- 7 hours ago
John Keim joins The Sports Junkies to break down the latest Washington Commanders news.
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00:00Welcome in John Kime, Commander's Reporter for ESPN.
00:04John, thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.
00:06Hey, what's up, fellas? First of all, 30 years. Unbelievable.
00:09And honestly, I saw this yesterday.
00:12It felt like it was yesterday where you guys were celebrating 25.
00:17But it's a fantastic run, and I hope people appreciate how hard it is to do what you guys have
00:23done for such a long time.
00:24Very nice of you to say, John.
00:26Thank you, man. Appreciate those kind of words.
00:27We've appreciated having you on this show for many, many, many of those years.
00:32I love it, so let's go.
00:34Let's go. Let's do it.
00:35Thank you, man.
00:35So I know that you're not like, I don't know, it's my impression, because I'm a John Kime devotee.
00:40I consume a lot of his work, if not all of it.
00:43I don't think it's necessarily like a uniform thing is very high on your list of interests.
00:49I don't think it particularly overly interests you.
00:50I think the fan base on the whole, though, in our polls, we're getting about 75%, 80% love slash
00:56like.
00:58I don't think you can ask for much better, right?
01:01Especially in a town that's been so polarized by the name change.
01:04What was your overall impression?
01:06Yeah, and I will say this.
01:07In this case, the laundry stuff, a lot of times, what are they going to wear today versus last week,
01:13whatever.
01:13That kind of bores me, but I understand in this situation, to me, it was different.
01:20And I say that because when they changed the name four years ago, when they went to the commander's name,
01:26and they changed the look, I'm like, this is way too much.
01:28I just, it was, you felt like you, when they were the Washington football team,
01:32I didn't feel like I was covering a different franchise necessarily, because they looked the same on the field.
01:38And I grew up in Cleveland, Indians fan.
01:40They changed it to Guardians.
01:41I felt like one of the best things they did is, first of all, the script was the same on
01:45the jersey.
01:46And then secondly, the look was the same.
01:48So I felt like I was watching the same franchise.
01:51And it didn't, the name changed, but nothing else had changed for me.
01:55But when I was watching this team and covering them, I always felt like there was,
01:59you felt like you were watching something different.
02:02So them going back, so them going back to that look, I really, really applaud that.
02:09I just think it's so much better.
02:12I think for us, if you're a fan, I hope that you can sit there and at least feel like,
02:16and maybe some people feel like, why is that important?
02:18But it is.
02:19Hey, John, you bring up a great point, though.
02:21And you have some insight into it, because you pay attention to it.
02:24You know, being a guy from Cleveland or fan of Cleveland.
02:28Personally, to me, Guardians is just as boring and bland as Commanders, right?
02:32I mean, I have nothing.
02:33It means nothing to me, either one.
02:35But it seems like the backlash here in D.C. is greater than the back.
02:40In other words, the Cleveland fan base, I'm guessing, I could be totally wrong.
02:44It seems like they've accepted it, slash embraced it, maybe more so than the D.C. fan base,
02:48at least initially.
02:49Is that?
02:49I would say, sometimes I think that, and then I see comments from people and hear things,
02:54and I'm like, well, they really haven't.
02:56I think part of the difference is, though, that the owner here was so polarizing,
03:02that added that, to me, adds to it.
03:05Whereas there, like, the owners there, they're really good owners.
03:09They're just people there who think they're cheap, because they won't spend the extra,
03:12go the extra mile to get to acquire talent, whatever.
03:15But it's a really good organization.
03:17And so I think they were, they're far more likable.
03:20I think maybe that softened the blow for some, plus they were still good.
03:24And I think that helps, too.
03:25Like, you know, so it mutes the voices on the other side, perhaps.
03:31But I would say, like, I don't know anybody I talked to is, like, fully embracing the name.
03:37It's just, it's kind of like here.
03:38It's just, it's a smaller city.
03:40But you're going to have someone like, you know, they'll never embrace it.
03:44But that's just, but again, it looks the same.
03:47The franchise, they haven't won a title, but they're always good now.
03:52So, like, I do think that helps soften the blow.
03:56Like, if you're bad and you change the name, then there's all hell's going to break loose, right?
04:01But, and which, you know, or if you have an owner who's always under investigation and highly unlikable,
04:07like, that doesn't help either.
04:08So, I think that probably is the difference.
04:11And I, you know, maybe the voices here are just louder.
04:13I don't know.
04:14But, you know, there are definitely people there who aren't fond of it.
04:19All right.
04:19So, we're getting closer and closer to the draft.
04:21And, again, I listen to, I try to listen to all the guys in town that I really respect, guys
04:26and women.
04:27And John's one of them.
04:28So, I listen to a lot of his content.
