Josh

Conerly Jr.

Per Jeremy Fowler, Conerly is “expected to sign Tuesday.” Unless something goes awry, Commanders fans can effectively count this as a signing. The deal is reportedly worth $15.68 million. It is unclear which position Conerly will play. Offseason trade acquisition Laremy Tunsil will man the Commanders’ left tackle position, likely moving last year’s rookie left tackle starter Brandon Coleman to right tackle. Conerly could challenge Coleman for the role.

A 2022 blue chip recruit who was rated as a five-star, top-10 overall prospect out of Seattle, Conerly Jr. (6’5/311) was actually a running back before transitioning to OL as a sophomore in high school. As a freshman, he was used as an extra tackle in short-yardage situations and caught a four-yard touchdown pass while not allowing a single pressure. He became Oregon’s starting LT in 2023, logging 900+ reps in each of the last two seasons while earning Third-Team AP All-American status last year. Conerly Jr. recorded a superb 1 percent blown block rate with just one sack and two hits allowed while posting an 83.4 PFF pass block grade for the Big Ten Champion Ducks. He ran well at the Combine with a 5.05s 40-yard dash and 34.5-inch vertical, which verified his athletic traits with an 88th percentile Relative Athletic Score. He tends to give ground on outside pass sets in order to size up his opponent before initiating contact and stiffening up. He fires out of his stance on run plays and is quick enough to get to the proper edge of defenders to turn them and create lanes. Conerly Jr. tries to surround and envelop defenders rather than overpower them, and is susceptible to a well-timed bull rush. A three-year college player, Conerly Jr. has the traits to develop into a solid tackle if he can add functional weight to improve his anchor.

It’s a massive win for Oregon, who pluck the top ranked player out of Washington. Conerly (6'5"/283) is also the 15th overall player and the 2nd ranked OT by composite ranking. As befitting such a top recruit, every big school was in for this kid, including Alabama, USC, Michigan and Oklahoma. For Oregon and new head coach Dan Lanning to land such a top recruit from out-of-state against those CFB powerhouses is very encouraging.

Conerly (6'5"/275) has a rather unusual top-six for such a high profile recruit. He’s a five-star tackle and the third ranked tackle in the class. He is from Washington though, which may explain some things, but his top-six is Washington, Oklahoma, Oregon, Michigan, USC and Miami (FL). The schools are all across the country, but not necessarily the usual big names like Alabama and Ohio State. It would be a massive in-state keeper for Washington to retain him and they generally do well in keeping their high ranked guys like Sav’ell Smalls and Sam Huard. 247Sports experts have Washington and Michigan in a tie for his services at the moment.

Conerly (6'5/275) may be the top offensive lineman in the state of Washington for this cycle, but he won’t be rushing into the commitment fray without going through his due diligence. We can at least loosely tell you which programs have been on the Seattle native’s mind, though. Not surprisingly, Washington is a strong contender to land its home state son. Other outfits in play, here, look to include Alabama, Oregon and USC, among others. On the 247Sports composite board, Conerly ranks as the No. 55 prospect in the 2022 class.