Daily Slop – 22 Apr 24: Lots of authoritative voices talking; few of them agree on what the Commanders will do on Thursday

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

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Articles

Riggo’s Rag

Pressure builds on Commanders GM Adam Peters as landmark choice looms

The new general manager has to get this right…

Daniel Jeremiah from the NFL Network highlighted the pressure Peters is facing via John Keim of ESPN. The respected analyst stated that so many new moving parts need to form a concise opinion about which quarterback is best. Then, it’ll be Quinn and his staff’s job to make sure this revamped roster gets on the same page quickly.

“He’s got a massive decision in front of him, starting with his very first pick. So that’s a lot of pressure. That’s difficult when you are just coming together with a coach and a general manager, not to mention new owner, new organization and trying to learn your existing roster.

“They were very aggressive in free agency in terms of bringing in a lot of guys. So trying to make all these pieces fit. And then, oh, by the way, right away you’ve got to make a call on the quarterback position and make sure that you get that right.”

This was a sentiment echoed by former general manager Marc Ross, who added that the Commanders’ lack of stability at the quarterback spot has been arguably the primary catalyst behind their demise since Kirk Cousins was allowed to walk in free agency for the Minnesota Vikings. After some major misses under previous regimes, Peters has a chance to resolve this for the next decade during his first offseason at the helm.

“It’s monumental. They’ve been in quarterback purgatory, or hell, for a long time. They have to make it right.”

Peters knows how big of a responsibility this is. He freely admitted as much during his pre-draft availability, yet there remains a level of composure and conviction that’s been prevalent throughout the recruitment period so far.

Riggo’s Rag

Commanders tipped for last-minute curveball as NFL Draft pendulum shifts

Could there be another twist in the tale?

This was a sentiment echoed by Ian Cummings from Pro Football Network. Instead of going with the consensus belief that Daniels would be the No. 2 pick, the draft analyst mocked Drake Maye to the Commanders. Someone he believes will become the best quarterback prospect in this entire class when it’s all said and done.

“Once you get past the first overall pick, the 2024 NFL Draft becomes a more difficult guessing game. The Washington Commanders tipped their cap to their intentions on April 25 when they traded Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks, so we know that they’ll strive to secure a new signal-caller. The most significant question now is which one they’ll strike for.

“Drake Maye is the top-rated quarterback on the PFN 2024 NFL Draft Big Board. His arm talent and underrated physical attributes make him an alluring prospect with untold NFL potential, regardless of what some high-profile media voices believe. Yet, 44.4% of PFN analysts involved in this 2024 NFL Mock Draft leaned toward a different quarterback pick here.”

Maye’s always been strongly linked, although the North Carolina prospect has taken a back seat to Daniels until recently. The noises coming from the LSU standout’s camp have seen the pendulum shift slightly. This is reflected in the pair being almost neck-and-neck among sportsbooks with just a few short days remaining until the big night.

Commanders Wire

2024 Commanders mock draft roundup: What has changed over the past week?

Mock drafts, analysts and fans have been split on what the Commanders will do. After the 2023 NFL season, many projected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye to Washington. Then, things shifted to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. And, for the most part, Daniels has remained the favorite over the past two months.

However, the odds shifted last week when Daniels’ agent appeared unhappy with how Washington scheduled multiple top-30 visits at once, including four quarterbacks. Was the agent expecting red-carpet treatment befitting the No. 2 overall pick? Commanders general manager Adam Peters has yet to tip his hand on which quarterback he prefers.

We’ve rounded up the latest mock drafts to see if analysts have changed their minds. Will it be Maye? Or Daniels? What about J.J. McCarthy?

Sports Illustrated

NFL ‘Overwhelmingly Convinced’ Washington Commanders Taking QB Jayden Daniels

NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah revealed what he’s hearing about the Washington Commanders and what they’ll be doing with the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels make too much sense to have not happen, and it’s been that way for a while now.

Even those who believe in their own evaluation that North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is the best fit or even better longterm answer for Washington are starting to lean toward the Daniels side of things as we get closer to the big day.

And you can count NFL.com’s own draft expert Daniel Jeremiah among them, almost.

“I’ve been connecting them to Drake Maye for a long time. I just felt like that fit there – I think about (coach Dann Quinn) going to a Super Bowl with (former Atlanta Falcons quarterback) Matt Ryan, and what Matt Ryan was coming out – strengths, weaknesses, and I thought it actually married up pretty well with Drake,” Jeremiah said in his annual meeting with media before the NFL Draft. “So that had been my connection there. But in talking to coaches and executives around the league, they’re overwhelmingly convinced around the league that this is Jayden Daniels, that this is going to be the pick there at No. 2.”