04:29And I know you're covering this draft from all angles, John.
04:33You know, you're making the case for defense recently, you know, making the case for the Ohio State guys, you
04:38know, whatever.
04:39You've done it all.
04:41Are you getting, I know you're going to put out a final mock for yourself, at least, and I'm sure
04:46it's informed speculation.
04:47But is the team, in your opinion, leaving any breadcrumbs for clues as to where they may go here?
04:55Not really.
04:56And part of it is because I think there's a lot of uncertainty about what's going to happen ahead of
05:00them.
05:01And the more people you talk to, the less, I think, clearer it becomes.
05:05And I think, so I think that's the hard part.
05:09And, you know, Adam Peters, I think, right now is very tight-lipped, very.
05:13So, but I think, you know, I think you can get some level of clues from various, you have to,
05:20this is piecing together a puzzle.
05:22And it's very difficult.
05:25But, again, I start with the fact that the teams ahead of them, they're uncertain.
05:29But I think you can say, like, well, who do they like?
05:31I think that part, I don't know if it comes out.
05:34I don't know if it's obvious.
05:35I just think after a while, I can say, well, they like these players.
05:39And so if one of them is there, they probably take them.
05:42If there's a handful of them there, then maybe they look to trade back if somebody wants to trade up.
05:48And that's the hard part with this, too, is I don't know that anybody will.
05:51But, so, you know, I just think the uncertainty ahead of them leads itself to, like, not so much who
06:00do they like, but which specifically, like, who would be the first on their list of guys that they would
06:05take at seven.
06:06That's the harder one.
06:07But I do think there's guys that you know that they like, for sure.
06:10Yeah, it'd be cool to see what their draft board looks like.
06:13You know, who the top guy is, two, three, four, five.
06:16We had the pleasure years ago, Charlie was so good to us, Charlie Cassidy, forever indebted to that dude.
06:23He let us in.
06:24We got to see his board.
06:26You know, they end.
06:28I know Adam Peters will never let us in.
06:30Yeah, right.
06:31I just don't think that happens today.
06:32It's a different era.
06:33But he let us see that kind of thing.
06:36And I saw a story yesterday.
06:38Somebody was reporting.
06:39I can't remember.
06:39It might have been John.
06:40It might have been JP.
06:40I'm not sure.
06:41But that the Sean Taylor year, the night before, somebody acknowledged they were going Kellen Winslow.
06:48And then so we always say, do they know what they're going to do here?
06:53Well, they may, but it could change.
06:55Because it changed the Sean Taylor year, allegedly.
06:58Well, that one did.
06:59That came out even that year.
07:01Yeah.
07:01That they were leaning toward Winslow.
07:04And then it changed.
07:06So, yeah, like that one at the time had come out, right?
07:10But, yeah, I don't think it's something like that.
07:14I just think it's like, you know, right now, because they do their own internal mock drafts.
07:19So, you're going to know, okay, like in this scenario, this is the pick.
07:24In this scenario, this guy is the pick.
07:26So, if player X falls there.
07:28So, they do all those mock drafts.
07:29So, I don't know that there's going to be some level of, like, oh, we're going to put this guy
07:33ahead of here.
07:35Unless you find something else out last minute.
07:37But, you know, and I know, like, when Gibbs was here, as great as he is as a coach, it
07:46wasn't exactly, you know,
07:47you still had certain people there that weren't always, you know, the best in front office or ownership.
07:55So, it might be a little bit more like that.
07:57But, like, now, I think you have it, you get it set.
08:00And so, you know, I don't think, I don't know if that's going to change too much.
08:04Like, if they like Sonny Stiles more than Jeremiah Love at 7, if both are there, then I don't know
08:10that that's going to change based on anything that happens over the next week.
08:14John, you're an alum of The Ohio State University.
08:17Of the four guys who they might draft, who did you personally like to watch the most and why?
08:24Well, the one I loved the most there was Caleb Downs because just he was as much a calming figure
08:33on the field as anybody.
08:35And you just, like, you trusted on third down, they're going to try and do this.
08:39Somehow he's going to be involved in the play to break it up, to do something, whatever.
08:43And you just, you felt like, as a fan, you felt a level of, I don't know, peace, but, like,
08:49you know, that's a little bit much.
08:51But maybe just like, okay, he's got it.
08:54Then, but I will say, I always felt like Sonny Stiles this year, you know, Arvell, I loved Arvell.
09:01The first time I saw Arvell, is it June, when it is the previous year, like, this guy's got to
09:06be on the field more.
09:06Because you could just see he knew how to play, more so than maybe some guys that had out there.
09:10But I think the one thing that surprised me in this process was how long it took for Sonny Stiles
09:16to get maybe, not hype, but maybe more focus on him.
