- 2 days ago
The Washington Commanders have made plenty of roster moves this offseason to improve the team, but GM Adam Peters may still have some more work to do. Ben Standig from The Last Man Standig Podcast and Substack joins Denton Day to break down how the Commanders are looking heading into the 2026 season after a successful offseason thus far and what more could be done prior to week one.
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00:00It's the Kevin Sheehan Show.
00:02Denton Day sitting in for Kevin here on the Team 980.
00:05Kevin will be back tomorrow.
00:07It is high noon on a Monday, which means we are joined by Ben Standing.
00:12Like we are each and every Monday, Friday.
00:14And if we're being honest, Ben, you're probably going to be on tomorrow too.
00:17But I appreciate you making the time nonetheless.
00:19It's been now a little over a week since the draft dust has settled.
00:24There's been a lot of people judging Washington's draft.
00:27You and I have not spoke about the draft since it took place.
00:30What did you think of it?
00:31Do you have a favorite pick outside of maybe the Stiles pick that you think could be a guy that
00:35ends up getting some really good snaps early on for Washington?
00:41Yeah, Denton, it was a pleasure to chat with you.
00:45I mean, look, I think it was fine.
00:47I mean, obviously it's cool to get enthusiastic about the top guy and maybe the top two guys.
00:53But when you only have two picks in the first four rounds, it's going to be a little bit muted
00:59in terms of,
01:00the level of enthusiasm.
01:01I think they've hit almost all the positions of need.
01:05Obviously they didn't get anything in the secondary, but again, you can't do everything.
01:10So I thought it was overall pretty good.
01:16I guess I'm intrigued by, I guess I'll say Katron Allen, the running back they took in the sixth round,
01:23just because, look, as fun as Bill was a year ago, and I have high hopes for him now, as
01:30I think the team does,
01:30because, you know, it's not like it's, you know, John Riggins or something.
01:35You know, we'll see.
01:36I mean, Bill was a seventh round pick a year ago.
01:38Now we're talking about a sixth round pick who, you know, had more success at the college level.
01:44So I'm just curious to see what he can do.
01:47At a minimum, he brings them sort of that power element, which could be a good fit with more abilities
01:54on the early downs
01:55and Rashad White and the passing downs.
01:57So I think for 2026 purposes, it could be helpful.
02:00And then beyond that, yeah, I'm curious to see what the potential ceiling is.
02:04Ben standing with us here on the Kevin Sheehan Show, Denton Day, sitting in for Kevin here.
02:09I think Katron could be really, really good really early.
02:13Were you surprised that they didn't address the cornerback position at all?
02:19Yes and no.
02:20I mean, look, I thought they could take Mance or Delane at seven if he was still sitting there.
02:25So that would obviously have been that.
02:27But I know like, and that was like my, like when I was playing at the mock drafts, you know,
02:33I just didn't know if Stiles would be there.
02:35And if he wasn't, Delane to be seen to make the most sense in terms of what Adam Peters had
02:40been looking for
02:41from an athlete perspective, obviously it's a premium position.
02:44But I wrote the other day about how, you know, if you look at what they've kind of done all
02:49offseason,
02:49you know, they spent bigger money on the front seven.
02:54And not that they didn't add some pieces in the secondary, but, you know, adding Amik Robertson
02:59is not the same as adding, you know, the guys they did, you know, the defensive line or a linebacker.
03:07Nick Cross, sort of the same.
03:09I mean, Nick Cross got, you know, decent enough money, but it wasn't like breaking the bank money.
03:15So, you know, they clearly made a decision to, we got to build up that front, that pass rush in
03:21particular,
03:21that's going to help the back end.
03:23So to that point, like, do I think they need more corners?
03:26At a minimum, they need more for depth.
03:28They basically have only four guys right now that, you know, have played in the league.
03:32And you could argue that they still maybe need a starter or two, depending on how you view Mikey Sanders
03:38still after two years.
03:41But, so I'm a little surprised to that end.
03:43But, again, you can only do so much, you know, basically any pick they took on day three,
03:48it's somebody you just think can make the team or help out.
03:52You can't get overly specific at that point about the position.
03:54So, once they didn't take one in the first or third round, you know, sort of all bets are off.
03:59And, like I said, they clearly decided that they were going to prioritize the front of the defense
04:03rather than the back of the defense.
04:05Now, I personally would answer this question with a no.
04:08But because they need more corner depth, is there any potential that they make the call to Trayvon Diggs?
04:16Well, I think you have to at least consider it, right?
04:18I mean, not only does he have, you know, the ties to Dan Quinn from their Dallas days,
04:23he's got really good size, and that's one thing this room lacks, at least among the top guys.
04:28You know, they don't have any big guys there.
04:32You know, the question for him is going to be, hey, what, you know, where are you at?
04:37Both, you know, physically, mentally, you know, obviously for Dallas to have released him the way they did,
04:42you know, says something about how that whole situation deteriorated.
