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Daniel Jeremiah talks which QB could best fit Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury

Jeremiah was asked which quarterback he thinks fits the Commanders and Kingsbury the best.

Well, I think Kliff — I think Kliff can use what he has and adjust a little bit with his offense. I don’t think it’s super, super rigid.

But I know over everything else you talk about guys that can get through things quickly and get the ball out and get it out accurately. So I think you can look at all these guys. I think all three of them would fit. I don’t think that there’s anybody you look at between those three and say Kliff couldn’t work with them.

I think you get mobility with all three. You get guys that are all three of them by everything I’ve been told are really, really bright, really, really smart guys. To me it’s more about kind of the ceiling of what you think they can be.

Drake Maye with just having a little more prototypical size and playing in a rugged division, I think that might be more of a decision-making point more so maybe than the offense would be. You know, the location and the division and playing outdoors in Washington. That to me would lean a little bit more towards Drake Maye.

When discussing the three, Jeremiah didn’t necessarily say this was his choice because Williams was already gone. Jeremiah, like everyone, assumes Williams will go No. 1 overall, but on more than one occasion, he has mentioned how much he likes Maye for the Commanders.

Last Word on Sports

The Washington Commanders have two running backs on contract for 2024. What could their RB room look like next season?

Free Agent Options

The first route to adding competition will come via free agency. Teams are permitted to begin negotiating with free agents at noon EST on March 11, and the Commanders brass will be busy. Despite having the most cap space in the league, however, Washington is unlikely to spend much of that money on the running back position. It isn’t a premium position and the team has too many other needs to prioritize first. They will do their due diligence, though, and could come away with an under-the-radar signing.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, UFA

A player like Clyde Edwards-Helaire could make some sense for Washington. As a former first-round selection, handpicked by Patrick Mahomes, Edwards-Helaire didn’t meet expectations in Kansas City. He lost starting duties to seventh-round draft pick Isiah Pacheco and pass-game responsibilities to 31-year-old Jerick McKinnon. He desperately needs a change of scenery and his market will reflect it. The Commanders could bring in Edwards-Helaire on a cheap, one-year “prove-it” deal that could benefit both parties.

Salvon Ahmed, UFA

Salvon Ahmed is another inexpensive option to consider. Ahmed wouldn’t be guaranteed to make the 53-man roster, and wouldn’t preclude the team from drafting a rookie, but he’d offer quality competition in training camp. He caught 16 passes in eight games last season for the explosive Dolphins offense, and he’d cost less than $1 million on a one-year deal. The diminutive Ahmed would bring a different dimension to complement bruisers Robinson Jr. and Rodriguez Jr.

Draft Options

This is where things could get interesting. The 2024 NFL Draft takes place a full month after the start of free agency, so we’ll have a better idea of the team’s needs in April. As a reminder, Washington holds nine total picks, including five in the first three rounds. The Commanders won’t prioritize the running back position, but Kliff Kingsbury could covet one to utilize in his air-raid offense.

Mar’Kiese “Bucky” Irving, Oregon

Bucky Irving is an intriguing prospect with an ideal skillset for Washington’s new system. Irving (5’10”, 195 lbs) transferred from Minnesota after his freshman year to become a two-time 1,000-yard rusher as an Oregon Duck. He increased his reception total every season, culminating in a 56-reception, 413-yard receiving season in 2023.

Irving is currently listed as the 94th overall player according to NFL Mock Draft Database‘s consensus Big Board. The Commanders hold a third-round compensatory pick at #101 overall and a fourth-round pick at #103. Irving could be a strong option at either selection if available.

Will Shipley, Clemson

Former five-star recruit Will Shipley (5’11” 210 lbs) is another back on the third/fourth round border in early mock drafts. After a monster sophomore season with 1,182 yards and 15 touchdowns, Shipley regressed in almost every statistical rushing category in 2023. He played in every game but produced only 827 yards and five touchdowns on 43 fewer carries than the previous year.

