Who is the "face of the franchise" for the Washington Commanders?

Green Bay - Aaron Rodgers

Buffalo - Josh Allen

Kansas City - Patrick Mahomes

Think of a team, think of a player... usually the quarterback. That’s the “face of the franchise”.

It’s not always crystal clear

It’s not always clear all the time who the ‘face of the franchise’ is.

Take the Cowboys, for example. Is it Dak Prescott? Ezekiel Elliott? 2nd year phenom linebacker Micah Parsons? or will it always be Jerry Jones?

What about Denver? A young head coach, a quarterback who spent his career as a Seahawk, an unclear ownership structure and not much established star power.

You can make the argument for players other than quarterbacks as well.

When people think of the Los Angeles Rams, do they immediately think of Matt Stafford? Perhaps Aaron Donald or head coach Sean McVay are better bets for the role.

Indianapolis, with Jonathan Taylor, may have a running back that is more strongly associated with the image of the team than its newly arrived quarterback, Matt Ryan, who is so well known as a Falcon.

One might make similar arguments in the past for players like TJ Watt in Pittsburgh or Christian McCaffery in Carolina. I’m not so sure that those two players don’t outshine their respective quarterbacks when it comes to the guy that is most associated with the franchise.

Commanders

But we are Washington fans, and it occurs to me that the team has been in a bit of an identity crisis recently. The name has changed (twice!), there has been a parade of starting quarterbacks since 2018, and the new coaching staff and front office have largely moved away from long-tenured players, putting an emphasis on an almost entirely new roster of players.

At this point, I wonder if the Commanders have a clear identity; I wonder if we agree on which Commander is the “face of the franchise”?

Let me run through a few candidates, and then we’ll see what you think.

Carson Wentz

Although newly arrived, it’s hard to go past the starting quarterback in a ‘face of the franchise’ discussion. And, regardless of expectations — whether they are for brilliance or disaster — one thing that everyone seems to agree on is that the success or failure of Washington’s inaugural season as the Commanders is likely to hinge on the play of the 7th-year quarterback.

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There’s a good chance that for the next two decades or longer, the ‘Commanders era’ will be defined in terms of what Carson Wentz does on the field between now and February, in much the same way that RG3’s rookie season is a beacon of both hope and disaster in the history of the franchise. One final factor is that every NFL fan knows who Carson Wentz is, and everyone has an opinion about him. Like it or not, the opinions of NFL fans about the Washington Commanders are largely shaped by the team’s decision to trade for Wentz and push all their chips to the middle of the table with a bet on number 11.

Taylor Heinicke

Amazingly, if there’s one quarterback since Robert Griffin III who is more widely known to NFL fans and associated with Washington football than all the rest, it is probably backup QB Taylor Heinicke. Heinicke stuck his flag in the sand when he dived for the pylon in a playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and his gritty performance in 2021, when he started 15 games following the opening week career-ending injury to Ryan Fitzpatrick, made him a popular Cindarella-like story for fans of the game.

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Heinicke is an underdog and a great story; he is also the quarterback who has come closest to being the starter for a full season since the departure of Kirk Cousins at the end of the 2017 season.

Chase Young

Face of the franchise isn’t always about being the most productive player or the longest-tenured — it is often about perception of NFL fans who may not know a lot about a particular team, which makes Chase Young a candidate for Commanders face-of-the-franchise in 2022.

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It may seem silly to think of a player who is not even expected to be healthy enough to play in September — and a defensive player who struggled in 2021 at that! But when you come out of college with the label of “best player in the draft”, every serious football fan in the country knows your name. When you’re the first non-quarterback drafted, you usually go to a team bereft of nationally-recognized stars. Chase Young is a high-profile name that is usually the focus of network broadcast teams during Washington games, and his face and number (99) have appeared widely on advertising and promotions for the past two years.

Terry McLaurin

Of course, Commanders fans know and love Terry McLaurin, but he has a number of things going against him for ‘face of the franchise’ consideration. First of all, he was a 3rd round draft pick coming out of Ohio State, and at the time, wasn’t even considered to be the best receiver on the Buckeyes team, much less an elite NFL prospect. Secondly, some of Terry’s greatest assets are his professionalism, hard work, thoughtfulness and leadership; that’s why he has been a team captain for multiple seasons, but those aren’t factors in establishing a national identity.

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Thirdly, in today’s world of fantasy-football driven popularity, statistical production is often the measure by which ‘average’ NFL fans value players. Terry has produced well when all things are considered; he has put up over 3,000 yards in 3 seasons while catching balls from a merry-go-round of quarterbacks. Fans of other NFL teams, however, scoff at the idea that McLaurin is elite because they focus on box scores and likely have never seen more of Terry McLaurin than the occasional play on NFL Red Zone. Of course, that could change in 2022. McLaurin has certainly won the hearts and minds of Washington fans, but does he have the national profile to qualify as the guy who represents Washington football to the world?

Jonathan Allen

If Chase Young is notable for his smiling exuberance and Terry McLaurin for his hard work and dedication, Jon Allen may be known best for his professional no-nonsense approach to doing the hard work of battling in the trenches of the NFL. It is possible for an interior defensive lineman to rise to national prominence — just ask Aaron Donald — but to many NFL fans, the work of linemen on both sides of the ball is nearly invisible; partly because it’s so hard to watch and evaluate, and partly because it doesn’t count in fantasy football...except for sacks.

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Allen did, indeed, lead the Washington defense last season with 9 sacks, and he is a locker room leader as well. As one of many first-round picks on Washington’s front-7, and as a former Alabama player, Allen has a pretty strong national profile among NFL fans and is treasured by most Washington fans for the tough mentality that he brings to the defense and the entire team.

Tress Way

Tress Way has been with the team since 2014, which I believe makes him the longest-tenured player on the roster. Way has been to a Pro-Bowl in a Redskins helmet, and he is often referred to by Washington fans as the “MVP”. Way is outgoing, funny and charismatic, and he is one of the better and most consistent players at his position in the NFL.

While Tress Way has a special place in the hearts of many Washington fans for his rock solid consistency during the oh-so-difficult (near) decade that we have suffered through since the acrimonious departure of the family Shanahan, he probably doesn’t get the respect he deserves beyond the borders of Redskins-WFT-Commanders nation. However Tress Way is seen by NFL fans in general, I suspect he will be long-remembered by Washington fans as a true bright spot in a very dark time in franchise history. Given Washington’s performance both on and off the field during Dan Snyder’s tenure, the idea of the punter being the face of the franchise for Snyder’s Commanders seems oddly appropriate.

Ron Rivera

Is it possible that the face of the Commanders franchise is not a player, but the head coach, Ron Rivera? Riverboat Ron is strongly associated with the Carolina Panthers, but NFL fans are a pretty adaptable bunch, and after 2 seasons of Ron standing stolidly on the Washington sideline he may be the figure that most people associate with the Commanders, and he looks good in Commanders colors.

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Rivera has been given as much power in the organization as probably any coach in the league. He has made it his mission to re-shape the organizational culture, and he has largely remade the franchise top-to-bottom and front-to-back in his image. Under the influence of his broad responsibility and sweeping powers, the entire franchise has taken on the personality of the guy who is still perceived as new sheriff in town, even in his 3rd year on the job, making Ron Rivera a very strong candidate for face of the franchise in 2022.