04:46He lands with the Green Bay, you know, just for the end of the year.
04:50So, you know, and then he's still a free agent, right?
04:52Obviously, the league has kind of said, all right, we're going to push pause on our pursuit of Diggs
04:57and see where they're at.
04:58So, if they decide to, you know, I hate to evoke a certain receiver here,
05:04but, like, you know, sort of in the same way with Brandon Ayuk,
05:08there is a point where it's like, okay, for a certain amount of money,
05:11and assuming a one-year deal, it might be worth the risk.
05:14But the question is, are there other risks involved internally, i.e., the locker room,
05:19fate, if that's a cause for concern, where is the person at physically, all that.
05:23You know, those are things that they're going to have to,
05:25they'll know that we probably won't, at least initially.
05:28So, I wouldn't mind if they did that, but, again, it's all relative to cost
05:32and, you know, what they find when they start talking to him.
05:36Speaking of Brandon Ayuk, you evoked his name,
05:38so I feel like I at least have to ask about him.
05:41Oh, boy.
05:41I mean, there's been so much made about him.
05:48If you had to guess, is he still with the 49ers by the first day of training camp?
05:57I guess I'm not sure, like, what, like, it seems from the outside
06:03that a trade for him is unlikely, right?
06:07I mean, so this is something I read about the other day, like, how the entire discussion of him
06:14is bringing a coming to Washington.
06:16If you're telling me no other team is involved, forget the fact that the contract,
06:20you don't want to, you know, it would have to be renegotiated and all those kinds of things
06:24to make it palatable for Washington.
06:25And what is the incentive?
06:27There's nobody else bidding on this guy from, based on all the reporting that nobody else
06:31has mentioned ever, right?
06:33So if that's the case, at some point the 49ers just have to decide, what are we doing here?
06:38Are we just being, you know, a little bit petty?
06:41Or do we really, really think we can get something out of it?
06:44So starting a training camp, I don't know, you'd like to think this thing is resolved
06:48unless the 49ers are just like, nah, screw this guy.
06:52We, you know, it cost us in multiple ways.
06:55We're just going to ride this out.
06:56But I would guess, starting a training camp, you would think he would be somewhere else.
07:01And it feels like here.
07:02I mean, I guess a guy would trust Adam Peters knows enough about him.
07:06I mean, obviously, Jaden is going to make a big push for him because they're boys.
07:09If he's still talking to him, which apparently we don't know who talks to Brandon Ayuk anymore,
07:13agent gone, friends gone, I don't know.
07:15Some of the narratives that are coming out are just very odd to me.
07:21Yeah, look, I mean, the entire point of any rationale for saying this makes sense for Washington
07:28comes down to Adam Peters in particular, you know, having, you know, helped draft the guy,
07:34having been around the guy, presumably, you know, maybe he's not talked to him directly
07:39because, you know, he's still on another team.
07:41But, you know, in some way, shape, or form, they have a feel for where he's at.
07:45And he feels confident that he's going to be able to help.
07:49Yeah, I mean, it is the ultimate in Adam, you know, let Adam cook kind of deal, right?
07:54If we're going to go with that.
07:56You know, the Jaden part, sure.
07:58I mean, look, if somehow Jaden said don't do it, that would be obviously a huge red flag.
08:03And assuming Jaden is saying to do it, that only goes so far with me.
08:07I mean, look, they played together, you know, in 2019 or 20, right?
08:11So it's, or 20, yeah.
08:13So it's not like, you know, it's not like it was a minute ago.
08:16Obviously, they've kept in touch.
08:17But, you know, Ayuk's erratic behavior, just forget that he hasn't played in a while
08:22following a knee injury and, you know, all that.
08:25But, like, you know, his just erratic behavior off the field, to me, would be a huge question.
08:29And even if this is a base level, he signed a four-year, $120 contract and then proceeds
08:34to blow it up, seemingly for just nothing other than just not showing up anymore to
08:40practices, to being around the team.
08:42That's nuts.
08:43You know, I mean, he was already practicing again.
08:46We're not practicing.
08:46He was rehabbing.
08:47It looked like he was getting closer to being activated when everything kind of fell apart.
08:51So, and this, you know, the Niners, you know, stripped away guarantees from the contract
08:55and there was no push to even fight it from Ayuk or the Union.
09:00So, something clearly is going on here beyond just, you know, a disagreement with the team.
09:09So, if looking through all that, Adam Peters still says, let's do this.
09:13I mean, I don't know what to do other than to say, okay.
09:16But, again, to me, the red flags just are seemingly way too much to make a move on this.
09:23Ben Standing is with us here on the Kevin Cheehan Show with Deton Day sitting in for Kevin.
09:29So, if Brandon Ayuk is not here, we'll just say, hey, he's not going to be here.
09:32So, you're just looking at the roster as it is.
