- 11 hours ago
The 2026 NFL Season could be the year the Washington Commanders take over the NFC East, but are there some things about the roster to address first? Kevin Sheehan responds to some Commanders' fans concerns about Jayden Daniels’ health going into the 2026 season and if Sonny Styles will pan out long term despite recent history of off-ball linebackers drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft saying otherwise.
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00:00I got this yesterday from Linald, L-E-N-A-L, not Linald, Linald writes,
00:12Kevin, are you sure Jaden Daniels isn't injury prone?
00:15You keep citing the few games he missed before last year,
00:18but his career injury report says that he played hurt more than we think.
00:23Remember, he played with injured ribs here in 2024.
00:26He had a concussion and missed the second half of the Alabama game in 2023.
00:32I remember that game very well.
00:34He had ankle injuries that he played through both in 2023 and in 2022.
00:39Read this projection of his injuries in 2026.
00:47And Linald linked me to a site called Draft Sharks.
00:52I'm not really that familiar with the site,
00:54but it's a fantasy football site where they do injury histories for players
00:59and then do projections of injuries to come.
01:04I haven't seen that done very often.
01:07Draft Sharks lists Jaden Daniels as a 71% chance,
01:15as having a 71% chance of getting injured in 2026.
01:19Now, don't, you know, don't worry quite yet.
01:24I mean, you shouldn't worry at all.
01:26This is a fantasy football site that's trying to project injuries.
01:31But what they did do also is they projected his total missed games in 2026 to be 2.20 games.
01:39That would be two games and basically a quarter of a third.
01:42And then they have a durability number on players.
01:47It's a scale of one to five, five being the most durable, one being the least durable.
01:52And Jaden is listed as a five, as the most durable you can be on their durability scale.
01:59Even though they write he's got a 71% chance of getting injured in 2026
02:04and the projected total games missed in 2026 is 2.20.
02:09The site writes the following about Jaden's injury history and projection of injury in 2026.
02:18Daniels has the ability to produce despite relatively minor injuries.
02:26Yeah, if we're talking about minor injuries, it's pretty much a 71% chance for the entire league
02:34to be banged up a little bit here and there and to be, you know, at least slightly injured, hurt.
02:44There is a difference.
02:46But his career, look, he played in 52 of 54 college games.
02:51And in his rookie season here, he played in all 20 games.
02:55And yes, he injured his ribs, as we know, in that game against Carolina.
03:02And then ended up playing, not missing a game.
03:05And maybe he was impacted slightly, although the numbers would suggest differently.
03:10And as I said, going back to that time in 2024,
03:13if he's actually playing with injured ribs and they're running him as much as they are
03:18on designed runs and option runs, that's irresponsible.
03:23I think that even his admission in that video with who, Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase,
03:30I forget who it was.
03:32I don't know that his ribs were actually broken.
03:36I doubt they would have played him with broken ribs.
03:40Now, there is a pain tolerance issue with that injury more so than anything else.
03:44But anyway, he was certainly not 100%, but he hasn't been seriously hurt.
03:53You know, that's been knock on wood.
03:55You know, cross your fingers, whatever you need to do to keep that statement from ever coming true.
04:02He's never had a serious injury.
04:05He's had ankle sprains in college.
04:07He had a knee sprain here last year.
04:09He had a dislocated elbow last year.
04:11That should have never happened.
04:12He should have never been put in that position at the end of the Seattle game.
04:17He was put in concussion protocol in the Bama game in 23,
04:22which was an insane football game for a half.
04:26He was so spectacular in the first half.
04:28That game was in Tuscaloosa.
04:30And then Dallas Turner in the third quarter took an absolute cheap shot at him.
04:34Helmet to helmet.
04:36And he went into concussion protocol and missed the second half of that game.
04:41But he's never had anything serious.
04:43I personally, you know, I do understand after a season like last year where he played in just four complete
04:51football games start to finish.
04:52And only in seven of the 17, you know, total in terms of showing up for and playing in seven
05:00out of the 17 games.
