Justin M
@JustinM_NFL
.
@HokiesFB
DT Norell Pollard is signing with the #Commanders, per source.

Ran 4.8 40 at Pro Day at 283 lbs. Pollard leaped 33" Vertical + 9'5 Broad.

Cathedral Prep
@CPRamblers
Congratulations to Cathedral Prep alumnus Bo Bauer ’18. He has signed with the
@Commanders
! Congratulations, Bo, we are proud of you! #RollRamblers #NFLBound #Opportunity #NextLevel 🏈

NFL Draft Diamonds ™️
@DraftDiamonds
Michael Wiley is headed to the Commanders

Colton Edwards •
@cedwardsNFL
Arizona’s RB Michael Wiley is one of the few three down backs in the draft. Highly underrated with patience and good vision. Excellent in the receiving game.

Iowa State Football
@CycloneFB
From walk-on to Washington Commander.

@ben_nikkel212
has signed with the
@Commanders

Justin M
@JustinM_NFL
.
@GeorgiaFootball
WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint is signing with the #Commanders, per source.

@SeniorBowl
standout, career-high production this season. 6-1, 195, 33" arms, 10" hands.

Avatar for 75deac
As a serious analyst I'll add my two takeaways:

First, I liked this:

There have been times we've said the defense may be the strength of the club over the years, but this year the Commanders may really mean it.
Second, Hartman will shockingly beat out JD for game one start. And he's a deacon not a fighting irish.

Commanders signed undrafted cornerback that 'half the league wanted'

Bryan Manning
April 28, 2024 11:21 pm ET
The Washington Commanders immediately began working after the 2024 NFL draft, signing undrafted free agents. By the end of Saturday, they had agreed to terms with at least 10 undrafted free agents.

One of those free agents is Colorado State cornerback Chigozie Anusiem. Who is Anusiem?

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Anusiem began his career at Cal-Berkeley, where he appeared in 25 games with six starts. He graduated and transferred to Colorado State ahead of the 2022 season.

In two years with the Rams, Anusiem became a full-time starter, playing in 23 games and recording 93 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and one interception.

Washington wasn’t the only team that tried to sign Anusiem, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, who indicated that “half the league wanted Anusiem,” but the Commanders “paid up to lock him in.”


Why would so many teams want Anusiem without one drafting him in the final round? Only the NFL teams can answer that question, but a quick look at Anusiem’s measurables shows they are elite.

Here is Anusiem’s Relative Athletic Score:


Anusiem ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds, has excellent size and long arms, and is excellent in press coverage. One area that hurts Anusiem a bit is the lack of interceptions. In five seasons of playing, he has only one interception.

The Commanders will play a lot of press coverage, which would explain their appeal to Anusiem. Head coach Dan Quinn has helped develop several young cornerbacks with similar skills, which makes signing Anusiem a smart move.

Washington drafted only one cornerback — Michigan’s Mike Sainristil in the second round. Sainristil will play slot cornerback, and questions remain on the outside with Emmanuel Forbes and Benjamin St-Juste.

By Lance Zierlein
NFL Analyst
Draft Projection
Priority free agent
Overview
Yankoff’s talent rests in his ability to get down the field to find and tackle punt and kick returners. He has adequate top-end speed as an F tight end, but he has very little practical experience as a route runner. He will need to prove his ball skills and show he can wall off defenders as a run blocker in space. His experience as a running back should help him after the catch. Unless a team decides to use him exclusively as a special-teams ace, he will need to prove to be at least functional at an offensive position to secure a roster spot.

Strengths
Impressive length and catch radius for his height.
Good initial burst to create push early in the route.
Experience as a running back bolsters run-after-catch ability.
Has legitimate four-phase special-teams talent.
Hunts tackles on coverage teams with impressive results.
Weaknesses
Needs time to learn tight end position.
Reach-and-grab blocker with no sustain.
Ran a very limited route tree at UCLA.

Day 2 of the draft begins …

The pick is in: Jer’Zhan Newton, DT. It’s as if they only watched some of our games from last season and not the entire season like most fans did to get a feel for what this team really needs. This also showed up in FA.

