00:00Speaking of track, the former Washington quarterback, Robert Griffith III, he was a track star.
00:06There you go.
00:07There's some synergy there.
00:08That's really what he should have pursued.
00:10He should have pursued the track.
00:11He should have pursued the track.
00:12He got a little derailed with the football.
00:13Should have trained for the Olympics.
00:15Yeah, that's probably what he should have done.
00:16So he hosts the Outer Pocket Podcast with his wife, Greta.
00:21And they were recently discussing Jaden Daniels, what his prospects are heading into 2026.
00:27And has the team done enough to surround him with enough talent to help him get back on track?
00:33Here's Robert and Greta Griffin.
00:36Do you think the Washington Commanders did enough in the draft to help Jaden Daniels get back on track?
00:41I don't.
00:42I don't think so.
00:43Because the biggest indicator for the Commanders this year, their success is not going to be about anyone they brought
00:48in in free agency.
00:49It's not going to be about anyone that they drafted.
00:51It's going to be about Jaden Daniels' health.
00:53Yeah.
00:53So if Jaden Daniels is healthy, the Commanders can turn it around.
00:56But I do believe they did a great job using their picks to fill some of the holes in their
01:02roster.
01:04What did he say at the beginning part there again?
01:06His answer was they didn't do enough.
01:09They did a great job with their picks, filling the holes.
01:13So he's also including free agency.
01:14Yeah.
01:15I don't know.
01:16I mean, I don't think anybody's completely satisfied with what they did.
01:21And let's think about what their top two targets were, supposedly, in free agency.
01:26Their top target was Alec Pierce.
01:28Didn't get him.
01:29Right.
01:29He decides to stay in Indianapolis.
01:31Dubs.
01:31Maybe it would have been too much more money.
01:33That was their top target.
01:34Then they went with Dubs.
01:35Their other top target was Tyler Linderbaum.
01:37Yep.
01:38Became too expensive.
01:39They opted out.
01:41So they wanted to upgrade the offense at center and wide receiver.
01:44They didn't do it in free agency.
01:46And then, you know, they brought back De'Ami Brown.
01:50And they signed Jefferson.
01:54Solid vet.
01:55Whatever.
01:56But it's not the same as your top target.
01:58And they drafted Williams.
01:59Well, they drafted Antonio Williams, who I have huge hopes for.
02:01Yeah.
02:01So they added three receivers.
02:03So they did address it.
02:05So Robert then goes on to discuss some of the players that were drafted by the commanders.
02:10And here are some of his breakdowns on those players.
02:12For example, Washington last year, they gave up six yards per play.
02:16That's horrible.
02:16All right.
02:17As a defense.
02:17Yes, Bobby Wagner had 162 tackles.
02:20But the defense as a whole was one of the oldest in the NFL.
02:23And they desperately needed to get younger.
02:25All right.
02:26So first round pick, Sonny Stiles.
02:27He marks all that off.
02:29He is a day one starter.
02:31All right.
02:32Instant starter.
02:33An absolute dog.
02:34Used to play safety, but now plays linebacker.
02:38He fits Dan Quinn's system and his desire to have versatile linebackers.
02:42And Stiles, in coverage, only allowed one touchdown over the last two years.
02:46So on top of that, then what do you do?
02:48Well, we got a little bit of hole at wide receiver as well.
02:50Third round, they go and get Antonio Williams out of Clemson.
02:53All right.
02:53Slot maestro, as I like to call him.
02:56He's a chain mover.
02:57He will be a chain mover for Jaden Daniels.
02:59He's a ball magnet, catches a lot of passes.
03:01And he's extremely productive after the catch.
03:05331 of his 604 yards last year at Clemson came after the catch.
03:11That means, hey, I can get this guy the ball short and he can take it long.
03:15He's so crafty with his routes.
03:18You would think this dude was mac and cheese.
03:20No, I didn't even pause it.
03:22That's where he loses us.
03:23That's just a hard line from RG3.
03:27I know.
03:27I mean, you know that he wrote that down on a post-it and felt that had to be his
03:32capital.