05:01It was just seemed like it was a foregone conclusion.
05:05Every time he came back, he was going to get hurt.
05:06And that's the recent, you know, that's the recent impression that we all have.
05:12And you combine the recent impression last year of him getting multiple injuries, none serious, but multiple injuries that kept
05:20him from essentially playing the significant portion of last season.
05:25And then you combine that with what you believe in your mind to be.
05:30And actually, I shouldn't say believe in your mind to be what you see physically from him, which is a
05:36thinner frame.
05:37Doesn't mean that it's a less durable frame, but the projection for a lot of people is to see that,
05:44you know, the skinnier frame and to say, well, that can't hold up at the NFL level if he continues
05:52to, you know, take hits and be exposed as much as he has been.
05:59Um, I'm not that worked up over Jaden's durability or his, you know, likelihood of getting injured a lot.
06:11I mean, I, I'm not saying that I'm going to be right.
06:14This could have been 2025 could have been the beginning of a career in which he, you know, has a
06:21career like Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow, where he, when he's available, he's phenomenal.
06:27And unfortunately he's not available as much and seasons get derailed because of his lack of availability.
06:35Cincinnati's had seasons that have, you know, gone off the rail.
06:38Baltimore's had seasons that have not ended well after Lamar Jackson was injured.
06:43We, we know that about quarterbacks.
06:44I mean, we know that about key players.
06:46I mean, Steph Curry was injured a lot.
06:48The Warriors aren't around playing right now.
06:50You know, it's, it's not that hard when your best player isn't available.
06:57You're not going to be a good team, um, more often than not, but I'm, I don't know, maybe I'm
07:03naive here.
07:03I think that the history of him being available, uh, last year was the aberration.
07:12And I don't know why I should think that it's going to be a trend.
07:16Uh, there was something else that came up last week that I'm pretty sure Max, we didn't talk about, which
07:23was not Jaden Daniels related, uh, but skins related.
07:28Um, the lions did not pick up the fifth year option on their linebacker, Jack Campbell.
07:34Uh, Jamie Z wrote me, she, and I like Sonny styles, but I'm concerned about the lack of success for
07:40off ball linebackers that are drafted highly.
07:43The lions decided not to pick up Jack Campbell's fifth year option.
07:47That should be a warning sign.
07:50Think Isaiah Simmons, Devin Bush, Devin white.
07:52It doesn't work out usually your thoughts.
07:55Um, so I'm glad Jamie reminded me that we didn't really talk about this that much last week.
08:01I think maybe we mentioned it, uh, for those that don't know, Jack Campbell was the 18th pick in the
08:062023 draft out of Iowa linebacker, uh, picked by the Detroit lions.
08:11Same draft that they selected Jameer Gibson, the lines were criticized heavily for that draft because they took, uh, two
08:19positions that don't have great positional value that high in the draft.
08:22And they took a running back in the linebacker.
08:25Um, and Campbell's fifth year option wasn't picked up.
08:28Gibbs's was, uh, so, um, why didn't they pick up Jack Campbell's fifth year option as an off ball linebacker?
08:35Because he has been a good player for the lions last year.
08:39He made all pro first team, and he made a pro bowl.
08:43He led the lions in tackles last year, and he has not missed one football game since entering the NFL.
08:49It's three years.
08:50It's not 10, but he hasn't missed a game yet in three years.
08:53So why didn't they pick up the fifth year option?
08:55Uh, I would suggest Jamie that it has nothing to do with the position.
09:01Uh, I'm sorry.
09:02It has nothing to do with Campbell.
09:03It has everything to do with the position.
09:07The player is a good player and the player may end up signing a long-term deal with the lions.
09:14That's I'm sure what their goal will be with Jack Campbell is to keep him and sign him to a
09:19long-term deal.
09:20We'll see who knows, but the position, because it gets blended with outside linebackers,
09:27two-point stance edge linebackers, the numbers for things like franchise tag and fifth-year option are incredibly high.
09:38The fifth-year option number on Jack Campbell was $21.9 million.
