Daily Slop – 8 Mar 24: There’s a focus on offensive linemen in free agency and the draft to fill Washington’s empty roster

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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Riggo’s Rag

Best available offensive linemen for the Commanders in 2024 free agency

The Commanders need to prioritize the offensive line.

Although this is one of the deepest draft classes for offensive linemen in recent memory, finding one or two veteran contributors with proven production would also assist greatly. If the Commanders take a signal-caller at No. 2 overall as many expect, the need to provide their rookie quarterback with the right protection to ensure they hit the ground running becomes even more essential.

[This article lists] just 25 options at various ends of the talent spectrum. Some will be expensive, others will prove to be bargains if they end up in the right fit. Peters’ task will be trying to figure out which players are worth the financial commitment and which ones could fit into Kliff Kingsbury’s schematic concepts effectively.

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Commanders Wire

Did the Bills just give the Commanders their new starting center?

On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills made several moves. They released longtime starters center Mitch Morse, cornerback Tre’Davious White, and safety Jordan Poyer. All would be outstanding additions to the Commanders.

Morse may make the most sense for Washington, though.

Veteran Tyler Larsen is a free agent and injury-prone. That leaves Ricky Stromberg, last year’s third-round pick, as the only center on the roster.

Stromberg didn’t play one snap at center and only played a few at guard before injuring his knee midway through the season. Stromberg was a first-team All-SEC center at Arkansas.

Still, Stromberg is unproven, and you need a veteran. Morse will receive offers to start in multiple places. If the Commanders plan on bringing in a rookie quarterback, pairing him with a veteran center makes sense. The center often helps the quarterback identify the Mike linebacker and set pass protections. It’s often underrated how important it is to have a veteran center who can help a young passer early in his career.

Morse was a second-round pick in 2015 and was a four-year starter for the Chiefs with quarterback Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes. He signed with the Bills in 2019 and has been Josh Allen’s center for the past five seasons. Morse is dependable, too, having missed only six games with the Bills over the last five years.

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Sports Illustrated

Could Commanders Take Risk, Sign Bills’ Gabe Davis in Free Agency?

Buffalo Bills receiver Gabe Davis is a free agent this offseason. Will the Washington Commanders sign him?

Curtis Samuel is a part of this year’s free agency class, and Dyami Brown isn’t quite ready to be a starter for the offense, so the Commanders should be on the lookout for receivers throughout the offseason.

Someone who could be on Washington’s radar is Buffalo Bills receiver Gabe Davis, who is a free agent after catching passes from Josh Allen for the past four years.

Davis’s struggles have been noted very publicly by frustrated Bills fans, who never saw him develop into the Stefon Diggs sidekick they’d hoped he’d be. Drops are a big reason Buffalo is moving on from Davis, but he’s still had six or more touchdown catches in each of his four NFL seasons.

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Burgundy & Gold Report

Howard OT Anim Dankwah Is an Imposing Force | Commanders NFL Draft

Anim Dankwah

6’8” 353 lbs | RT | Howard

Proj 6th Rd-UDFA

During his Junior season in 2021, the Taft high school lineman was thrust into the starting left tackle slot and played admirable. On the season he gave up 4 sacks and 13 QB hurries.

The Howard tackle would be named to the All-MEAC 2nd Team and made the 1st team in ‘22 (Howard MEAC regular season champions) for his play.

Fast forward to 2023 and Dankwah elected to play as a 5th tear senior. He started a career best 12 games, only giving up 2 sacks, 9 QB hurries and 2 QB hits while starting his 3rd consecutive season at left tackle.

His ability to drive defenders off the ball and toss them to the turf is fun to watch. His 87” wingspan will aid him on the next level.

Outlook

The phrase “a work on progress” will continue to be brought up when Dankwah is mentioned. The FCS All-American is the definition of a developmental prospect, but taking a chance on the Howard tackle could pay off.

Tackles with his size and movement ability don’t come around every year. One must wonder if Dankwah played for an SEC program like Alabama or LSU , how much more attention he could have received.

Also, 2023 marked only the 7th full season that the Howard tackle participated in organized football and is just scratching the surface of his talent level.

NFL coaching could dramatically change the trajectory for Dankwah. As it stands, it’s not out of the question for the tackl to come into the league and contribute as a swing tackle immediately.

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Blogging the Boys

New Commanders coach Dan Quinn let Cowboys players know he was leaving before he took job

Dan Quinn let his Cowboys players know before he took the Commanders head coaching job.

Quinn’s departure was as loud as can be from an impact standpoint given his relationship with players on the Cowboys defense. During a recent appearance on Pardon My Take, Quinn noted that he let them know before he took the Commanders job and that he expressed gratitude to them for keeping him in the mix for head-coaching opportunities.

PFT: Have you been in touch with your players on Dallas to be like, hey I look forward to kicking your ass twice a year?