03:32He's so crafty, you'd think he's mac and cheese.
03:35Right.
03:35Is that what he said?
03:36He's so crafty with his routes, you would think this dude was mac and cheese.
03:40Right.
03:40But let's look.
03:41Is he still continuing?
03:42Does he still evaluate?
03:43Because I'll comment if you want.
03:45You know, okay, they whiffed on getting a couple of those big name receivers.
03:51But I do think Antonio Williams is, I think he's going to be a day one starter.
03:56Maybe I'm wrong.
03:57But I think he'll be a day one starter.
03:58I think he'll be a big contributor.
04:00They added Chig, which I think is a pretty big upgrade.
04:04Lost to Ertz.
04:05You lost to Ertz.
04:06I don't know if Chig is that much of an upgrade over Ertz.
04:08I think so.
04:09Ertz's production was pretty damn good here in Washington.
04:11It was very solid, especially in year one.
04:13I think he can step into that role.
04:15I think he'll step into almost seamlessly.
04:17Yeah, yeah.
04:17I agree with that.
04:18But I'm saying I don't know that it's a huge upgrade.
04:20Maybe it's a slight upgrade because he's younger.
04:23You can't assume Ertz is going to keep continuing at that rate at his age.
04:25I think it's an upgrade.
04:27I do, too.
04:28Especially since he's more athletic and he's younger.
04:31I mean, the fact that he's in his 20s is huge.
04:34Yeah.
04:34I'm not going to say that the center.
04:35Ertz gave you 66 catches the first year with seven touchdowns.
04:39And even last year with injuries, we only played 13 games, 50 catches, and four touchdowns.
04:44Jig can give you that.
04:45I think Jig's going to give you that.
04:46What Jig's going to do is he's going to be explosive after he gets the ball in his hands.
04:49Something that you could not say about Zach Ertz.
04:52Yeah.
04:53Zach would catch it and a yard or two later get tackled.
04:55Yeah.
04:56That's pretty much what he did.
04:57He may not match the touchdown numbers of Zach Ertz, but I guarantee you he's going to beat him in
05:03yards per catch.
05:04I would make that bet right now.
05:06I think it's an upgrade at this stage of Zach Ertz's career, even before the injury.
05:11I mean, I don't think it's a given, Cakes.
05:13Well, we'll see it play out.
05:15If you look at Jig's career numbers, I think it was a good move.
05:19All right.
05:20He averaged in four seasons 10.4 yards per catch.
05:25That's basically what Ertz was giving you.
05:27So I don't think it's a given that he's going to be this big play guy that's going to stretch
05:30a field.
05:31I think he's going to be a bigger play guy than Ertz is my point.
05:34Ertz averaged 10 yards per catch.
05:36So Chig is right around the same in terms of moving the chains.
05:39Nobody would argue the same once they have the ball in their hands.
05:42Chig is going to be more dynamic with the ball in their hands.
05:44You would hope, but Ertz had better numbers the last two years.
05:47He also had better quarterbacks throwing at the ball.
05:49I mean, Chig had Cam Ward thrown to him.
05:50You've got to factor that in.
05:52Yeah.
05:52What was Cam Ward's percentage?
05:53And who did he have thrown to him before that?
05:55Tannehill, maybe?
05:57Toward the end of his time there?
05:59Maybe.
05:59Maybe, but...
06:01Maybe they intersected?
06:02I mean, Chig, pretty consistent for three straight seasons, was between 52 and 56 catches.
06:08Never hit 600 yards, never over three touchdowns in a season.
06:13Yeah, he played on his terrible offense.
06:14Okay, but you're not factoring the quarterbacks in.
06:16I think those numbers are going to go up.
06:18Those numbers will go up.
06:19It's not a given that he's going to outperform what Zach Ertz was giving you.
06:23I think he's going to have as many, if not more, catches than Ertz gave you.
06:27I think he'll do better than what Ertz did in year two, year.
06:3050 catches in 13 games is pretty strong.
06:33I think, okay, you could be right.