09:35How much better are they offensively from a talent standpoint than they were last year?
09:42Yeah, it's interesting, right?
09:43I mean, you could look at the receiver room as it stands right now and then compare it to the
09:482024 group.
09:50And it's pretty similar.
09:51I mean, obviously, the De'Ami Brown part of it is there.
09:54But it's similar in the sense of, like, you've got a bunch of guys who are sort of, you know,
10:00reserve or rotation type guys.
10:03You don't have really another obvious starter besides Terry.
10:07But, you know, again, with De'Ami Brown, with some size in Traylon Burks, you know, you've got some speed
10:14with Jalen Lane.
10:17And we'll see about, you know, McCaffrey, et cetera.
10:20Like, with a healthy Jaden Daniels and David Blouse in his bag, you know, I think they can make this
10:26work.
10:27You don't always have to have necessarily the best individual receivers.
10:32You need individual receivers who have specific traits that you can meld together to form a cohesive group.
10:40You know, they also, of course, have Chez Akanku now at tight end.
10:43Now he's an incredibly different tight end than Zach Ertz.
10:46And we'll see if he can be even close to the weapon that Zach Ertz was in the red zone
10:51for Jaden Daniels.
10:52But he'll give them a much, you know, give them more big playability from that position, yards after the catch,
10:58et cetera, physical presence.
10:59So, you know, I'm not saying he's the number two receiver, but that is potentially an upgrade just from a,
11:05you know, big play angle.
11:07And then last year, you know, they have Austin Eckler goes out in week two.
11:12He was not just their pass catching back, but probably their best all-around back.
11:15Now there's the emergence of Bill, but Rashad White as well.
11:19So, you know, I think all of that is, I don't know if it's better if that group is healthy,
11:27but it's at least, you know, I think there's a higher ceiling.
11:31I think the group is deeper.
11:32And then, you know, there's also the offensive line, you know, Josh Connerly going into his second year.
11:36You know, he finished up out pretty strong last year.
11:39We're still waiting to see on the center spot, but the offensive line should be, you know, pretty good shape.
11:44So, I don't know if I can see him and go, wow, they're definitely better, but I think they're deeper
11:49and they have more outs than they did a year ago.
11:52And now the question is just who fills in that gap at the second receiver or how do they fill
11:57in that whole thing?
11:58And again, also the David Blatt part of this, like, you know, he's not on the 53, but we can
12:06say that there should be a better style for this offense than what Kingsbury offered.
12:11But at the same point, we've never seen him do this because he hasn't done this before in terms of
12:15game planning, calling plays.
12:16And that may be the biggest variable of the whole thing.
12:19Ben Sandig with us here on the Team 980 on the Kevin Sheehan Show, Denton Day, sitting in.
12:24So, we've had this conversation over the past hour about the potential of bringing back like a Bobby Wagner, Von
12:28Miller, Zach Ertz, et cetera.
12:30When it comes to Bobby and Von in particular, do you have any sort of gauge as to what the
12:35relationship is with the players and the organization at this point?
12:38Are they waiting it out to potentially training camp or is the organization kind of like, hey, we're good right
12:43now?
12:46You know, nobody ever says we're closing the door and things like that.
12:51The Wagner front, though, I just don't understand how that would make any sense remotely anymore.
12:55I mean, he's not looking to just be, you know, be along for some ride-along program.
13:02He wants to play.
13:03He needs 60 tackles to become the all-time leading tackler in this league.
13:06And, you know, I know people had reservations about him in coverage last year and the lack of speed at
13:12times, which, you know, no argument.
13:13But he's still very good, especially in the early downs, tackling, you know, making plays around the line of scrimmage.
13:20So, I think some team is going to say, hey, come on here and be the sort of the nerve
13:25center, the captain of the defense, what have you.
13:28And, you know, look, I mean, between Sonny Stiles, Luvu, and Chennault, like, I just don't see where Wagner would
13:33fit.
13:34Miller is a little bit more interesting because, you know, the whole notion of you can never have enough pass
13:38rushers.
13:39And, you know, obviously they did make a lot of investments in coming off the edge this year.
13:46But, you know, I mean, he still led the team in sacks a year ago.
13:49He, you know, by all accounts, I think he had, he was a pretty good fit in the locker room,
13:54as was Wagner.
13:55But, I mean, I think he was a pretty good fit.
13:56So, I think there's a better chance that he would come back because he, you know, he certainly liked it
14:02here.
14:02I saw him during the offseason and he, you know, I said, hey, for him it was going to be
14:05ideally, you know, come back here or go back to Denver where his whole journey started.
14:10But, they've at least done enough where you're not going, well, they have to bring this guy in.
14:17They at least, I think, not have enough other pieces off the edge.
14:20You know, something else between O.A., Armstrong, Chason, they just drafted another kid in the fifth round.
14:28So, I don't think they have to do it, but he would be the better bet to me than Wagner.
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