There is no doubt Newton’s film shows he is good but can he beat out our Bama boys? If he cannot become an immediate starter then at pick 36 he is not BPA. Why not pick another player at ANY other position that has at least a CHANCE of becoming an immediate STARTER instead of BBA, Best Backup Available. I see our Bama boys using this as motivation while the rookie carries their gear. Sure Newton will be in the DL rotation but so will Ridgeway from the fifth round. Perhaps in the beginning he can block some kicks like he did in college until Harris does as he usually does in his sports portfolio and trade a fan favorite to dump payroll.

Before the draft Bill Belichick showed what a real NFL draft board looks like and it was comprised of several white boards. The leftmost white board had a heading labeled TEAM NEEDS of which listed the highest priority needs of every team. For Washington he listed QB, OT, and DE. The middle boards he listed positions with player names and notes underneath. On the rightmost board he had best available and at #2 was Jayden Daniels. At 30 he had CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (actual 41) and at 34 he had DT Jer’Zhan Newton (actual 36). AP saying Newton was BPA, a first rounder, and he had to take him over a position of need is questionable at best.

We needed a better starting OT enough to where as previously suggested we should have offered a 2024 and 2025 second rounder and another pick to jump Pittsburg to acquire Fautanu instead of belatedly showing a “way to early 2025 mock draft” for a first round OT in 2025. Pittsburg by the way was rated by many as having one of the best drafts in 2024. At minimum we should have picked an OT or CB at 36.

I also believe trading 36 and 100 to Buffalo would have been enough to jump over Dallas to select OT Guyton instead of Buffalo deciding to trade with an AFC playoff rival. Some local beat reporters are now saying Buffalo didn’t want to trade back that far but that is doubtful at best when Buffalo traded back twice to get out of the first round and ended up at 33 which is only three slots below 36. More like AP was not serious enough to get an OT because according to AP the team was thinking about trading up for Newton. More likely the local media are on their usual off-season hype mode and just doing damage control after AP did not offer enough to get a trade done.

AP seems more like he defers to the HC than most GMs, and John Lynch probably did the same with Shanahan. It seems almost as if DC/HC Dan Quinn was running this draft like Ron Rivera when he would have also drafted JD and then baffled us with two straight defensive picks instead of much needed OT help like in 2023. I recall mentioning the same thing on HH in last year’s draft. One of the defensive picks was not only unnecessary, it was a guy with a surgically repaired broken foot that other teams expectedly passed on.

Unless we are the Atlanta Falcons, no other team builds for three years in the future. Unless they are planning to trade a DT in 2024, there are no excuses for drafting a DT at 36 when we have $40M+ tied up in solid players at that position.

Avatar for dsilvers
The trade back from 40 to 50 and 53 was good value but we did not get the best remaining player value for those picks. In addition, the picks we gave up were tied to Sweat (40) and Howell (78). What did we get for those guys?

At 50 it is: Mike Sainristil, CB. Mostly a slot corner which is traditionally a nickel corner that mostly comes in for long yardage situations. A slot CB is usually drafted later because they cannot cover a number 1 WR. They are also usually bigger to occasionally cover and tackle a big TE when needed. The guy we picked is 5’9” and sub 170. He does not even entirely fit a slot corner profile but he did have 6 INTs in 2023 and his ballhawking skills is probably why DQ wanted him to be picked.

What we really needed was someone to cover AJ Brown and Malik Nabers. In FA we should have acquired a #1 shutdown CB and a premier DE with a high pressure rate. Now that we don’t have a great corner nor great DE, it might again be double teams and live by the blitz and die by the blitz as was the case in the dreadful second half of last season. Not sure what else DQ can do because his Dallas defense had more talent and was still exposed against Green Bay.

Then instead of being proactive and picking an OT at 53, just before the best of the rest of the remaining OTs were about to come off the board, AP could no longer wait to get his prized TE off the board and selected Ben Sinnott from Kansas State, even when AP previously acquired Ertz for Kingsbury in FA. Sinnott is a smaller Bates but more athletic with a higher vertical, better hands, and runs like a FB but lacks explosive speed. He was projected as a late third rounder and we picked him at 53 where higher valued players of need were still on the board. Why couldn’t AP have more patience and picked the best remaining OT at 53 and Sinnott in the third round? If a QB has no time in the pocket a TE is useless unless he is part of a run or protect scheme.

