With training camp underway and the Washington Commanders already in pads, the regular season is just around the corner. Week 1 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is just under a month away. It’s that time of year when things start kicking into full speed.

For teams all across the league, that means that it’s also the time when a few diamonds in the rough – a few players yet unnoticed – tend to make their move to stand out from the crowd and make an NFL roster.

When it comes to the Commanders, this is a list of some under-the-radar players making that push. While you may have heard of a few, some are more surprising. They also have some important tools that could come in handy for the beginning of Washington’s new era.

Let’s get to it.

Under-the-radar Commanders players staking strong claims at 2024 training camp

Brycen Tremayne – Commanders WR

This one is going to catch a lot of people by surprise. Though the Washington Commanders have a reasonably clear top four or five wide receivers, it’s not as if the rest completely lack talent.

It’s the norm for NFL teams. Everyone can play. But what makes Brycen Tremayne stand out are a few things. Primarily, that he is 6-foot-4.

As a part of the current Commanders group, he would add a type of diversity that other members simply can’t. Tremayne would give Washington’s offense a great change-of-pace type player who can continue to stand out with impressive snags like the diving one he caught in a recent practice from Marcus Mariota. The former Stanford star finds himself on the bubble, just close enough to make the roster.

Tremayne has something else going for him. Once ranked as the No. 524 receiver in the country, he was a two-star high school. The wideout had one offer from Harvard. Instead, he opted to walk on at Stanford, where he scraped his way into the rotation. It seemed he was beginning to find his way, but a serious a leg injury was almost career-ending dented his dreams in the blink of an eye.

Once again, he overcame the odds. From an unrecruited prospect, to getting injured, to going undrafted, the guy just keeps at it. If we’re being honest, his story seems like just the type of one to attract the attention of the new ball coach.

Of course, being a 6-foot-4 wideout doesn’t hurt, either.

Brandon Coleman – Commanders OT

With the No. 67 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders picked athletic offensive tackle Brandon Coleman. Brought in initially to compete for the left tackle position, he has also been spotted taking reps on the right-hand side because of a lingering injury to veteran Andrew Wiley.

Having also played offensive guard in college for the TCU Horned Frogs, a lot of teams had him as a better fit there. However, with some of the signs Coleman has shown throughout training camp, it seems not only that the new regime considers him as more of a blindside protector – but potentially a Day 1 starter on the blindside of No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels.

With enough tape already on veteran Cornelius Lucas, the coaching staff may simply be giving Coleman some of the reps to see how he fares against starting-caliber competition in the professional ranks. Though there is promise, not all of the results have been great thus far.

Some old weaknesses in his game are appearing, such as struggling more against pressure coming from the inside. This is something that needs fixing, and quick, if Coleman is going to open up the season as the starter.

It’s only a question at this point as to whether or not the Commanders think they can afford some early rookie mistakes from Coleman without impacting the win-loss column. He’s come alive over the second week of camp – especially when the pads came on. That’s the greatest sign yet that he’s benefitting from the enhanced coaching at his disposal.

It’s one of the biggest choices facing the Commanders this season, as it directly involves protecting Daniels – the man with the entire weight of this once-proud franchise on his young shoulders. Based on initial impressions, the third-rounder is going to be a solid pick if he avoids any serious injury complications throughout his career in Washington.

Tariq Castro-Fields – Commanders CB

The San Francisco 49ers selected Tariq Castro-Fields in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was waived in August of the same season.

The Washington Commanders picked him up the first day after his release, potentially seeing how trouble was brewing at the cornerback position. Those in power determined that just because a kid is left off of one of the best defenses the NFL has known over the last few years, it doesn’t mean that he couldn’t find his way long-term.

With Adam Peters, a man who likely played a big role in the Niners drafting him, now in Washington, perhaps it could be a gust of fate that has brought the two together once more. And with the Commanders’ 2023 secondary a horrendous sight to behold, maybe it’s possible that this reunion could have come at just the right time.

Castro-Fields has been so impressive thus far in training camp, that he has even begun receiving some first-team reps. For a guy whose name has been pretty much invisible since his signing last year, this is an incredible step that is not just given to anybody.

However, it doesn’t mean that he is going to be a starter. The hard work is just getting started for Castro-Fields.

The young defensive back has all the physical gifts that Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. look for in their hunting defense. But to keep a lid on the potential excitement, this move could only be to ensure the Commanders have a worst-case scenario in place. Just in case Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and others underperform once more.

With that being said, the fact that the Commanders have been giving him these important reps is an overall good sign for the former Penn State Nittany Lion. Hopefully, this means the new regime has already achieved more cornerback depth than Ron Rivera managed to accomplish during his four seasons at the helm.