00:00All right, let's go to the Rude Guest Hotline.
00:01Rude, the most reliable heating and air conditioning products in the DMV.
00:05I want to check in with our buddy Ben Standig, Substack Standig fame.
00:09Ben, the pick tonight at 7 was Sonny Stiles.
00:12It certainly feels like Washington was crossing its fingers that he fell into their lap,
00:17and then somehow, someway, he did.
00:21Yeah, we just talked to Adam Peters a few moments ago,
00:24and he said that, you know, he wasn't that sure that they would actually get the styles,
00:30but once a couple things happened in front of them, he saw the window there,
00:34and, you know, look, I said to Peters, like,
00:38if the stated goal this offseason was to get younger and faster,
00:41could you get, could any situation epitomize that more?
00:45I didn't mention the name, but going from Bobby Wagner, you know, excellent player,
00:49but at the end of the career, just Sonny Stiles,
00:52it is the epitome of getting younger and faster.
00:54And, yeah, I mean, I think they're pretty, you know,
00:56obviously they're pretty excited with that pick,
00:58but, I mean, it's just another guy they added to his defense who is, you know,
01:02an athlete, and that's something they just did not have enough of last year.
01:05So, Ben, this is something that I care about that maybe fans will not,
01:08so bear with me here.
01:09Kansas City goes ahead of Washington to take Mansoor Delane.
01:13They didn't trade with Washington to take Mansoor Delane, right?
01:17So they think, at least in theory, that Washington was going to take Delane,
01:22and they had to get ahead of them to do so.
01:25Do you think that would have been the case, that it would have been Delane if he was there at
01:29seven?
01:32I mean, looking at the board, I mean, we're assuming that Stiles, therefore,
01:36would have gone ahead of Washington somehow, right, instead of the Mansoor pick.
01:41So I think it was definitely a possibility.
01:43I don't, you know, I'm not really sure who else they would have picked.
01:47I mean, he was the guy that I had for them with the idea that Stiles would be off the
01:50board.
01:51Yep, same here.
01:51And largely because Adam Peters has gone with, you know, the higher-end athletes,
01:55and, you know, Delane is not necessarily the highest of the highs because he's not the biggest guy,
02:00but, you know, he ran a 4-3-5, 40, which would have been the second fastest at the combine
02:05among cornerbacks.
02:06So I think it was a reasonable pick, but, yeah, I mean, I do think that Kansas City, you know,
02:11I mean, obviously a few of us have been putting it out there that Delane seemed to work,
02:15so they clearly believed that that was the case, obviously, right,
02:18because they jumped up ahead of where everybody kind of thought he might go.
02:22Sonny Stiles, one of the most athletic players ever drafted, is pick seven to the commanders.
02:27His 4-4-6 second 40-yard dash was the best among linebackers this year.
02:33His 43-and-a-half-inch vert was an all-time linebacker record.
02:36Of anybody who weighs 240, and then his 11-2 broad jump was a combine best this year as well.
02:42What's the tape?
02:43You know, what about the player here?
02:45Because the knock when you have that kind of combine is always going to be,
02:48oh, you're a combine warrior.
02:50How about the rest of the package?
02:53Well, I think one thing that's important to know,
02:55and Adam Peters reminded us of that, is that he's not played linebacker that long.
03:00He's a converted safety.
03:01So, you know, to the extent that he's still learning the position,
03:05and based on what he's already accomplished at Ohio State, you know,
03:09bodes well for his future.
03:11I mean, I did talk to some people in recent days, and who kind of said,
03:15hey, look, obviously the athlete is tremendous when you watch the tape.
03:18Sometimes the impact of a guy that athletic doesn't feel like it's always being made on certain plays.
03:25But, you know, if you're going to err, that's the type of athleticism to err on.
03:30You know, they say in the NBA, you know, you can't teach height.
03:34Well, in the NFL, you can't teach 6'3", 244, who runs, you know, whatever he ran, a 4,
03:41what is it, like a 4'4", or something?
03:434'4", 6.
03:44He's 6'5", and 245, and he runs a faster 40 than CeeDee Lamb.
03:49Right, right.
03:50So, I mean, you know, that's obviously a great way to go.
03:53You know, we also, you know, we've talked about the green dot situation.
03:56He was the guy that handled that for Ohio State.
03:59So, you know, you could potentially think he could be that guy sooner than later.
04:04So, look, his ability to, really, it's just another guy who's a versatile piece.
04:09You know, the Durante Jones line is, it's not where they line up, it's where they wind up.
04:13Well, this is another guy that you can line him up anywhere, and then he can, you know,
04:17he can rush the passer, he can stuff the line.
04:20And, you know, he can run with tight ends, up the seam, what have you.
04:25So, you know, combined with Chennault, you know, they've got two guys now who are just athletic.
04:30I mean, Chennault was the number three linebacker in that RAS score that, you know,
04:37tests everybody's athletic numbers and compares it to everybody else who's been at that position since 1989.
04:43When Chennault came out in 2022, he was the third best linebacker ever, and Stiles was ahead of him.
04:50So, Washington's athletic, at a minimum, their linebacker room has gotten significantly more athletic,
04:56and obviously that's not everything, but that's certainly a lot.
04:58Well, so, Ben, to that point, I always like it when, I'm just a rube watching the games on TV
05:04going,
05:05God, they're so slow.