Burgundy & Gold Report

Unpacking the Phenomenon of Beebe: The Human Wrecking Ball | NFL Draft

Cooper Beebe

6’3” 322 lbs | IOL | KSU

Draft Proj Late 2nd Round

In 2022 the Wildcats lineman started 14 games at left guard with a few snaps at left tackle. Beebe didn’t give up a sack all season and the Wildcats finished the season ranked 15th in the nation n rushing yards per game (208.3 yards).

Beebe was named 1st Team All-American by ESPN, Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the year (by coaches), All Big 12 1st-Team (Coaches & AP) and Big 12 !st Team Academic honors with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

In 2023 Beebe was once again named a 1st Team All-American, after starting 13 games with 945 total snaps (832 coming at guard).

Beebe might not be the quickest interior offensive lineman, but his power and football IQ are evident.

Outlook

Beebe provides extensive experience playing in 51 career games (48 starts) starting at both tackle and guard.

The Wildcats lineman was named Big 12 Offensive lineman of the year in consecutive seasons, which was only the second time in school history since Dalton Risner (‘16 & ‘18).

The former 3-star recruit allowed only 5 sacks among his 1,488 career pass blocking snaps per Pro Football Focus with 4 of those coming in his redshirt freshman season of 2020 as he only allowed one sack in his final 42 games.

Beebe has the potential to be a day 1 starter at guard and presents solid value if still available in mid-late round 2.

Podcasts & videos

Locked on Commanders: Washington Commanders Drama w/ Jayden Daniels Takes Another Turn | Top 4 NFL Draft Needs and Players

Hoffman: Fallout from Commanders’ Topgolf party ‘continues to be stupid’

SB Nation links

Pats Pulpit

Sunday Patriots Notes: Commanders talk about their own quarterback decision at No. 2 overall

Notes and thoughts on the Patriots and the NFL on April 21.

Commanders check-in: The Patriots will be on the clock quicker than usual in the 2024 NFL Draft. But, the wait will be just as suspenseful. Despite Caleb Williams all but locked into the No. 1 overall pick, what the Washington Commanders do with the second overall selection is anyone’s guess.

When speaking at the Commanders pre-draft press conference on Thursday, general manager Adam Peters said the team will likely come to the decision for the No. 2 overall pick early next week. Part of the remaining process between now and then is a conversation with head coach Dan Quinn.

With Washington seemingly locked in on a quarterback with the selection, Quinn offers a unique point of view — and similar to that of Jerod Mayo — as a defensive minded head coach.

“What does it look like if you can take somebody all the way in disguise, how quickly can they process? As a defensive coach, it’s looking like zone but it’s really man-to-man, it’s not two-high it’s one-high. All the triggers that you want to get too, can you do it after [the quarterback] gets the ball in his hands,” Quinn told ESPN’s John Keim at the NFL Annual Meetings.

“That to me is always one of the triggers to say, ‘Can we hold a disguise to make him really figure it out after the snap.’ The best of the best [at the position], yes I can process as I’m taking the ball, as I’m going through the play. So that’s what I look for into these guys.”

Trade watch: Another avenue that remains open for the Patriots to upgrade their wide receiver talent — or roster in general — is through the trade market. According to Wolf, those conversations have remained opened.

“We’ve had conversations with teams about different scenarios, not just the receiver, but at other positions. So that’s definitely something that we’d be open to,” he explained.

30 counts: Official pre-draft 30 visits concluded last week as team’s can no longer host prospects to their facility. Among the 24 reported visits the Patriots held, the focus trended towards quarterbacks — including UNC’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. — and offensive tackles.

The entire positional breakdown concluded as follows:

QB: 4; WR: 3; TE: 1; OT: 8; iOL: 1; DL: 1; Edge: 3; LB: 1; CB: 2

Jacoby’s role: “We signed Jacoby [Brissett] because he’s a good player,” Wolf said. “He’s a big, strong, relentless preparer, in terms of his ability to take the game plan and apply it through the week to Sunday. He’s got a good arm. He’s big and strong. And we feel like if we end up drafting a quarterback high, he is someone that can support that player and would be a positive influence on them, while competing with them.”

NFL league links

Articles

Over the Cap

NFL Drafting Strategies

Every year as the draft approaches I like to look at different trends over the last five years to see how teams can better utiltize the draft and free agency to build their football team by taking a bit of a more data based approach to player availability and success.

The first thing I did was go back to 2020 and look at the top 20 contracts at every position in the NFL. I then determined of those top 20 players how many of those players were available in free agency when they signed their most recent contract. This can give us a strong indication of good veteran players who a team can “buy” to become a starter.

The second thing is to look at the contractual benefit that exists if we hit on a player in the draft. To do this I looked at what the 16^th pick in the NFL draft will cost (about $4 million a year) and what annual savings that would provide over the 10^th highest paid player at each position in 2024. Here are the results:

The positions in the bottom right quadrant are the positions that teams really should be focusing in the top rounds of the draft. These are positions with poor free agent availability along with massive contractual savings if the player hits. Those contractual savings are not just important for being able to “buy” players but they also give a safety factor to each pick.