Daily Slop – 7 May 2024: Mark Bullock spotlights OT Brandon Coleman on film and visits ‘Trap or Dive’ podcast

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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What OL Brandon Coleman brings to the Washington Commanders

Breaking down what the Commanders are getting from their third round offensive lineman

Coleman stands at 6’4½”, 313 pounds with 34⅝” arms. That’s pretty good size for an NFL left tackle, not elite but certainly above any thresholds that teams have for tackles. Typically when you see questions about a college tackle having to switch to guard in the NFL, it’s down to size or arm length, but those aren’t issues for Coleman. The next question after size and arm length is pass protection. For Coleman, this is his biggest strength. He’s a good pass protector with quick enough feet and heavy hands. Those hands are very disruptive to opposing rushers.

The other part of those heavy hands and good punch timing is the placement of those hands. It’s all well and good being able to land heavy punches but if they’re placed in the wrong spot they won’t be effective. Coleman has a knack for getting his hands in the right spot and when he does, he shows he can latch on and negate a rusher.

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Sports Illustrated

Washington Commanders 2024 Rookie Class Ranked ‘Most Impactful’

The Commanders’ rookie class is going to have plenty of day one impact players.

CBS Sports is the most recent media outlet to praise the team’s draft haul as they ranked the top ten “most impactful” 2024 NFL Draft classes. The Commanders came in ranked No. 1 on the list.

“Those first five picks by GM Adam Peters were sensational. Denzel Washington Man On Fire type stuff from the Commanders new GM. Daniels has all the dynamic skills to be that new-age, dual-threat passer that terrifies defenses underneath, at the intermediate level, downfield, and yeah, with his legs,” CBS Sports wrote.

Again, it all started with Daniels, who will lead the team under center and control the offense as the team’s new franchise quarterback. He was a homerun of a pick and will certainly be hyped up heading into the 2024 NFL season. Should the team take a Houston Texans-like jump — which saw them post a double-digit win season and playoff victory in the first round — it’ll be at the hands of Daniels.

“If Newton was able to work out before the draft, no way he’s available in Round 1. He can be a 50-plus pressure defensive tackle as a rookie. Sainristil can be the annoying nickel corner who tackles like a champ, blitzes off the corner, and sticks to slot receivers underneath, and Sinnott legitimately has Sam LaPorta-esque athleticism and powerful YAC skills.,” CBS Sports continued.

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The Athletic (paywall)

Realistic expectations for rookie QB class: Can anyone live up to C.J. Stroud?

Winning … is hard

The average QB selected from this list averaged eight starts in their rookie campaigns and won three games. That comes out to 6.4 wins prorated over a full regular season. Only 25 percent of the quarterbacks who started over half of the season had better than a 50 percent winning percentage. Admittedly, there is some bias baked in because teams selecting QBs are typically picking high in the draft and don’t have great rosters.

Average or worse efficiency

Just looking at efficiency, the average EPA/Dropback among this group is -0.05 — or the equivalent of what Russell Wilson and Justin Fields produced in 2023 (good luck, Steelers!). If we examine only the first-round quarterbacks, the starts bump up to 10.5, and the average wins comes out to 4.0. Over a full season, first-round rookie QBs have won at a pace of 6.5 games. Efficiency improves, too, to right around 0 EPA/Dropback. That’s exactly the league average, which is comparable to what Gardner Minshew gave the Indianapolis Colts last season.

One and not done

All is not lost for QBs who struggle out of the gate. Sure, Bryce Young’s -0.21 EPA/Dropback is one of the worst among this group, but there is a good argument to be made he was dropped into a terrible environment in Carolina. Trevor Lawrence and Jared Goff endured bad rookie seasons while suffering through similar issues, and both have turned out fine. When evaluating rookie QBs, landing spots are critical. It’s in the second and third seasons when you want to see a quarterback start to elevate the talent around him.

The Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams and Minnesota Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy will each be surrounded by top-10 supporting casts, while the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, New England Patriots’ Drake Maye and Denver Broncos’ Bo Nix will be surrounded by below-average talent and will have more work cut out for them.

[T]he Bears lead the way with a projected 8.5 wins. They are followed by the Vikings (6.5), Commanders (6.5), Broncos (5.5) and Patriots (4.5).

