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The Sports Junkies discuss the latest Washington Commanders news.
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00:00So we wanted to get into some of the buzz and chatter we're hearing out of
00:05Commander's Rookie Camp that is happening out at Ashburn.
00:11And I was just reading J.P. Finley's sub stack because he's out there
00:16covering as a lot of other media members are doing.
00:19And he seemed to have really good things to say about the top pick,
00:23Sonny Stiles.
00:24Sonny Stiles, he writes, absolutely looks like the real deal.
00:29Fluid, quick, smart, in 7v7 passing drills.
00:33Anytime a pass went near the line of scrimmage or towards the middle of the field,
00:36seemed like Stiles was in perfect position to absolutely blast the pass catcher.
00:41Yeah, I talked to a couple different people over there,
00:44and they said he just looks really fast.
00:47Now these are just drills.
00:49I don't know how they gathered all that.
00:51I think they showed on camera.
00:53They're kind of like half jogging.
00:56I didn't see the sprinting stuff.
00:57But I'm not there.
00:58So I trust them, I guess.
01:00Yeah, I mean, that's what they said.
01:02And look, that's what they, I mean,
01:06one of the positives about Sonny Stiles coming across is you know he's fast.
01:09He's an athlete.
01:10He's tall, he's long, he's fast.
01:13And J.P. commented on this yesterday.
01:15This is like between the shows.
01:16He said that as big and as ripped as he is,
01:20he looks like he could just add some more weight on,
01:23add some more muscle mass.
01:25He's definitely not a finished product.
01:26Yeah.
01:27People don't like it when I say that.
01:28Right.
01:29He's going to get bigger.
01:30Yeah.
01:31But it's not like he's a small guy.
01:33He's not like he's a small guy.
01:34He's got a big frame.
01:35He's a pretty impressive physical specimen.
01:36Well, he's 6'5", isn't he?
01:37He's 6'5"?
01:38Yeah.
01:38He was the 6'5".
01:40He was the darling of the combine.
01:41And he reports on Antonio Williams' play so far.
01:44Yeah, we're going to get to some audio in just a second.
01:47I commented on him.
01:48This is from J.P.
01:49Finley said Antonio Williams also impressed.
01:51He was quite productive in 7v7, 11v11,
01:55and don't think he had a single drop.
01:57He's wiggly at the line of scrimmage.
01:59Plenty of quickness.
02:01Encouraging first look, according to J.P.
02:03I honestly think he's going to be a stud.
02:05I've got outrageous expectations.
02:07I think he's going to have plenty of opportunities in his offense.
02:10It's a great landing spot.
02:12I really like him.
02:13All right, let's get to some of the audio.
02:14This is Ben Standing with Kevin Sheehan.
02:18He looks just so much bigger than guys who are positioned
02:22where he typically is on the field,
02:24that second level in the middle.
02:27Does he look bigger or taller?
02:31Yeah, I would guess taller, I would say.
02:33Yeah.
02:33That's probably a better way to say it, yeah.
02:38But, you know, I mean, just the little movements,
02:42again, there's no blocking, there's no tackling,
02:45but like on a play where there was a handoff left,
02:49a Catron Allen running down toward the left sideline,
02:52and a blocker came up with the style.
02:54And, you know, it would have been easy just to, you know,
02:57sort of rub him out of the play.
02:58Instead, he sort of instinctively dips under where the block is coming from
03:02and then, you know, quickly is over there to make the play on the running back,
03:06if need be.
03:07It was to the point in the passing game at times
03:10where it almost felt like the offensive game plan
03:12was to make sure that the pass went somewhere near styles,
03:15that he could make plays.
03:18So, you know, he checked all the boxes of the first impression,
03:21what are you looking for, you know, all those kinds of things.
03:29I mean, I think it's all positive things you're hearing,
03:31which you hope that it's positive things at a rookie training camp.
03:36I mean, he's going to be disruptive just being as big,
03:40i.e. as tall and long as he is, and as fast as he is.
03:44Yeah.
03:45You know, he should be excited.
03:48Yeah, for sure.
03:48Him paired up with Chennault,
03:50hopefully the days of seeing Bobby Wagner get turned around by B. John Robinson,
03:56the Jameer Gibbs types, the really shifty, quick backs.
03:59Like, hopefully those days are done.