Ten picks later OT Kingsley goes to KC. Apparently good enough for the Super Bowl Champions to trade up for but not good enough for us at 53? We also missed out on the following remaining OTs before our third round pick: 55 Patrick Paul, 59 Blake Fisher, 62 Roger Rosengarten, and 63 Kingsley Suamataia. Before night two of the draft, several commenters mentioned at least two of the four above mentioned OTs as their preference for 36, including multiple article authors that now mostly avoid mentioning most or their previous preferences.

Most commenters would have freaked out about some or all of our second round picks if they knew them beforehand. After they then listened to the talking heads, they do whatever it takes to support this rookie GM with haphazard roster construction alleging BPA. It is not BPA when considering a trade up for an unneeded player coming off foot surgery. Spencer Rattler was BPA for the longest time on general draft boards but no one without an immediate need picked him until the fifth.

If a team is full of needs like this team, it is usually draft for need to at least field a competitive team that season. If the roster is mostly set then it is usually BPA. Since we don’t have a competitive roster like the 49’ers, AP should have temporarily dumped the 49’er strategy unless he believes Harris has no desire to field a competitive team in 2024. It would not be the first time Harris had no desire to field a competitive team.

When Ron first got here he was expected to immediately win, and him and Kyle Smith did just that with off-season moves of need, 4 win improvement and division title. When first rounder Haskins failed, they then went to a practically one legged QB on Alex Smith, and then ended up playing with a backup QB they signed off his sister’s couch in Heinicke. Before the new ownership change the roster not only proved to be .500, we were one blown ref call away against the Giants of not only being a winner, being in the playoffs. Why are the expectations different for AP/DQ, especially after drafting the #2 overall QB in the draft?

What happened in 2023 you might ask? Ron only won 4 games in 2023 because he made two major mistakes at the end of the 8-8-1 season: making the OC a scapegoat and firing him, and then hiring an incompetent OC; then not keeping the DB coach and hiring an incompetent DB coach; followed by Harris ensuring uncompetitiveness by trading both starting DEs in the middle of the season. Harris and Chen must still be in denial because they haven’t done anything significant to reload the DE position with top tier talent.

If Ron would have made these 2024 picks he would have been lambasted but since it was AP, most seem satisfied about possibly making the playoffs in year 3? SMH. Seems to be playing right into the hands of Harris. Before Harris took over in Philly they made the playoffs and then Harris took advantage of a new owner’s grace period to make money while doing his loser thing for the next 5 years and distressing the fanbase. He then won more but still had not made it past the second round of the playoffs in 10+ years. Before buying the Commanders, Harris was somehow given credit for a belated and questionable turn around of the Sixers.

According to former GM Michael Lombardi: “been a Sixers fan my whole life and I think the Josh Harris era has not been good … it has just been a horrible existence to be a 76’ers fan … through the quote unquote ‘process’ you don’t develop any competitive nature in your team, you don’t develop any toughness in your team”. He also said the toughness of Sam Howell makes him a better QB than most of the top 5 QB prospects in the 2024 draft, and if JD had played under EB, he would have been injured before midseason.

Earlier this year I stated due to the FA market, go heavy on defense in FA and go heavy on offense in the draft but Harris decided to leave tens of millions of cap space on the table. After seeing this off-season, I would have preferred we hired Kyle Smith as GM but unfortunately Harris preferred the overhyped Adam Peters.

If anyone thinks our turnstile OTs were bad last season, it is looking like it will be worse this season. Kingsbury will have to use max protect or probably only use a quick short game where JD takes a three step drop and if not a quick pass, or a shuttle pass to a RB, JD might have to immediately run to the left or right of center because he will have little chance to drop back further and pass downfield of which is part of the Kingsbury’s spread offense.

If it wasn’t for Jayden Daniels making this draft at least a ‘C’, it seems the draft so far is a ‘D’. If JD busts then it is an F. All the second rounders may one day become starters but for 2024, other than QB, the rest are probably backups on a roster that was already near or at the bottom of the league. I would not be surprised if we are again drafting in the top 5 in 2025.