05:05So, I think they finally saw what everyone else saw and said, we've had enough of that crap.
05:10We're not doing that again.
05:12They went out and they got a lot faster on defense, and I think they tried to do the same
05:16on offense,
05:17trying to go after Alec Pierce and others, but that was kind of the theme to me,
05:21is they've revamped this defense that's a lot faster than it was six months ago at this point.
05:26A, just speak to that, but B, what does that unlock, having those two really athletic linebackers there in the
05:31middle?
05:33You know, in my formative years, you know, you hear certain things that stick with you about what football is
05:40all about,
05:40and, you know, one of the famous lines from Jimmy Johnson in the early Cowboys days was, speed kills.
05:45Like, he just went out and got athletes, athletes, athletes, put them all over the field,
05:49and obviously we saw what they did there for a few years.
05:52You know, this is a nod towards that.
05:56I mean, you know, like you said, it was transparently obvious that this team was just not simply fast enough.
06:02They didn't have enough playmakers.
06:04Not that playmakers are always about speed, but obviously that's a huge component of it,
06:09and, you know, they've gotten a lot better.
06:11I'm curious to see now what happens with the offense.
06:14I mean, I think that's still a group that needs work, not to say that the defense is set,
06:18but clearly I think at this point between, you know, the free agent signings
06:22and now the seventh pick in the draft, they've put a lot of resources on that side of the ball.
06:26And, you know, again, I think with what we think Durante Jones is going to do,
06:30disguising the defense, sending blitzers from all different angles,
06:33I mean, I'm sitting here trying to think, like, okay, you've got Lou Vu, you've got Stiles, you've got Chennault.
06:39That sounds like, okay, cool, you've put them out there,
06:42but they're running a 3-4 in which I believe Owe and Chason are going to be on the edges,
06:47meaning like the outside linebackers, kind of.
06:49And so I don't know, you know, is it going to have to be more of a 4-3 now
06:52to get these guys on the field because you're not taking Owe and Chason off the field?
06:57So it's going to be interesting to see how they do this.
06:59But, again, this is one of those deals where it's a good problem to have.
07:02You have a lot of guys who want to rotate in and out,
07:05and they, you know, always have somebody fresh, you know, yada, yada, yada.
07:08So, yeah, I mean, obviously we'll see how it all plays out.
07:11But, you know, on paper, obviously it's a pretty exciting group,
07:14certainly compared to a year ago.
07:16It's a positionless defense.
07:17And, you know, look, this is oversimplified, but Minnesota for years with Brian Flores,
07:23they weren't great at cornerback.
07:24They've never really made it a huge priority.
07:26Their idea was to get to the QB, get the ball out,
07:30before their lack of cornerback stoutness became an issue, essentially.
07:36And so I could see all of those guys standing up in some kind of NASCAR package
07:39or moving around, and we're just heat-seeking missiles from the second level,
07:43and someone's coming free.
07:44If we're bringing more than you're blocking, that's one way to help this secondary,
07:48which is undermanned at this point.
07:49I will say, Ben, at 71, they've got to go get a receiver now.
07:53I've got to get a weapon.
07:54They have done almost nothing this offseason to help Jaden Daniels
07:58in terms of real legitimate impact playmakers.
08:01Chika Konkwo, if they're right about him, and I think they might be,
08:04but he's very helpful at tight end.
08:06But at wide receiver, they swung and missed on Alec Pierce, which was fine.
08:10I'm glad they did.
08:10They swung and missed on Romeo Dobbs.
08:13You're not going to fix everything in one offseason.
08:14I get that.
08:15But they've got to do something to help out Daniels.
08:19Yeah, no doubt.
08:20I mean, for me, you know, I know that obviously a lot of people are looking at
08:25Carnell Tate as a possibility for these guys at seven.
08:28Obviously, he went off the board at four, which I think kind of surprised these guys
08:33a little bit.
08:33Not that it's a bad pick, but just like that was sort of like his ceiling
08:36and that he went to the ceiling.
08:38But to me, from everything I kind of gather about this draft, yeah,
08:43Carnell Tate's good, but the gap between the top receivers and the guys they could
08:48possibly get at 71 is not that great.
08:51This receiver class is pretty deep.
08:53And so, yeah, I agree with you.
08:55I think they've got to make that call at 71.
08:57It's got to be a receiver, frankly.
09:00I mean, you don't want to say it's got to be because that goes against the notion
09:03of best available, but at some point, you do need to take account of, hey,
09:07we have a big deficiency over here.
09:09And, look, I think the receiver room, it looks like it's a little bit deeper
09:12than it was last year, but it's basically very similar to the group they had
09:15in 2024.
09:16And while that worked out, you know, so much had to go right that year,
09:20and Jaden Daniels had to carry everything.
09:22It would be cool to give him some help because we've seen other quarterbacks
09:25around the league, whether it's Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, you know,
09:30Drake May, like these guys have gotten help at receiver the way Jaden has.
09:34And so I'm not saying a third-round pick solves all that,
09:37but you've got to do something.
09:38Ben, thank you, buddy.
09:39We'll call you back and have you on for another half hour at like 1230 or so
09:42tonight, just to kind of recap everything.
09:45As Grant knows, I'm always up at those hours figuring out,
09:49figuring things out, so fire away.
09:51Ben Standing, check him out.
09:53It's Substack Standing.
09:54Last man standing is where he covers the commanders.
09:57Does a great job.
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