04:01We should have one of the fastest linebacking cores, I think, in the game,
04:05I would think, between him, Lou Vu, and Chennault.
04:09With the RAS scores for Chennault and Sonny Stiles,
04:12it's basically the most athletic linebacking tandem in NFL history.
04:19They saw what they had last year and said,
04:21we have to look radically different at the linebacker spot,
04:25and they clearly do.
04:27And part of that is the freakish size that Sonny Stiles brings.
04:31They wanted to get younger, wanted to get more athletic.
04:32Do you have audio?
04:34I doubt it.
04:35I doubt you do.
04:36Of anybody talking about Joseph's?
04:38Because I'm not that I've seen audio, but I've seen clips,
04:40and it's a clip where they highlight Stiles, you know,
04:45making an interception, you know.
04:47It's kind of a gift interception, kind of thrown right to him.
04:50But, you know, makes the play.
04:52But then in the corner you see Joseph and how athletic he is.
04:57And I'm telling you, that's going to be a guy that maybe keep an eye on
05:00a year or two from now.
05:02He's super athletic.
05:03The fact that he slipped to, what did they get,
05:06fifth round, where they thought he was going to be a day-two pick.
05:09Like, he could pay some dividends.
05:12J.P. Finley had a lot of potential.
05:13He has a blurb on him.
05:15He said there was one rush that Joshua Joseph had that had me very intrigued.
05:19He lined up on the right side, beat the tackle off the snap,
05:22then used Ben to turn the corner.
05:24We know he's got long arms, but he looked like Stretch Armstrong
05:27as he made his move past the tackle and towards the QB.
05:30It was legit impressive.
05:31Yeah.
05:32I mean, you could just go to YouTube and watch what he did at Tennessee.
05:35I mean, there's definitely a lot to be excited about, I think, with him.
05:41J.P. Finley highlighted his quote.
05:43He got to speak with him after the practice.
05:45He said a quote about getting the ball.
05:48Quote, if you get the ball, you get the money.
05:51He said he loved that line.
05:53Look, you want to be disruptive.
05:55You want to get as close as you can to the ball if you're a defensive end
05:59or edge rusher, and that's his job.
06:02Get ball, get money.
06:03His job is disrupt, pop the ball loose, get the ball back for your offense.
06:08The one that I'm intrigued to see, and I don't know if you have more clips of it,
06:11is Allen, the running back from Penn State, who, again,
06:17he's like the most productive back in the history of Penn State.
06:20Think of all the great running backs they've had there.
06:22You know, Kajana Carter, Saquon.
06:25He's got all the records, but he doesn't blow you away with speed or anything.
06:32I can't wait to see him.
06:34I know he's super tough, but I can't wait to see how he fits in.
06:37It's the same formula as with Bill.
06:40Adam Peters has a type at running back.
06:43He picks late running backs, and Bill was super productive,
06:47and he's hoping that K-Tron Allen is the same sort of deal.
06:50He doesn't have the speed that I don't understand.
06:53No, he's not a speedster.
06:54He's a power back, I guess.
06:56K-Tron played a lot of college football.
06:58He and Nick Singleton played a lot of college football there.
07:01Right.
07:02I mean, he's obviously a stud.
07:04It's just an interesting pick to me.
07:07I want to see how he fits in.
07:09It might be a great one-two combo.
07:11Yeah.
07:12This is a lesser name, but keep your eye on Drew Stevens.
07:17Okay.
07:17Undrafted free agent kicker.
07:19Yeah, the kicker.
07:19To compete with Moody.
07:21I think if I was Moody, I'd be shaking my boots a little bit.
07:23Because J.P. Finley said he was booming them during the practices.
07:29Yeah.
07:30Now, remind me where Drew Stevens played college ball.
07:33I don't have that here.
07:34I'd have to look that up.
07:35Was it like Missouri or something?
07:36I don't know.
07:37I'm not sure I'll say the wrong thing.
07:38He said on kicks inside 40 yards, it seemed like the ball was still on the set
07:41as it crossed through the uprights.
07:43Yeah, they asked him.
07:44He basically says if there's no wind, especially like an indoor,
07:48he's comfy to 65.
07:49Yeah.
07:50Iowa.
07:51Iowa.
07:51I'm intrigued by Chris Hilton Jr.
07:54Played with James Daniels.