Dan Quinn: When I left I texted them before I took the job. Just to say man like, a big piece of why I got this job is because of you guys. And so like I wanted to make sure I shared that gratitude with them because like, I wouldn’t have been in this spot. To have chances. Had it not been for them. Like I chose to go back to Dallas because of them as well the previous season. And so I wanted to go fight for that and see where we could take it. It didn’t work out at the end, but I did want to show my gratitude for them. There are some good dudes that I’ll be connected with for life on that. I love that part of the game, those relationships. Wherever it was, there are still people on every team that I keep up with and there will be a lot from this one as well.

It is hardly shocking to see that Quinn made sure to let his Cowboys players know, although apparently Tony Pollard was not on that text list, but it is still cool to hear his explanation of the process.

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Bleeding Green Nation

Eagles Film Review: Does Fletcher Cox have anything left?

Firstly, Fletcher Cox was a big part of this defense last year. He was not your standard 33-year-old. He played more than any other Eagles’ defensive tackle last year.

I couldn’t quite believe these numbers when Shane tweeted them out. Cox played so much more than both Carter and Williams. If Cox does retire, the Eagles are going to have to sign or draft someone new or significantly increase the other defensive tackles playing time.

I will do this a little differently from other scouting reports, as Cox isn’t a young player. Rather than go through all the strengths and weaknesses, I’ll use some clips to show some examples of what he looked like last year that may link to the numbers above too.

• Cox became a pass-rush specialist last year. The run defense numbers are way down.
• Cox ranked top 20 in pressures which is impressive for an older defensive tackle. He can absolutely rush the quarterback still.

I would have been OK with resigning Cox to a deal around the $6-7m range if Cox was willing to accept. I said the team should not resign him last year, so I’m not pounding the table for him to return, but I think it makes some sense considering the contract situation. He was paid $10m last year, so it would be a pay cut, but I would be stunned if a team paid him $10m again this year so I expect he would have to take a cut regardless. If he was resigned it lets the Eagles essentially only pay another couple million over the Post-June 1 release number this year while lowering that dead cap hit in 2025 when he is gone.

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Commanders Wire

2024 NFL draft: Chris Simms comes in with the latest Drake Maye slander

Every year, some in the media world seem to pick one quarterback prospect to nitpick. This year, it’s North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

That’s how you know it’s draft season. Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are in contention to likely be the No. 2 overall pick behind Caleb Williams (USC). There’s a chance Maye or Daniels go No. 1, but it’s a slim chance.

To Simms’ credit, he’s usually a bit unconventional when he ranks players. Seeing different perspectives and opinions is always good, and Simms provides those.

Here’s a tweet from Simms on his ranking on Maye:

“Drake Maye has a ton of awesome traits, but is still a bit of a project,” Simms said.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. He could be right on Maye. Many could be right on Maye. But calling him a talented project seems like a bit much. While Caleb Williams is the unquestioned No. 1, no passer in this draft has the combination of Maye’s size, arm strength, and tools. He’s had good tape at North Carolina.

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Pro Football Talk

Jaylon Johnson deal raises eyebrows in league circles

Jaylon Johnson could have made $19.8 million, fully guaranteed, for 2024. He has instead traded it in for, reportedly, a $76 million, four-year deal, with $54 million guaranteed.

It will be impossible to know the truth about the deal without the full details, since (as we know) the initial reports have a tendency to be exaggerated.

Even with what we know, it’s a little alarming — and multiple league insiders are buzzing about it. The deal averages $19 million. Johnson could have made $19.8 million this year and, if tagged again in 2025, $23.76 million.

That’s $43.56 million over two years. The convention when it comes to turning a franchise tag into a long-term deal is to ensure that the first two years of the tag are fully-guaranteed at signing.

Maybe it is. Maybe the deal is front loaded. For now, however, there are real questions about whether Johnson got fair value for trading in the $19.8 million tag for 2024, and the availability of a 20-percent raise if tagged again.

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Washington Post (paywall)

What to look for as NFL free agency approaches

once again few teams appear eager to significantly advance running back salaries, and former franchise cornerstones like Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs face a nebulous future at a time when free agent receivers, safeties and even defensive tackles seem likely to have their salary goals met by multiple suitors. Anyone thinking a running back salary recalibration was coming a year after Jacobs, Barkley and Tony Pollard were hit with the franchise tag (about $10 million in 2023) is headed for a cruel spring. Several backs could face an arduous path back to that threshold, with the NFLPA advising contract negotiators to be ready to pounce as soon as the market opens.

“I don’t disagree with you that on a down-to-down basis it’s possible to get more value out of a back than other positions, maybe even receiver depending on the offense and the quality of the quarterback,” said one NFL general manager, whose team is involved in running back discussions and who is not permitted to speak publicly about salary expectations. “But I don’t think the [financial] numbers are really there for any of these guys.

“It’s a pretty strong [free agent] class. There are going to be starters in the second day of the draft, and this is all just supply and demand. There’s more supply available at this position and less demand than for other positions. You tell me, where is Barkley going? Who is giving him $12 million a year?”

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