09:21Because I thought he was really good.
09:23And you could see the big improvement.
09:26But, yeah, Downs, for me, coach on the field.
09:28And I think Sonny Stiles is like that, too.
09:30But Downs more so, just he was that good.
09:34I don't know that that means he goes top 10 or even to seven.
09:38But as somebody watching them, that was the guy that always jumped out.
09:42J.K., so when you look at what this team did in free agency, all right, and what their needs
09:48are, you know, some people think that their needs are still on the defensive end.
09:53Even though they went out and signed about 10 guys, especially Owe and Chason and all those guys.
10:00I think they need secondary.
10:01And secondary, correct.
10:03And they went out and got two running backs, too.
10:05They got up forward and they got white.
10:07All right?
10:07So I think their running back room, and if you have Bill as number three, I think their running back
10:11room is a lot deeper than it was last year and better, in my opinion.
10:15But just from a guy, from a media member who follows this team, do you still think that the first
10:22need at number seven is on the defensive end?
10:25Or do you think it's someone like a Jeremiah Love who would really be, could be a star at his
10:30position?
10:31Or a Tate, maybe even a receiver?
10:33Well, there's a couple things.
10:34So I think the need is for impact players.
10:36I don't care where they are at.
10:38Because I don't think they have enough of those guys.
10:39I don't think they have enough blue-chip talent on the roster where you can turn your nose up at
10:44anybody because of what you've done in free agency.
10:46So if Jeremiah Love is there at seven, I think they take him.
10:50And I agree with you.
10:52I think what they've done with the running back room, you can go play and win with that group right
10:56now.
10:56You can do it.
10:56I do.
10:57I believe that.
10:58Yeah.
10:58And I do, too.
10:59I mean, you look at what they won two years ago.
11:01Was the running back room better than what they have now?
11:05No, I don't think so.
11:06I don't know that.
11:06Right.
11:06Exactly.
11:07And they won 12 games.
11:08So they can go out and win with them.
11:10I think you can win with the edge rushers for sure.
11:14The difference, the thing there is that three of the four, three of your top four, this is the last
11:19year of their contract.
11:21So you will have a need at that position after this year.
11:24But right now, you can go win with them.
11:27So I think that's what they've done in free agency is kind of provided insurance in case so they don't
11:34have to go get somebody.
11:35I think the areas where, to me, you'd still have to address is obviously number two receiver.
11:40I don't know that Carnell Tate will be the answer for them at seven.
11:45It is a deep draft class, so you can find a guy in the third round, but you're also rolling
11:50the dice a little bit more in the third round as far as like what's their ceiling.
11:54And there's obviously Brandon Aiyuk still out there as a possibility.
11:59I think I would look as much to, you know, again, impact players.
12:04So if you have a chance to get like a cornerback, they still are confident that Mikey Sanders still can
12:09play at a certain level.
12:11You have Trey Amos.
12:12And they signed Amik Robertson or Keller Witherspoon.
12:14However, if you think Mansoor Delaney is a top guy in there and he's there at seven and other guys
12:20you don't like are gone, you take him because that just makes you better.
12:24And in this, I think, so I think that's where I look at it.
12:28Like, where's the impact guy?
12:30You don't have enough impact players.
12:32And I think, like in free agency, one of the clues to me was they went hard after Tyler Linderbaum.
12:38Well, it wasn't about the position as much as it was about the player.
12:43You know, typically you're not going to go over $20 million for a center, but they were willing to go
12:48high for him because they felt the player could make an impact.
12:52And then if you notice, like they didn't turn and pivot and go get some other center, it's like, okay,
12:57if it's not this guy, then we're going to roll here.
12:59And it wasn't, you know, but it was about the player.
13:01And so I think you can apply that same logic to this pick.
13:05Right.
13:05John, we hear so much about the relative athletic score.
13:08I think that's such an interesting number.
13:10And I believe a lot in that metric.
13:12That means a lot to me.
13:13And I know it does to Adam Peters, reportedly.
13:16Can you give us, though, a guy maybe that they've taken in the last couple years since Peters has been
13:21here who has been relatively high, but he didn't have a super high?
13:25In other words, because Caleb Downs supposedly is not that relative athletic score guy, right?
13:30Like, he's a great athlete, but he's not the 99 percentile guy.
13:34That's Sonny Stiles.
13:35Right.
13:35Yeah.
13:36That Sonny is for sure.
13:37Right.
13:38But I'm speaking to Caleb.
13:39I'm thinking, well, is that a rule-out factor for them?
13:42Not necessarily, because, like, I will say, and I draw a blank on last year's guys, but, like, two years
13:48ago, for example, the first class, almost all of them were over a 9.0.