07:56He's getting a lot of attention.
07:57He's a hard worker.
07:58I guess coming into college, they said he was better than Malik Neighbors.
08:02He's getting a lot of attention.
08:03You know, he actually worked out for the Scouts as a DB, too.
08:07He did whatever they wanted.
08:08He did DB drills.
08:10He did wide receiver drills.
08:12He was noted for being at this camp here, and he was like the last guy on the field.
08:17Yeah.
08:17Just catching balls from the jugs machine.
08:19He's a hard worker.
08:20His favorite NFL apparatus, jugs machine.
08:23Jugs machine.
08:24Yeah, it's his favorite.
08:25Exactly.
08:26Yeah, he's a guy to keep an eye on, for sure.
08:29That kind of work ethic, that stands out.
08:31But apparently he had problems catching the ball.
08:33That's why he was on the machine.
08:36That's why.
08:36He's got to work on it.
08:37But he's an athlete.
08:38If you've got the drop seats, you've got to go hit the jugs machine.
08:41I mean.
08:41He's had a bunch of injuries.
08:43He's a guy, though, that, again, they are looking at, he's just an athlete.
08:46Yep.
08:47We're going to be playing.
08:47Smaller, smaller guy.
08:48Why aren't we buying an old, beat-up jugs machine on eBay and just have it out in the hallway
08:53during breaks?
08:54Great.
08:54We just catch balls.
08:55Just work on our hands.
08:56Just like every break we should be doing.
08:58Don't you remember we had that goofy machine that Ross Tucker sent us?
09:01I know.
09:01It was a ball launcher, whatever it was.
09:02It's different.
09:03I'm talking about like high speed.
09:05That ball just bang, bang, bang.
09:06But you can find one on Facebook Marketplace there, Mar.
09:09How much a used jugs machine goes for?
09:11Get a jugs machine in here.
09:12We just fire footballs at us.
09:14We need more footballs, too, because I think we have one ratty football that's creeping around here somewhere.
09:19Get us one at Marshalls.
09:20Get us a couple.
09:21We can get a sack of footballs.
09:22We can get some footballs.
09:24You've got to be hands catchers.
09:25You've got to catch out here, EB.
09:27I know that Terry McLaurin's made a great career of catching the ball in gear like this.
09:31It's kind of his thing.
09:32No.
09:33You've got to be a hands catcher.
09:34You've got to have your hand away from your body, man.
09:37That is nubs.
09:38You've got to be a hand catcher.
09:39It is what it is.
09:40Look at all the greats.
09:42You think Randy Moss is a body catcher?
09:45Is Jerry Rice kind of a body catcher?
09:47I don't think so.
09:48A lot of them on the fingertips.
09:50Hands catcher.
09:52A little bit of a hands catcher when it's out here.
09:54But if it's still a body, I'm going to use the body.
09:56Most of the greats, hands catchers.
09:59You're not going to see them just having it bounce off their shoulder pads and then them
10:03corralling the ball.
10:04Are the rookies with the vets today starting this?
10:08I think they were starting this week.
10:10No.
10:11Today's the 11th or the 12th.
10:14I think OTAs start in a week or two.
10:18I thought the vets were there this week.
10:21I don't know if it's actual practice.
10:22This is phase two of rookie camp.
10:24That is what it's called.
10:26I think they're out there all the time.
10:29I don't know what, formal or informal.
10:31My guy says phase two starts today, so rookies join in with the vets.
10:37Not sure what that means.
10:39OTAs are May 27th through the 29th, June 2nd through the 4th, and June 9th through the 11th.
10:45Then they have a mandatory mini camp June 16th through the 18th.
10:49So is this just informal stuff today?
10:52Maybe the phase two starts just rookies, and then he's talking about the vets coming in after that.
11:00Possibly.
11:01I have to ask Kime.
11:03Is Kime out there this week?
11:05I assume he is.
11:06I'm sure he's there whenever they're allowed to be.
11:07I know J.P. Finley texted me that the team, I was talking about how guys kind of going half
11:13-speed stuff.
11:14He says the team posts stuff from individual drills, but where you really get the closest look at sort of
11:19like their game speed is when they're doing the seven-on-seven stuff.
11:22That kind of thing.
11:23Then you can see them.
11:23Even though they're not hitting each other, you can see them kind of getting after it.
