Daily Slop – 25 Apr 24: Round 1 of the NFL draft is tonight! Big news for Darrell Green

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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NBC Sports

LSU’s Jayden Daniels downplays issues with Commanders, says he’d be ‘blessed’ to go No. 2 overall

“I’m blessed to go wherever I’m called,” Daniels said Wednesday. “Whoever calls my phone, whoever gives the card to the commissioner that says my name, I’m blessed to go and they’re gonna get my all.”

Pressed further about the Commanders and asked if he’d be OK going there, Daniels replied: “100%”

The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner from LSU is expected to be one of the top three players selected Thursday night. After USC quarterback Caleb Williams goes to Chicago first overall, Daniels is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 2 pick, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

“I just had fun with the other guys just being able to interact with people throughout the process. It was cool,” Daniels said, adding that he’s not a golfer but is starting to learn the sport.

“I spent quite some time with them,” Daniels said. “Obviously, Zoom meetings prior and the combine and when I got up there I spent some time with them but I had other places to go so I had to catch a flight but overall just a good visit.”

Daniels, Williams and Maye are among 13 players in Detroit for the draft. They participated in a football clinic with Special Olympics Michigan athletes on a cold, blustery morning in a ballpark that used to be the site of old Tigers Stadium.

“I had a blast,” Williams said. “They seemed to have a great time. It was really enjoyable for me. Football is about having fun.”

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Washington Post (paywall)

Commanders decline linebacker Jamin Davis’s fifth-year option

The Washington Commanders declined the fifth-year contract option for linebacker Jamin Davis, according to two people with knowledge of the decision, putting their 2021 first-round draft pick on track to become a free agent next March.

The decision should come as no surprise; the extra fifth year, available to first-round picks and fully guaranteed when exercised, was projected to be worth $14.483 million and would have made Davis among the four highest paid linebackers in the NFL by average salary.

The fourth and final year of Davis’s rookie contract is now the most important of his young career.

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Pro Football Talk

At least 10 offensive linemen are likely to go in the first round tonight

In last year’s NFL draft, five offensive linemen were selected in the first round. This year, expect at least twice as many.

The 2024 NFL draft betting odds have the over-under set at 9.5 offensive linemen taken in Round 1, and the over is a -182 favorite. So the betting world expects at least 10 linemen to hear their names called tonight.

Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt is a heavy -550 favorite to be the first offensive lineman selected. The others with odds to be the first offensive linemen drafted are Alabama tackle J.C. Latham at +340, Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu at +2500, Oregon State tackle Taliese Fuaga at +4500, Washington tackle Troy Fautanu at +6000 and and Georgia tackle Amarius Mims at +10,000.

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Commanders.com

Marcus Mariota chose No. 0 as ‘reminder’ to prove doubters wrong

“Zero is something for me that’s just a reminder,” Mariota said. “I’m in year 10. People don’t think I can do it anymore. It’s just kind of a reminder everyday of ‘nobody really gives you a chance.’ And it’s cool to be able to remind yourself.”

Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2015, comes to Washington with 15,820 yards, 93 touchdowns and a completion rate of 62.7%. He’s appeared in 90 games, 74 of which featured him as a starter. Prior to that, he was one of the most successful quarterbacks in program history at Oregon, where he named a Heisman Trophy winner and claimed records in career touchdowns in the Pac-12 (135), career total offensive yards for Oregon (13,089) and career passing touchdowns (105).

All of that was done while wearing No. 8, which has a special meaning to Mariota. He started wearing the number when he was playing soccer as a kid. His coach threw him a jersey with the No. 8 on it, which he ended up growing to love because it paid homage to the eight major islands of Hawaii, where Mariota was born.

That number was unavailable when he signed with Washington since Brian Robinson Jr. has worn it since his rookie season. It isn’t the first time Mariota has played with a number other than eight. He had a similar situation with the Falcons in 2022, when he wore No. 1 so Kyle Pitts could keep wearing No. 8.

Commanders receiver currently wears No. 1, meaning that option was out, too. So, Mariota chose zero, partially out of respect for Robinson.

“I talked to Brian about it,” Mariota said. “Brian deserves that number.”

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Washington Post (paywall)

No sweat, Adam Peters: Just start wiping away decades of losing in one draft

For Washington, this is not just a draft. It’s a vessel of hope after the ugly reign of Daniel Snyder, and Peters, trying to jump-start the new era, will run his own draft room for the first time under the keen watch of his bosses, who bought the team for a record $6.05 billion less than a year ago.

If Peters nails it, he’ll lay the foundation for restoring this historic franchise to its former glory, and — if you dare believe it — acquire a precious franchise quarterback who’ll finally stop the turnstile that has spun in Washington for more than two decades.

If he botches it, he could perpetuate the losing cycle that’s helped erode a once-proud fan base.