09:44That would make him the highest paid off-ball linebacker in the league.
09:48Now, right now, by the time he got to his fifth year and played on it, maybe not.
09:53But they're not going to pay him that kind of money for that position.
09:58It's just like the interior of offensive line.
10:01Guard gets blended on franchise tag numbers and fifth-year numbers with tackles.
10:07Tight ends, even pass-catching tight ends, are completely different than wide receivers.
10:11That's a little bit of the opposite of what I was just describing.
10:14They've got to fix that.
10:15It's in the league's favor, the way the system is currently structured.
10:20But you're not wrong, and I'm going to get to this in a moment, about the success of the position
10:27when it's been drafted very high, Jamie.
10:29But you're, I guess, somewhat wrong about why the Lions decided to not pick up his fifth-year option.
10:38It doesn't have to do with him being not good enough.
10:41He is good enough.
10:42It has to do with too high of a number on the fifth-year option compensation-wise.
10:48So I went back, and I did this yesterday.
10:52I was actually surprised by these numbers and this information.
10:58So in this decade, the 2020s, Sonny Stiles was just the second off-ball linebacker, inside linebacker, middle linebacker, taken
11:10in the top ten of the draft this decade.
11:12The other was Isaiah Simmons.
11:14He was picked eighth by the Cardinals in the 2020 draft.
11:17Isaiah Simmons is already on his third team.
11:21Didn't work out.
11:23Devin White, he mentioned Devin White.
11:25He mentioned Simmons, too.
11:26Devin White was selected fifth overall in the 2019 draft by Tampa.
11:32White's on his third team.
11:34And Devin Bush was selected tenth in that same draft by Pittsburgh.
11:37He's on his fourth team.
11:40You've got to go back to 2018 to find a top ten inside linebacker, off-ball linebacker, that has really
11:49turned out to be a really good player.
11:52Top ten pick.
11:53Jack Campbell was 18th, FYI, not top ten.
11:56Roquan Smith, 2018 picked by the Bears.
11:59Now, he was traded in his fifth season to the Ravens, but he's been excellent.
12:03For Pro Bowls, for all pro teams, for Roquan Smith.
12:08So there is recent history, which I think everybody understands anyway.
12:12Everybody understands the positional value debate or argument or even facts.
12:20I think this draft was different because you weren't afraid to take a position of lower value earlier in the
12:27draft because there just weren't a lot of options at other positions.
12:31This was not a top-heavy draft at all.
12:34There weren't a lot of options at more valuable positions.
12:38Now, I think Ruben Bain would have been a valuable addition at seven.
12:43But, again, I don't have an issue with Sonny Stiles at all.
12:46I like him, and I think that Stiles picked where he was, was a product of the draft not being
12:51top-heavy, and the fact that he may have more versatility than some of the players we've mentioned.
12:57I don't know.
12:58Simmons had some versatility.
12:59Roquan Smith has some versatility.
13:01But Sonny Stiles, I mean, what have we heard now multiple times since drafting him?
13:06We think he can be an outstanding rusher from a number of spots.
13:11So, he may not be lined up in every situation, especially if the defense is a Brian Flores defense where,
13:19you know, sometimes nine, ten guys are on the line of scrimmage pre-snap, and they're lined up all over
13:25the place.
13:25We'll see what happens.
13:27But I like Sonny Stiles' versatility, and I'd like to think that, you know, he could be more like Roquan
13:35Smith and less like Isaiah Simmons, Devin White, and Devin Bush.
13:39But it is interesting, and I don't, I'm not sure I knew how few times players at his position were
13:48picked in the top ten.
13:49I mean, you're talking about Simmons, White, Bush, Smith in the last eight drafts.
13:56That's the list.
13:57Now, Stiles.
14:00Albert Breer's column yesterday.
14:03Thank you, Jamie, for sending me this, too.
14:06Jamie Z sent me this from Albert Breer yesterday about Stiles.
14:11He wrote multiple things about Sonny Stiles.
14:13Just kind of, you know, information that he had gathered, you know, pre-draft and post-draft.