11:27By the way, this is not commanders-related, but Jawan Jennings did wind up signing a one-year deal with
11:32the Vikings.
11:33That was the weekend.
11:36He was the guy that was kind of floating around out there that people were like, why don't the commanders
11:40sign him, kick the tires on him?
11:43He gets a one-year, $13 million, I think up to $13 million deal.
11:47I think he and his agent had an over-inflated sense of what their market was going to be.
11:52Hey, shoot for the moon.
11:53I don't blame him.
11:54Jason, your definition, this is off commanders.com of phase two.
11:58Yeah.
11:58It says, consists of the next three weeks of the program, on-field workouts include individual or group instruction drills,
12:05as well as what they call perfect play drills, and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from
12:12offensive players
12:13and defensive players lining up across from defensive players conducted at a walk-through pace.
12:18No live contact or team offense versus team defense.
12:22Yeah.
12:24Sounds like a lot of...
12:25I'd still like to be out there just to kind of see him go at it.
12:27Well, they might not let you out there.
12:29No, they probably not.
12:30Probably not.
12:30It's a slight advancement of the underwear Olympics.
12:33Yeah.
12:33It's a few steps going on.
12:35Yeah, but it's important stuff, I think, for them to be out there, get to work in, get to know
12:38each other,
12:39get to know the plays, et cetera, see what the guys are excelling at.
12:45I think it's important.
12:45I was impressed, switching over to what the Wizards are doing and Will Dawkins.
12:49This was not during our interview with him, but I saw him on NBA TV,
12:53and I think he said seven of his guys were in the building yesterday working out,
12:59and as many as 13 have during the offseason already.
13:03Oh, yeah.
13:03Those guys love ball.
13:05They just love being in the gym.
13:07So they had basically three weeks off, not in the playoffs, and then they're back at it.
13:12Mar, you have an update?
13:14Yeah, so you can get a professional-grade Juggs machine on eBay right now for two grand,
13:17but I also found a Nubs one on AliExpress 700, but that might be slinging passes like Drab.
13:25Yeah.
13:26Drab's got some Juggs trapped over here.
13:28In other words, we can get a T-Moo version.
13:32Yeah, T-Moo Juggs.
13:33Look up.
13:34Go to T-Moo.
13:35Look up and see what T-Moo's got.
13:36Drab, do you want to respond to this?
13:39Juggs slander?
13:40I mean, I'll have a throwing contest with Mike Marr any day of the week.
13:44And I'm 18 years older than him.
13:46Well, it's a good thing we're going to break in a couple minutes.
13:50I would probably bet on Drab.
13:53Drab's always bragging about his arm.
13:54Of course.
13:55I got a rocket arm.
13:56Are you kidding me?
13:58You're Josh Allen?
13:59Of course.
14:00It's not always accurate, but...
14:01Who's Mike Marr?
14:02Who does his arm compare?
14:03Patrick Mahomes?
14:04Kelly Moore.
14:05Kelly Moore.
14:05Chad Pennington.
14:06Trent Dilfer.
14:07Taylor Heineke.
14:09I knew that Heineke was coming up.
14:11Drew Brees.
14:12Quarterback in the league.
14:13The weak arm.
14:14Drew Brees is too strong.
14:14Too strong of a cop.
14:16He'd kill that Drew Brees is too strong.
14:18Dude, they show these clips.
14:19I'm sure you see them of these high school kids.
14:21They're showing Peyton Manning's son.
14:23I don't know.
14:23He's in 8th grade, 9th grade, whatever.
14:26Just another sort of random kids that are groomed young quarterbacks who just have rockets.
14:31Oh, yeah.
14:31And you see them working out on the...
14:32And it's just like, oh my God.
14:34Yeah, it blows your mind.
14:35Next level.
14:35They're like, I couldn't throw a ball like that if my life depended on it.
14:38They're like on the move and they're just throwing 40-yard darts.
14:41Yeah, just darts to people.
14:43It's sick.
14:44It's crazy.
14:45All right, coming up next, we'll be joined by a Hoops legend, Randolph Childress.
14:49You remember him from playing back at Wake Forest back in the day.
14:51He was a stud analyst for ACC Network.
14:54He'll join us next to talk about the prospects that the Wizards are considering, but the number
14:58one pick in the NBA draft.
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