There is still hope though because late season starters can still be found in round 3, they just won’t make much of a difference in a possible 2025 top 5 draft projection. Last season we could neither stop the pass rush nor stop a team from passing on us. I have seen little to no improvement in those areas to think we will be much better in 2024. Sad as it may be to admit because as fans we all want to hope for the best while this comment is probably the reality of the situation.

The third round pick is in: Brandon Coleman, G. When the best OTs were off the board they chose a player that played G in the Senior Bowl. He has adequate size and is very athletic with long enough arms to play tackle, however he has questionable technique when lunging. He was projected as a third day pick which nowadays usually means he is a backup but perhaps good enough to start on our low talent team. Perhaps with NFL level coaching he might be a serviceable OT. Unlike last year, we don’t have great DEs to fully test him out before the season so this staff might not know who to start in 2024. The play of Coleman in 2024 might be the determining factor on an overall ‘C’ or ‘B’ draft grade.

While I don’t always like going for BPA when the team is full of needs, some of the alleged BPAs we picked seem very athletic but we just don’t know until they go up against NFL talent. Remember Brandon Scherff? Top 5 pick that went from a OT to a G in his first week of NFL practice. I am willing to give this staff and these guys some benefit of the doubt until we play another team but benefit of the doubt does not mean contributing to the overhype.

Last pick #100 of the third round was received from the 49’ers in the Chase Young trade and results in mostly a third down possession type slot WR Luke McCaffrey. He will probably compete more with Crowder as the 3rd or 4th option. If Chase overcomes his surgically repaired neck and again shows DROY play, it is doubtful we will ever be able to say we got the better end of the CY trade, regardless of what the Harris and Chen fans say.

In the first half of the 2024 season, most of the players picked in the 2nd and 3rd will probably only play on specialty down and distance with low snap counts per game.

To be continued in the following post …
Avatar for dsilvers
Day 3 begins …

The fifth round pick is in: Jordan Magee, LB. I thought this position was filled in FA? Oh well, like TE and DT, I guess they think we cannot have too many at those positions. Magee has adequate size, good tackler and blitzer but with questionable coverage skills. For now he looks more like a special teamer. From a previous LB deprived team to an abundance of LBs when only two usually play on obvious passing downs. Since this is the fifth round, and if he is BPA, then I am all in on the pick because Harris will surely advise dumping Jamin next year because he will probably cost too much; perhaps also why they drafted a DT in the second because high priced Allen will probably be traded for another vaporware pick. Just another example of Harris trading players as if they are cattle.

This draft looks more like Ron with defensive emphasis and Bruce wanting injured players with high upside while neglecting injury reoccurrence. If I had to guess, the reason why Harris hugged Peters after trading pick 40 was to obfuscate the Sweat trade so that he had two chances in the second to make up for that disastrous 2023 midseason trade of a Pro Bowler in a high valued position of need. After further thought it is actually worse when the trade also involved the tie in to Sam Howell. In the past on HH, after arguing with Kyle Bobby over the midseason trade, back then I mentioned Harris would probably advise a trade at 40 to obfuscate the received value of the trade. Or perhaps the Harris to AP hug was because Harris also owns the 76’ers that have a common fan base with the Eagles and helping our Philly rival was ok when they took one of the better DBs off the board that was also a need for us?

In the end this really has nothing to do with a specific owner when I have been a fan of this team waaay before others tried to relate me to the previous owner. Contrary to unflattering smear campaigns and popular insinuations in a media driven kangaroo court, I was NEVER hoping the previous owner would retain ownership, I only thought he was enough of a past fan to weather the storm. I now understand if his wife as co-owner had enough of the inconsiderate fans booing her when she was on the Jumbotron in charitable support of cancer awareness. Heck, the ones with the most experience say GPM was the worse owner of this franchise. As long as this post is, it would be unfortunate if most commenters only reply to the owner paragraphs showing they want to be more of a fan of the new owner than the team.

In the 2023 draft I was perturbed along with KSFGM when Ron didn’t draft an OT in the second round, and then we observed the resulting negligence against Arizona when Wiley was beat like a drum. Sure there were times when Howell held on to the ball too long but there were other times when he was hit before he could complete a deep enough drop back and set his feet enough to throw an accurately timed deep ball, of which is what JD also does best.

