In that vein, Rodriguez shared with us that the locker room looks a bit different these days, and it’s going a long way to providing players a way to invest in players outside of your specific group.

“You’re not just next to the running backs, you’re not just next to the quarterbacks. It’s different,” Rodriguez said. “So getting to meet those dudes, getting to talk to the o-line more…I feel like it’s different when you want to go to war with your brother, so you can preach all day like, ‘Oh, that’s my brother. We’re on the same team.’ But it’s different when you get close to those guys.”

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Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.