14:19He wrote five things about the selection of Sonny Stiles.
14:22The first was which, of which he titled the NFL translation, meaning college to the NFL, and why it will
14:31be easier for him.
14:32Breer wrote, Adam Peters and Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia were co-workers two decades ago in New England,
14:40and they talked a lot over the past few months.
14:43And Patricia told the GM, Adam Peters, what an incredible communicator, teammate, and person Stiles was.
14:53Patricia's pro-Style scheme at Ohio State also gave Quinn and new defensive coordinator Durante Jones a real look on
15:03tape at how Stiles would fit into an NFL defense.
15:08So, one of the reasons they felt super comfortable and really fell in love with Stiles was this relationship that
15:15Peters and Matt Patricia have going way back,
15:17and they talked a lot leading into the draft.
15:21On the, you know, communicator, teammate, person that Stiles is, this is the next thing that Breer wrote about.
15:29He wrote about something he titled The Teammate, Stiles the Teammate.
15:35He wrote, at the Combine, the commanders interviewed all 11 Ohio State invitees, and the other 10, not named Stiles,
15:45all brought up Stiles as one of the guys they'd want to bring to the NFL with them.
15:52How strong fellow first-rounders, Carnell Tate, Arvel Reese, Caleb Downs were on Stiles, really said to the commanders that
16:03he was very much the guy on the 2025 Ohio State team.
16:08Meaning that of all of those great players, of all of the future pros that were on the Ohio State
16:15team, Stiles was the guy.
16:17Stiles was the alpha.
16:19Stiles was the guy they looked up to, and in terms of being the alpha, Breer wrote in his third
16:25little tidbit on Stiles,
16:28their meetings with Stiles through the process only confirmed that he was the alpha at Ohio State,
16:35showing elite football intelligence, knowledge of the scheme inside and out,
16:39and an ability to explain not just his role in the way things played out on tape, but his teammates'
16:46responsibilities too.
16:47That's something that I remember, it's not even something I remember.
16:53It happens a lot in conversation when you're talking about a player with somebody that coaches the player,
17:00somebody in a front office or somewhere, and you're talking about a given player,
17:04and when they start to talk about how bright the player is, they talk about the player doesn't know just
17:11his responsibilities.
17:12He basically knows everybody else's responsibilities as well, and that is a level of IQ, of responsibility, of work ethic,
17:25etc.,
17:26that always is impressive to NFL people.
17:30He also wrote this.
17:33He just said they got a chance to meet with the entire family at the Pro Day in Columbus, and
17:40that gave them some real comfort.
17:42And then they wrote about the person Stiles, Albert Breer did.
17:47He wrote about the Topgolf 30 visit, and he said that at the Topgolf 30 visit that the commanders do,
17:57he stood out against Stiles, mingling well with scouts, coaches, and support staff,
18:03asking questions of everyone with humility and a very clear effort to try to use the day as a chance
18:09to get better.
18:12Linebackers coaches Ken Norton and George Banco loved him to the point where everyone joked
18:17that Norton was so engaged with Stiles that he wasn't going to let anyone else talk to him.
18:25So, some interesting stuff from Breer on Sonny Stiles here as we approach two weeks and two days from the
18:34moment they picked him.
18:35This weekend is rookie minicamp.
18:38First time for all of these rookies.
18:40The draft picks, the six draft picks, and the undrafted guys, and probably a few others that will participate to
18:47get on the field.
18:48It'll start Friday afternoon, run through the weekend.
18:52So, we will certainly talk about these minicamps.
18:56I got to tell you, I say this every year, but I know that some of you, not all of
19:01you,
19:01really obsess over the information or even videos on social media you see about, you know,
19:08from minicamps, OTAs, and then even training camp, just remember, last year during the summer,
19:16how many of you in the offseason, how many of you thought, oh my God, this defense is going to
19:21be completely different?
19:22That was a theme that continued starting really with offseason activities, and it was brutally awful.
19:32Not even close to what it was the year before.
19:34Part of that's injuries, no doubt.
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