Another fifth round pick is in: Dominique Hampton, S. We drafted another S? Wait a minute, I thought Jeremy Chin filled this position in FA? Is this another one of those TE and LB positions that was already filled in FA but we can never have too many at that position because we might become a winner in year 3? You never know, he has Jeremy’s size, might cover better and beat out Jeremy. It did however take him 6 years of college while playing against kids out of high school before he was even on the radar of NFL teams. I guess it doesn’t matter because in the later rounds I am all in for BPA if he can at least play special teams.

The seventh round pick is in: Javonte Jean-Baptiste, EDGE. Wow we really value that DE position when waiting until the seventh round to pick a Sweat replacement? Doubtful because he is undersized, not as fast, and not as athletic as Sweat. But since draft looks more like a Ron draft, what about position flex? If nothing else, maybe our TE can slide over and play OT and our DT can slide over and play DE? jk.

Regarding UDFA, I like how they signed a high potential CB in a guy named Chig Anusiem with 6’1” size and 4.3 speed that didn’t have a lot of PBUs in college and didn’t get invited to the combine but had a good Pro Day. Since half the league went after him in UDFA most probably think all he needs is to be coached up, and is probably why Whitt, DQ, and AP convinced Harris to pony up the most guaranteed UDFA money to acquire him. We also signed an OT out of Toledo named David Nwaogwugwu. Just remember, Joe Jacoby was an UDFA that shut down everyone except Lawrence Taylor but neither did anyone else consistently do the same. Do you think he is finally worthy of the HOF? Did he not mostly shut down the QB’s blind side and help the team win multiple Super Bowls?

From time to time in this draft many commenters lost faith in AP but he is a rookie GM so let’s cut him some slack for deferring to a more experienced coaching staff. The best drafters in 2023 and 2024 were probably Philly and Pittsburg. One day in the future I believe AP might have enough experience to take complete control of the entire draft without as much deference to a HC leaning more towards defense with minimal regard for the OL. JD might have to run for his life, but he has that ability, let’s just hope he doesn’t get seriously injured.

Letting 60% of the 2023 roster walk without letting them compete in training camp was a self inflicted wound that hasn’t happened in Washington since WWII. This was followed by the draft being overhyped mostly because of the volume, and they still did not fill all of the starter needs in FA and the draft. AP will probably still have to scour the waiver wire and post draft FA before the 2024 season to fill the holes. Perhaps Philly again beat us to the punch when signing former first round OT Mekhi Becton in post draft FA. For those that think he might be a bust, welcome to post draft FA when Chicago fans also complained about Leno but before last season he was more than serviceable.

Staff hires = B, FA = C-, draft = C+, off-season C+, record prediction = 6-11 give or take a win.

Ben Standig
@BenStandig
The Commanders signed free agent LB Bo Bauer. This came out immediately post-draft, but since the ex-Notre Dame LB was a 2023 UDFA, he wasn't announced with the 2024 UDFA list.

Carry on.

The Washington Commanders, despite many competitive games, went 4-13 last season and stayed well under their win total of 6.5. Despite drafting LSU QB Jayden Daniels No. 2 overall and having six picks in the first three rounds, sportsbooks opened the Commanders with the same win total for this season -- but bettors at BetMGM are hammering the under.

The Commanders under 6.5 is the most-bet under among all 32 NFL win totals at BetMGM by total wagers and the second-most bet by total dollars wagered. A whopping 65 percent of bets and 69 percent of money is on the Commanders' under at BetMGM, but the over is still juiced at -130.

How Commanders GM Adam Peters did not outsmart himself
Can you imagine if Washington had determined to go ahead and accept a trade with the Raiders, who desperately wanted Daniels? What one month ago seemed doable and practical and would have reaped long-term benefits in providing the Commanders multiple good draft choices last Thursday night would have been an utter disaster!

Which draft analyst had predicted that six of the first 12 selections would be quarterbacks? Nobody saw Michael Penix and Bo Nix being selected in the top 12 choices, nobody.

Thus, had the Commanders made a deal with the Raiders, who wanted Daniels, the Commanders would have been left at No. 13 with no first-round quarterback remaining.