Polian believes the quarterback Washington settles on doesn’t have to be “the second coming of Peyton Manning.”

“He doesn’t have to be an all-pro even,” Polian added. “He has to be a guy who can help you win in the National Football League when surrounded by other players and a program. … That’s the charge. A home run in this pick — that’s myopic. I don’t say that in a denigrating way. I recognize the role of the media. But the correct way to approach things is build the best football team you can. Execute the plan the coaches and GM have decided on. And as [Hall of Fame coach] Bill Walsh used to say, the score will take care of itself.”

(Polian said he hasn’t discussed the Commanders’ draft plans with his son Chris, who is the director of pro personnel for the team.)

San Francisco went 10-22 in the first two years under Coach Kyle Shanahan. But it became a perennial contender by winning on the margins, including with late picks such as quarterback Brock Purdy (seventh round, 2022).

Washington managing partner Josh Harris would probably like to start faster than San Francisco did. At the owners meeting last month, he called the No. 2 selection “obviously a very important pick” and noted the team’s treasure chest of draft capital.

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Podcasts & videos

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Darrell Green Tricked Into Announcing His Own Jersey Retirement! | Washington Commanders

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NFL league links

Articles

Over the Cap

NFL Draft Summary Data

With the NFL Draft about to take place I thought we would do a new study using contract data to look at different ways to view the success and failures of drafting. To help do this I went back and looked at every draft from 2011 to 2019 and determined how much was spent on a per year basis on a rookie contract and how much was committed to a player on a post rookie contract. The ratio of 2^nd to rookie contract value should give us an idea as to general expectations in each round as well as how much value teams receive by landing these low cost rookies who are generally underpaid in every year of their contract with the exception of the first year.

The results by round tell us a few things. First it is very clear that the general ranking of players in the NFL draft is pretty good. 1^st rounders earned much more as a group than 2^nd rounders who earned more than 3^rd rounders and so on.

However, the total salary investment in round 1 is also very high relative to the other rounds which gives the round that many consider the “safest” in the draft, a high risk relative to the initial investment in the rookie contract. The 1^st rounders salary is 2.83 times that of the rookie contract, which actually lags all but the last two rounds in “value”. You are paying up for that big potential even though rookie wages are depressed.

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Front Office Sports

Reggie Bush’s Heisman Return: A Symbolic Win, but NCAA Battle Looms

News of Reggie Bush getting his Heisman Trophy back Wednesday was widely celebrated across social media and sports talk shows alike. And it’s not surprising, given the general public sentiment toward college sports these days: Why should one of the greatest college football players this century continue to be exiled for taking a reported $300,000 in benefits nearly two decades ago, while today’s top stars get millions in name, image, and likeness deals for simply choosing to play at a new school?

As of Wednesday afternoon, the NCAA has stayed quiet on the matter, and it’s unclear what this move means beyond Bush and USC getting their hardware back and the retired athlete being able to take part in official ceremonies in the future.

We asked Front Office Sports college sports reporter Amanda Christovich what she thinks it means: “The Heisman Trust’s decision to give Bush his trophy back does not represent a change of heart for the NCAA,” she says. “The Heisman Trust has previously said that it would be willing to give Bush his trophy back if the governing body reversed its own infractions decision deeming him ineligible, and deeming his records uncountable. But on Wednesday, the trust appears to have gone ahead with the decision without the NCAA’s blessing.”

What’s Next?

There are still legal matters to sort out. More from Christovich: “While the NCAA did not respond to a request for comment from FOS, a source told The Dan Patrick Show that the Heisman Trust’s decision was completely separate from the NCAA. Separately, Bush is still involved in a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA over comments made about the Heisman situation.”

Bush is the only Heisman winner to have the award retroactively taken away, so there are no similar situations for the trust and NCAA to deal with.

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Front Office Sports

Chicago Wants Super Bowls and Final Fours. The Price? Nearly $5 Billion

Sticker Shock

Despite the extensive scale of the team’s ambition, there remain serious questions about how the stadium will be funded. The total price tag is slightly higher than previously projected, now coming in at $3.2 billion, with at least $325 million and as much as $1.5 billion in additional infrastructure requirements. The Bears have pledged $2 billion in direct contributions, along with another $300 million in financing through the NFL. The team is asking for $900 million in public bonding, funded through the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority and backed by an existing hotel tax, while financial support for three planned phases of infrastructure improvements around the stadium is particularly undetermined.

“There are dollars that we believe exist at the state level, maybe the federal level, and potentially the city level,” Warren said.

Johnson, however, reiterated “this project will result in no new taxes on the residents of Chicago.” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was not part of the Bears’ event Wednesday; he said he “remains skeptical” about the team’s proposal, adding that “I’m not sure this is among the highest priorities for taxpayers.”

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