06:35I think that Antonio Williams would be a day one starter, and I think you might get something
06:42from Deami that's a little bit more than what you're expecting.
06:45All right, Chig had 56 catches last year with a rookie quarterback who completed less than 60%
06:50of his balls, so give him a legit quarterback who's going to complete 67, 68% of his balls.
06:56Yeah.
06:56He's going to have more than 50.
06:57It's an upgrade.
06:58If he stays healthy, we'll have catches in the mid-60s, if not higher.
07:02And I think what they did defensively is going to help, Jaden.
07:04I'm not disagreeing with you.
07:06What I'm saying is that's basically what you were getting from Zach Ertz.
07:09Yeah, but I'd like someone a little bit younger.
07:11I'm not sure Ertz is going to continue that.
07:12When you look at the overall offense, the whole premise of this question in playing
07:16the RG3 audio is, did they do enough to upgrade the offense?
07:22I don't know.
07:23I'm not convinced.
07:24It feels like about the same.
07:27They are actually, if you went position by position, and you started with the offensive
07:33line, they lost their starting center.
07:36You may be comfortable with Nick Allegretti, and he may be fine.
07:39There may not be much of a difference.
07:42They're swapping their tight end, essentially.
07:44Ertz for Okonkwo.
07:46You may like him more.
07:47I think Okonkwo is more dynamic.
07:49He may be, but statistics don't tell you that based on, and you're right, you can factor
07:53in quarterbacks.
07:54I'm making a bet.
07:55But I'm just saying, to just assume it's going to be this huge upgrade over Ertz, Ertz
08:00was pretty productive here in Washington.
08:02And then Antonio Williams at No. 2 receiver.
08:06He's a third-round pick.
08:08We like what we see.
08:09I'm not disagreeing with you there.
08:11A lot of the experts are saying he's this best separator and great route runner and all
08:15these things.
08:16But did they do enough?
08:18I don't necessarily think so, because they were targeting somebody that was more dynamic
08:22and proven.
08:23And they didn't get him.
08:24Well, I'm also including what they did defensively to help Jaden.
08:28Yeah, but we're talking about the offense.
08:30Well, I think they go hand-in-hand.
08:34Defense can help the offense.
08:35All right, so Chig had Tannehill thrown to him for basically one year.
08:40He had Will Levis thrown to him his second year.
08:43He had Cam Ward thrown to him his third year.
08:47Not exactly a murderer's row of quarterbacks.
08:49Though one was the number one overall pick in Ward, but he struggled as a rookie.
08:54So if you give him a legitimate quarterback, he's going to be pretty good.
08:57He's going to put up good numbers.
08:59Yeah.
08:59Yes.
09:00More than I would expect, I think, from Ertz at this point.
09:03Hey, Logan Paulson said Ben Sennett could be the breakout player.
09:06He also loved Chig, from what I remember.
09:09He did.
09:10Right around when he was signed.
09:11He loved Chig.
09:12Loved him some Chig.
09:12And he loves Bates.
09:13He likes all the tight ends.
09:15Yeah.
09:15I'll tell you, the one I love the most is Antonio Williams.
09:18The more I just watched his highlights and just the way he moves.
09:22Oh, yeah, the highlights look great.
09:23The way he moves.
09:24I'm really excited about him.
09:26I mean, I don't know.
09:27I don't think I would go on a limb and say, like, if he caught 50 balls, I think that'd
09:32be a great rookie campaign.
09:35I think he's going to be a huge factor.
09:38And I do think that, I remember talking to B. Mitch about this, that just helping the defense
09:43is going to help Jaden so much.
09:44So he doesn't have to go out there and put his cape on every time he's under center.
09:48Right?
09:49Right.
09:49I don't think they're going to have to score 30 to win every week.
09:52And I think that helps the offense.
09:55800-636-1067 is the number.
09:57Do you feel like the commanders have done enough?
10:00Have they added enough around Jaden Daniels to help him get back on track in 2026?
10:06800-636-1067.
10:08We'll take your calls on that next here on The Fan.
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