Bleeding Green Nation
NFL Draft Grades: Analyzing the Commanders’ picks
Eyes on the NFC East.

Jayden Daniels
Commanders Outlook: There is basically no reason for Daniels not to start day one for Washington. His fit in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense is obvious and, by all accounts, Daniels is a great study when it comes to learning a playbook. Even as he gets adjusted to NFL defenses making windows a lot tighter, his mobility will be an asset for a rebuilding Washington team in year one. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Daniels in the running for OROY.

Johnny Newton
Commanders Outlook: Washington got a real steal with Newton in the second round. Head coach Dan Quinn must have seen shades of Grady Jarrett, who he drafted and developed during his time in Atlanta. While the Commanders already have two great interior lineman in Da’Ron Payne and Jon Allen, Newton will probably see a large role in his rookie year as a sub-package defensive lineman and pass rush specialist.

Mikey Sainristil
Commanders Outlook: The Commanders pass defense could use all the help it could get. Dan Quinn puts a high emphasis on “fast and physical” players and Sainristil fits that description to a tee. The question is fit. Sainristil is most likely a slot cornerback for the Commanders, but it’s possible they’d prefer his ball skills, recognition ability, and physicality at safety.

Ben Sinnot
What he can do: Ben Sinnott was one of the more peculiar players in the draft. He is a bit on the smaller side for a tight end prospect, but was a valuable chess piece in the Kansas State offense last year. Sinnott played in-line, in the slot, and in the backfield for the Wildcats, catching 48 passes in the process. In only 48 receptions, Sinnott ranked 4th among tight ends in forced missed tackles and 6th in catches of over 20 yards (both stats per Pro Football Focus). He is an extremely dynamic player even if he is not a “true” tight end.

Commanders Outlook: The Commanders took Sinnott higher (53rd) than the consensus had him projected (83rd), indicating they are enamored with his impressive skill set. Kliff Kingsbury could envision Sinnott as an offensive weapon they can deploy all over the field to create mismatches.

Brandon Coleman
Commanders Outlook: The Commanders had a horrible offensive line last year, allowing 65 sacks on the season. It’s no wonder they would take a bet on a player like Coleman, whose upside is as great as any offensive lineman in the class. Coleman could start early in his career given the lack of talent on Washington’s line, and has the flexibility to play guard and tackle. That being said, Washington will need to be patient with him as he is still fairly raw.

Luke McCaffrey
What he can do: Luke McCaffrey, the younger brother of Christian, was a nightmare in the slot for the Rice Owls in 2023. He turned 13 of his 71 catches into touchdowns using a great blend of speed, physicality and great route running. While his athleticism and height could allow him to play as a perimeter receiver in the NFL, his short arms might make it hard to win snaps against more physical cornerbacks. Worth noting that McCaffrey started his college career as a quarterback and is still very much growing into being a wide receiver.

Commanders Outlook: Washington has a handful of talented pass catchers including Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. Luke McCaffrey will be battling for a WR3 position and most likely would do the most damage as a big slot receiver who can make catches in traffic. He also has upside as a special teams player.

Dom Hampton
Commanders Outlook: The Commanders get much needed depth in their defensive backfield. People will remember that Dan Quinn has a propensity for bigger safeties who can step up into the box with ease like Kam Chancellor, Keanu Neal, and Jayron Kearse. Hampton is not close to any of those players as a prospect, but the Commanders clearly loved his physical profile and think they can maybe develop him into a role player.

Dolphins signing Odell Beckham Jr.: Former Ravens WR getting one-year deal worth up to $8.25 million

(Edited)
Avatar for IrishSkins
Conversation summary from golf the other day…. I’m trying to remember some of the questions and will do my best….

*They believe Coleman has a legit chance to start this year. Think he’s a 1st round talent that got pushed down because of the depth of OT in this draft and his injuries. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the starting LT by the end of the year.

*The general belief is that this year will be a “weeding out” year for the entire roster. Who wants to be here and who doesn’t. 2025 is when major moves will be made in FA and the roster will really take shape.