On the other hand, Shipley increased his receiving production in his third season. He’s a natural pass-catcher, is explosive in the open field, and has the prototypical size for the position. After a down season, he could fall into Washington’s lap in the fourth round.

Commanders Wire

Commanders re-sign a pair of 2023 rookies to the roster

Wide receiver Kazmeir Allen and guard Mason Brooks, two of Washington’s priority free agents after last year’s NFL draft, have inked deals with the Commanders.

Allen, who played collegiately at UCLA, is a wide receiver/return specialist who drew praise from former head coach Ron Rivera for his work last summer. However, Allen failed to separate himself and was beaten out by Dax Milne for one of Washington’s final roster spots. Milne would go injured reserve before Week 1 last season, and the Commanders chose to elevate recently signed veteran Jamison Crowder to replace him.

Allen stayed on the practice squad all season, allowing the former college running back to continue to develop as a receiver.

Brooks played offensive tackle at Western Kentucky and transferred to Ole Miss for his final season. He was reportedly Washington’s highest-paid undrafted free agent last spring. Brooks stood out during training camp practices last summer and during the preseason.

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Brooks has a nasty streak and could figure into the mix with a strong offseason.

Teams normally sign practice-squad players to future deals as soon as the season ends, but Brooks and Allen reportedly explored other opportunities before choosing to return to Washington.

Commanders.com

Five things to know about DBs coach Tom Donatell

4. He’s learned a lot from his dad about coaching in the NFL.

Coaching is a family tradition for Donatell. He’s carrying on the legacy of his father, Ed Donatell, who’s been at it for 32 years in the NFL and even longer if you include his roles at the collegiate level (he first started as a graduate assistant for Kent State in 1979).

So, Tom Donatell had plenty of time to learn from his father over the years, and those conversations are still going on today.

“When I was younger, we’d talk scheme, football and as we started understanding that stuff, it was more into teaching, styles of teaching, relationships, how to deal with different personalities and be a good teammate as a staff and a player whatever it was,” Donatell said. “He was just so big into team and culture, we spent a lot of time talking about that.”

Ed Donatell, who last coached for the Minnesota Vikings as their defensive coordinator in 2022, still offers useful tips to his son when the occasion calls for it. A lot of it doesn’t even have to do with on-field activities. He’ll ask his son how he sets up meetings and whether he’s telling his players to use certain techniques. Even questions about how practice went become “very influential.”

And of course, there is a friendly rivalry going on between them. They’ve coached against each other three times, and Ed Donatell has the upper hand for now.

“One of them I was at the Seahawks, and he was at the Bears,” Tom Donatell said. “They beat us on Monday night, Coach Staley and Coach Jay Rodgers were on that staff. That was the first one, a pick-6 to seal it against us. And then the two times here we spilt, we lost to them in Denver and then I finally beat him here once that first year we were here, that second game.”

Riggo’s Rag

6 free-agent safeties the Commanders could sign in 2024

Could the Commanders be in the market for safety help in free agency?

Commanders could sign Kyle Dugger

I like Kyle Dugger a lot. He is one of the biggest and most aggressive safeties available through free agency in 2024. And he will only be 28 years old next season.

Like Antoine Winfield Jr., he entered the league in 2020 as a second-round draft pick out of Division II school Lenoir-Rhyne. After steadily improving under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots over his first three seasons, Dugger had an uncharacteristically poor campaign in 2023.

I view that more as a minor glitch than a serious cause for concern. And the down year might depress his salary demands a little bit if the Washington Commanders did show an interest.

Dugger is a tough player who can be a force playing close to the line. He had never been a liability in pass coverage but seemed a little bit reckless at times in 2023. The previous year, he had been one of the best ball-hawks in the league, returning two of his three interceptions for touchdowns, and scoring another on a fumble recovery.