13:53I think the one who wasn't was Mikey Samistil.
13:56Oh, really?
13:57I think he was, like, 8th.
13:57Yeah.
13:58But I think what you would sometimes, for a guy like him or even Caleb Downs, you're going to weigh
14:04other factors with that, right?
14:05For sure.
14:06For Samistil, obviously, the competitiveness.
14:10Leadership.
14:11And the same thing for Caleb Downs.
14:13Like, okay, maybe your RAS isn't here, but you play a certain way and position yourself a certain way because
14:21you're smart and, you know, that you can overcome that.
14:24Or you've been in three defensive systems and have excelled in each one.
14:28So, like, that is where that can be made up.
14:30But, yeah, that score, I think, is a key factor for them.
14:35I think Delane, I think he would score high in there as well.
14:39And so, you know, but, yeah, Sonny Stiles was, I would say, off the charts, but he wasn't.
14:43He was at the top of the charts.
14:45So, but, yeah, that is a thing.
14:47But there are ways you can do it because it's not a hard and fast rule, but it is definitely
14:53something to consider with it.
14:55You know, you remember, you always reference it, and you're kind to mention us when you do, that when DQ
15:00did that interview with us and JP gave him the one words or whatever, and he said game changer or
15:04whatever, and he kind of inadvertently, right, it was a breadcrumb he gave.
15:07He inadvertently kind of let out his excitement.
15:10I kind of similarly feel like when I remember Dan, I can't remember who, but when he first kind of
15:15commented about downs, he immediately talked about, like, oh, he's the best guy on your defense.
15:19He's the, he's your guy calling all the plays.
15:21He knows where to be.
15:22He's everywhere.
15:23Like, he was so enthusiastic about him that I was like, whoa, this might have to be the guy.
15:28Well, so, and trust me, like, and I always keep that in my head with what he said up there,
15:33so I talked to Quinn at the Combine because I was writing a story about, like, you know, Ohio State
15:39guys there.
15:39And, like, to me, and I know I went there, but it's unusual to have four guys possibly as answers
15:44to what you need at that pick from the same school.
15:47Yeah.
15:47And, um, so I asked, I did go over a couple of the guys that he, that he had scouted
15:51already.
15:52One was the three defensive guys.
15:54Right.
15:54So I asked him about, about Caleb Downs and he said, well, when you watch him, when you watch
15:58him play, you say, whoa, and then you talk to him and you say, whoa.
16:02Right.
16:02And so, like, there was, he was very high, but then, like, he was very, he was high on Sonny
16:06Stiles.
16:07He was obviously Arbel Reese, who I don't think will be there at seven, but, um, and then, um, uh,
16:13um, you know, for Caleb and Sonny, yeah, Sonny as well.
16:16Right.
16:16Uh, and, and I know Adam Peters is very high on Sonny Stiles in another interview, but the
16:22hard part is in that situation, providing context, because if you're not like the thing
16:26that jumped out to me when you guys had DQ on with that show is that you asked him about
16:31the other quarterbacks.
16:32So then you could, you could, you could compare it to what he said about Caleb Williams, DC,
16:37like, okay, that meant nothing.
16:39Yeah, yeah, exactly.
16:41Like, what does that mean?
16:41And so that's where the context was, comes into play.
16:45And, um, you know, and I think the other thing is too, you can like a lot of guys in
16:49that
16:49top seven.
16:50There's a lot of guys alike, but you have to, it's contextualizing it as well.
16:54But yeah, I think like, clearly there's, you know, their defensive guy.
16:58And he said with Caleb Downs and Sonny Stiles, he felt like both could be like that quarterback
17:02on the field.
17:03And that's something these guys really obviously, um, prize.
17:07And that's why I, to me, if Sonny Stiles is there, I think like, you know, I think
17:11it's also the versatility he offers that would really appeal to them in addition to everything
17:15else.
17:16But yeah, like those, those breadcrumbs, like ever since then, I was like, where, right.
17:20Don't overlook what this comment is, but, but try to contextualize it as well.
17:24John, thanks as always.
17:26We appreciate the time.
17:27We'll have you on again soon.
17:28I know you're going to be busy.
17:29The draft is a week from today.
17:31So we'll talk to you again soon, man.
17:33Yeah.
17:34Let's get here.
17:35Almost there.
17:36Running out of steam.
17:36Thanks guys.
17:37All right.
17:37Thank you, buddy.
17:38That's John Kahn, commander's reporter for ESPN.
17:41When we come back, we'll give you a chance to win two pair of tickets to the summer 2026
17:47Wolf Trap show of your choice.
17:50So that is coming up next.
17:51Your opportunity to win those tickets.
17:52It's coming up next here on the fan.
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