*Harris had very little input on the draft process and was just there to support AP and his staff. His main input was asking things about the players they were considering and just curious why they liked them. Never once gave an preference to players or tried to influence picks. He jumped on the phone with a few players after AP and DQ were done just to show support and provide a family like atmosphere for the players to let them know what kind of organization they were joining.

*Interesting opinion from one guy was that Newton will immediately become our best DL. Said his twitch (his word not mine) is far superior to anything Payne or Allen has. Also said he will probably play more of a 3/4 DE type of role than a traditional DT, so wouldn’t be surprised if all 3 are on the field at the same time. Could envision J Davis being more of a Micah Parsons role and could see DQ using these 4 to create havoc up front. This same person went on to say that our D talent has been “criminally” misused the last few years and we have some really good players who were just put in terrible positions.

*Belief is that Sainristill will be immediate impact player. Don’t know how this impacts Quan though since they seem to be in similar roles. Maybe Quan becomes more safety and Sainristill more of a nickel CB, but will be an interesting thing to keep track of during camp and preseason.

*One guy said it’s obvious what AP is building. Seasoned, athletic, character guys will continue to be the focal point of the team. Not interested in me-first guys or one year wonders. His opinion is that in 3-4 years, AP will be regarded as one of the top GMs in the league and that we have our next Beathard.

*They all think we can be a 7-9 win team this year if JD stays healthy. 2 of the 3 of them actually preferred JD to CW and said they think CW seems flaky. Could be a generational bias of them, but those 2 definitely were not fans of CW. One said he’s the ultimate boom or bust kind of player. They all think JD is impressive with his accuracy and layering of the ball. They just hope he doesn’t go the RG route and get killed trying to get too much out of runs.

*One thing to keep an eye on is our secondary and how they decide to scheme for them. According to one guy, we have a bunch of guys that can do a lot of thing decently, but none that do anything great. They think DQ will try to scheme up pressure to not leave our secondary hanging. Wagner will play a huge role in this by calling coverage and front 7 adjustments.

*Regarding Kam Curl, I got the feeling that the FO was turned off by the smoke around his contract demands and his dad getting involved. The don’t think this FO likes the social media game when families get involved. This is more me reading into their comments than them saying anything directly, but just the feeling I get. The comment I heard was something like, “I’m surprised they didn’t at least try to sign him” and the response from another guy was, “maybe his damn dad shut have kept his F’ing mouth shut”.

*One guy said, “don’t be surprised if Dotson blows up this year”. Not really sure why he said it, but he did, haha. I’m guessing he thinks that he and JD will develop chemistry and he will become a go-to target for him. He did say something like, “JD throws a more catchable ball than Howell”…. I’m not a talent scout, so not sure what he meant by this….

Anyway, that’s all I got for now. Overall, they are all pumped about this team, the draft, the FO and the ownership. One guy hadn’t been to a game in many years but said he’s going to start going on a regular basis again because he’s proud to be associated with them again.

The future is bright!

SCHROEDER IS TRADED TO RAIDERS
REDSKINS ACQUIRE STAR TACKLE LACHEY

By Tom Friend
September 4, 1988 at 8:00 p.m. EDT

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., SEPT. 5 (MONDAY) -- The Washington Redskins early this morning traded backup quarterback

Jay Schroeder to the Los Angeles Raiders for two-time Pro Bowl tackle

Keeping up with politics is easy with The 5-Minute Fix Newsletter, in your inbox weekdays.
Jim Lachey and several conditional draft choices.

The post-midnight announcement confirmed daylong rumors that the deal

was imminent, and apparently came after the Raiders improved their offer

by increasing the number of draft picks going to the Redskins.

The draft picks will be subject to the Raiders' finish in the 1988

National Football League standings, and it's expected one could be as


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high as a 1990 first-round choice.

Schroeder, 22-6 as a Redskins starter over the past 2 1/2 seasons,

had asked to be traded as early as last May after being benched in favor

of Doug Williams. As recently as last weekend, the 27-year-old Schroeder

had been demoted to third string by Coach Joe Gibbs for not having the

proper "mental" attitude to play. Gibbs said, "I think he's wanting to

be elsewhere," and this morning the Redskins finally granted his wish.