So, the supporting casts from my roster rankings tend to follow where the betting market is on these teams. However, the betting market doesn’t see any of these teams winning nine games, and my model agrees.

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Commanders.com

Five things to know about Jordan Magee

He was one of the most athletic linebacker prospects in the draft.

The Commanders made a habit of drafting some of this year’s most athletic prospects. They led the league in average Relative Athletic Score (RAS) with a 9.427, beating out teams like the Eagles (9.312) and Steelers (9.150). When it comes to having the athletic traits to succeed in the NFL, Magee fits the bill.

Magee was one of the most athletic linebackers in this year’s draft class, tying with Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace (9.31) for the third highest RAS in the position. Although he has below average height (6-foot-1) and weight (228 pounds), Magee made up for that with a 4.55 40-yard dash, a 35.5-inch vertical and a 10-foot-4 broad jump. His 40 and vertical were fifth among linebackers, while his broad jump was fourth.

Though Magee still has much to prove, he’s already shown that he can hang with linebackers drafted ahead of him from an athletic standpoint. N.C. State’s Payton Wilson (9.81) was the only player drafted before him with a higher RAS. The rest — Dallas Turner, Edgerrin Cooper, Junior Colson, Trevin Wallace, Marist Liufau, Ty’Ron Hopper, Cedric Gray and Tyrice Knight — all had a lower RAS.

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Commanders.com

11 things to know about Washington’s 11 UDFAs

1. Chigozie Anusiem has size and speed.

Anusiem wasn’t invited to the scouting combine, so he had to wait until Colorado State’s pro day to show off his athleticism to scouts. His results explain why so many teams were reportedly interested in signing him.

We already knew that Anusiem was an ideal physical specimen. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds with just 7% body fat, the former Ram had a 37.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-2 broad jump, but he also recorded an impressive 4.39 40, which would have tied for eighth among corners in Indianapolis.

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Commanders Wire

Commanders are among the NFL’s worst in team merchandise sales

When Josh Harris and his partners bought the team last July, none denied another potential rebranding, but pointing out that it wasn’t an immediate focus.

Now, there are some numbers to support fans who still haven’t come around to the name. According to Josh Koebert of Finance Buzz, only three NFL fanbases spend less on merchandise than the Commanders.

The NFL league-wide average per team is $144.45 — Washington fans spend an average of $80.87 annually on team merchandise.

There are multiple reasons for these numbers. First, whether some want to admit it or not, it is the name change. Secondly, some hate the jerseys. A portion of the fan base could get used to the name if the team had kept the previous jerseys. Finally, there’s also the lack of a superstar player. Of course, the Commanders could have that now with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

The team has yet to announce Daniels’ official number, but when it does, jersey sales will likely increase.

When Robert Griffin III had his amazing rookie season in 2012, his jerseys were flying off the shelves. The same could happen with Daniels, but Griffin still played for the Redskins, which will matter to some fans.

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Podcasts & videos

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Rookie minicamp preview pod: RFK news, joint practices, and what we’ll see Friday

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Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | The best of Jordan Magee at the combine

Check out the top photos of linebacker Jordan Magee showing off his skill set at the scouting combine.

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NFL league links

Articles

NFL.com

Raiders signing ex-Saints Pro Bowl OL Andrus Peat

Longtime Saints starter Andrus Peat is signing with the Raiders, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday.

Peat, a 2015 NFL Draft first-round pick of the Saints who’s gone to three Pro Bowls, started 102 games over nine seasons in New Orleans. Peat primarily played guard, but after losing his starting gig last year saw time at left tackle and fared better on the outside than the interior.

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ESPN

2024 NFL draft questions: What were the best and worst picks?

Who was your favorite pick in the entire draft?

Matt Bowen, NFL analyst: Cornerback Mike Sainristil to the Washington Commanders at No. 50. A nickel corner with a playmaking mentality, Sainristil was one of my favorite defensive backs to study. He led Michigan’s defense last season with six interceptions and seven pass breakups. Look for him to play a disruptive role as a rookie in Dan Quinn’s defensive system.

Who was the biggest head-scratching pick of the draft?

Jason Reid: Offensive tackle Tyler Guyton to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 29. Look, I get that the Cowboys had a major need along their offensive line. And the fact that they moved to rebuild it in this draft makes sense. That established, Guyton, while possessing impressive physical tools, is a developmental player. There’s no sugarcoating that.

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