This would seem to be the aggressive, playmaking safety Joe Whitt Jr. had success with during his time working for the Dallas Cowboys. Those occasional lapses aside, Dugger is somewhat of a bigger version of Winfield. He has the size to play near the line and the speed to cover wider zones than typical strong safeties.

Dugger would seem to be more of an obvious match with a player like Darrick Forrest. He would also offer Dan Quinn and Whitt a lot of flexibility in designing their defenses.

Podcasts & videos

Meet Washington Commanders Assistant Coaches Jason Simmons, Ken Norton Jr., and Bobby Johnson

NFC East links

Pro Football Talk

Report: Dom DiSandro suspension impacted Nick Sirianni during games

Eagles reporter Derrick Gunn has offered something more concrete, and far less juicy.

According to Gunn, the banishment of Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro from the sidelines after he made contact with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw during a December 3 game against San Francisco threw coach Nick Sirianni off balance. Gunn posted on X that “Big Dom” “controls Sirianni emotions on sideline” and that “in his absence Nick gets in numerous arguments with players/coaches during games.”

The Eagles went into a free fall after the Big Dom sideline suspension, which lasted for the rest of the regular season. The Eagles won only one more game and surrendered the division title to the Cowboys. (After the lone victory — on Christmas over the Giants — Sirianni admitted he was “too tense” during the game.)

The report also speaks to the significance of DiSandro to the operation. Above all else, an NFL head of security is a fixer. Usually, that means keeping problems from becoming problems in a subtle, low-key way.

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Washington Post (paywall)

Punter Matt Araiza, no longer facing rape lawsuit, signs with Chiefs

Drafted by the Bills in 2022 following a standout career at San Diego State, Araiza was released by Buffalo several months later after he was accused in a lawsuit of participating in the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl. Araiza was dropped from the lawsuit in December, and he agreed to dismiss a defamation countersuit against the girl. Prosecutors in San Diego County declined to press charges against him in late 2022.

Araiza had been out of the NFL since being released by the Bills, though he reportedly had a tryout last year with the New York Jets.

On Thursday, he said he was “thrilled to be able to continue my NFL career.”

“I am proud and honored to sign a contract with the Chiefs,” Araiza said in a statement shared by his agency, JL Sports. “I want to thank my family, who have been my rock and my many friends who have been unwavering in their support. I am excited to begin the next phase of my career with the Super Bowl Champs!”

SB Nation

Caleb Williams is taking big risk going into NFL Draft without an agent

This is about a lot more than money.

If you see a leaked report about a bad team meeting, a quarterback “struggling” on the whiteboard, or claims of attitude problems, you can bet good money that somewhere down the line an agent was involved. During the draft season it’s their sole duty to get their client drafted as high as possible, even if that means sabotaging someone else’s draft stock.

If something happens at the combine where Caleb Williams doesn’t show out as expected, if he struggles on the route tree or in a meeting — there won’t be an experienced person in his corner to run counter-ops to stop it. We saw this with Lamar Jackson in the 2018 NFL Draft, where he chose to represent himself. Prior to the process it was widely believed Jackson would go after Baker Mayfield, but somewhere in the top 15 picks of the draft. When rumors ran rampant that he had poor meetings and might not even be able to play quarterback at the next level he tumbled, and everyone else’s loss was Baltimore’s gain. Jackson ended up being drafted behind Josh Allen and Josh Rosen, falling all the way to No. 32.

Williams will not plummet that far, but weird things can happen when locked in a battle with Drake Maye for the presumptive No. 1 pick, and with Jayden Daniels and J.J. McCarthy picking up steam as top 10 quarterbacks. If you look around the pre-combine headlines there’s almost no hype around Williams right now, and a large part of that is not having an agent talking to everyone about why he’s the best player in this class.

Caleb Williams is choosing to bet on himself. Trust that he can handle this process without someone to manage everything around him. Time will tell if he’s a genius who saves millions, or if this is a massive mistake.

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