In Lachey, the Redskins have a 25-year-old tackle out of Ohio State

who stands 6 feet 6 1/2 and weighs 284 pounds. Drafted 12th in the first

round in 1985 by the San Diego Chargers, he was traded to the Raiders

this July after staging a brief training camp holdout. In a recent

preseason game against the Redskins, he was judged even sturdier in

Washington's eyes by holding defensive ends Markus Koch and Steve

Hamilton sackless.

Following the Raiders' 24-13 victory over San Diego Sunday with

first-time starter Steve Beuerlein at quarterback, Lachey was brought

into the office of Raiders Coach Mike Shanahan and advised of the

current trade talks. He said Shanahan told him "I'm still in there

fighting {to keep} you."

But after the game, the two teams reopened trade talks and finalized

the deal after midnight Eastern time. Gibbs had been worried about the

Redskins' offensive line depth -- what with Russ Grimm's knee problems

-- and although Lachey, previously a left tackle, does not fill a

short-term need, he conceivably can move in at right tackle. Joe Jacoby

is the Redskins' starter on the left side.

Washington General Manager Bobby Beathard said in a statement issued

by the Redskins: "In Jim Lachey, we have a Pro Bowl offensive lineman

capable of playing either guard or tackle and he should be a dominant

force in the NFL for many years."

Mark May could move over eventually and play right guard, although it

is highly doubtful May would lose his starting right tackle job

immediately. Line coach Joe Bugel, who early today said he knew nothing

of the trade, said "continuity" is important to him and has said in the

past he'd prefer to keep May at tackle, rather than move him to guard.

May played tackle in college, but played guard earlier in his career

with the Redskins.

The Redskins made this trade even after the revelation that rookie

quarterback Stan Humphries has a blood disorder that could conceivably

limit his football future. Humphries, whose low platelet count means his

bleeding is difficult to curtail and could make surgery dangerous, has

been placed on the non-football illness list and must sit out a minimum

of 30 days. Without him and Schroeder, the Redskins are left with two

quarterbacks, Williams and Mark Rypien, and sources said the team has a

plan to sign a veteran quarterback -- possibly former Miami Dolphins

backup Don Strock -- to protect against an injury.

"It's always difficult going with two {quarterbacks}," Gibbs said

when asked what Humphries' illness does to a once-loaded position. "But

we've done it for a major portion of the time I've been here . . .

{although} it always makes it a little close, a little shaky."

Schroeder was not available for comment early this morning, but he

was said to be ecstatic and planned on catching a 9:45 a.m. flight today

for the West Coast. He attended high school in the Los Angeles area and

played college football briefly at UCLA before embarking on a minor

league baseball career with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Redskins had taken him in the third round of the 1984 draft, and

after a year of watching and learning, his chance came on Nov. 18, 1985,

when Joe Theismann broke his right leg against the New York Giants.

Coming off the bench, Schroeder led Washington to victory, completing a

40-yard pass to Art Monk on his first throw, and he eventually took the

Redskins to the NFC championship game in 1986, although the Giants shut

them out, 17-0.

In 1987, however, he separated his right, throwing shoulder in the

season opener against Philadelphia and then again in a game against

Dallas. Hindered by the pain, he began overaiming his passes, and the

results were overthrows and underthrows. Williams took over.

After Washington won the ensuing Super Bowl without him, Schroeder

asked to be traded, and his tendency to show outward displeasure with

his backup role led Gibbs to demote him. Apparently, there was no

shouting match between coach and player, just a relationship that

soured.

Asked Sunday if the demotion to third string hurt him, Schroeder

said, ""It doesn't make me feel very happy. Sure, I'm on edge. You're in

limbo. What can you do? Until something happens, you can't go on. You're

trying to get ready for a game you're not going to be in. That puts the

coaches in a tough situation and yourself in a tough situation. I just

hope it's over soon."

Lachey, meanwhile, grew up in the western Ohio community of St.

Henry, where he played high school ball for, ironically, the St. Henry

Redskins. He ran the 100-meter dash in 11.2 seconds, the 200 meters in

22.7 seconds and put the shot 61 feet 5 inches. A marketing major in

college, he is part owner of a furniture business in Columbus, Ohio. He

has two years remaining on a contract that earns him $350,000 in 1988

and $400,000 in 1989.