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00:00It's so big, this series between the Giants and Nationals.
00:03We had to go live to D.C. to talk it out.
00:06Had to. It's huge.
00:07It's monstrous.
00:08Double must win.
00:09If the Giants were able to win all three of these games,
00:12they would move to nine games under .500.
00:16If the Nationals lose, they're below .500.
00:18That's true.
00:19People are going to have to get fired.
00:21I mean, we can do a little bit of baseball, but maybe not.
00:24We'll see.
00:25Grant Paulson's our friend at 106.7 The Fan.
00:28And Odyssey Station in Washington, D.C.
00:30and joins us now live on the River Islands guest line.
00:33How you doing, Grant?
00:34Thanks for coming on, man.
00:38Fellas, good to talk to you.
00:40Yeah, I got to say, I think all of baseball is watching this series.
00:44With bated breath, see how the 500 Nats and the Giants stack up here.
00:48It's a biggie.
00:49There's no way to.
00:51In fact, it's so big that maybe we should build toward it
00:53and talk about something else for a second.
00:55So let's start with this, Grant.
00:57I was just thinking we wanted to call you partially because there's so much talk
01:02on the Internet because Brandon Iyuk wants to be a commander.
01:07I never really stopped to find out, do the commanders want Brandon Iyuk
01:11to be a commander?
01:12What's your take on that?
01:15So they have been very, very coy externally on how they feel.
01:21Here's what we know.
01:22Jaden Daniels and Brandon Iyuk are very, very close.
01:25Daniels, in a recent press conference, wouldn't say that he's advocating for Iyuk
01:30to be in Washington, although that's long been the expectation and the, you know,
01:35assessment on the outside.
01:36But that he did say he's a brother of mine, and I want to help him,
01:39and I want to make sure things go well for him.
01:41I think behind the scenes he's probably trying to pull those strings.
01:44Obviously, the general manager of this team is Adam Peters, who helped to draft Brandon Iyuk
01:49and was in San Francisco when he was ascending as a young player, kind of before things went
01:53off the rails.
01:54So that's another reason to believe maybe he would come here.
01:58All I can tell you is that from a fan base standpoint, and I'm surprised by this because
02:03I want nothing to do with Brandon Iyuk at all.
02:05I would say like 75% of Commanders fans, maybe 60%, very much like the idea.
02:12This is a team that needs more wide receiver talent, that needs more weaponry.
02:15They're in a mode where Daniels is on the rookie contract and probably doesn't have enough
02:20pass catchers around him that have pro bowl caliber potential.
02:24So the idea that you bring in Iyuk and he plays at the level he wants to is intoxicating.
02:29I just think it's been a year and a half since he's played.
02:31We don't know how healthy he is.
02:32He seems like a complete pain in the butt, so I'm good.
02:36But a lot of people, fans outside, want it to happen, and I think we all expect that
02:40this will happen.
02:41I do think Washington's going to eventually sign him when San Francisco lets him walk.
02:46What's the fan awareness, in your opinion, of all of the things that Brandon Iyuk has
02:51done?
02:51Has that permeated all the way out to Washington, D.C.?
02:54Because here, it's a lot of what we've talked about for the past year and a half.
02:58So I think we're on the beat here more recently.
03:03So we talk a lot about, last week, obviously, the arrest warrant that's issued for the speeding
03:09violation that was several weeks to a couple months old.
03:12Today, we did way too much of my radio show on his weird social media posts this weekend,
03:18including his shirtless bathroom picture showing his underwear with his commander's hat on
03:23and his veiled comments about the 49ers running from the belt and calling them little-ass boy
03:30and whatever all that was.
03:31We broke that down like it was a Zapruder film and got in the lab on that today.
03:36We debated whether or not that would be something that the commanders cared about or would this
03:42register for Adam Peters.
03:43I think it's one of those things where if a fan in this town wants another weapon and
03:50wants Brandon Ayuk, it doesn't really matter that much, assuming nothing new or crazy comes
03:54out, they're going to say, this is not that big of a deal.
03:57He's Jaden Daniels' buddy.
03:59Daniels will keep him walking the straight and the narrow.
04:02And then if it's someone like me that goes, hey, I'm not so sure.
04:04This guy hasn't played in a long time and there's more baggage than he can fit on the overhead
04:08compartment.
04:09There's not anything that's going to change that for me either.
04:11But as I said, if I had to bet, like right now at a sports book, I think it's obvious
04:16that
04:16as of the end of August, the very latest, they're going to move on from him.
04:19I think it'll be closer to the start of training camp.
04:22And I think Washington is the one place he wants to be.
04:24I think based on all the familiar faces, I think this is where he will be.
04:28The question is, how much does he actually help them?
04:31I hope it's on a very small one-year show-me flyer type deal.
04:35And we'll see if he's healthy enough to play football.
04:37The one thing he's not posting is videos of him working out or running routes.
04:42I'd like to see, can he actually run?
04:44What kind of, I don't even want to say shape.
04:46He looks like he's in great shape.
04:47That's why he posted a shirtless picture, because people said he was getting heavy.
04:50I don't think that's the case.
04:51But is he running routes?
04:53Is his leg okay?
04:55Do you guys know?
04:56We have no idea.
04:57No clue.
04:58Yeah, no clue.
04:59Grant Paulson.
04:59His accelerator foot is fine.
05:01That we're sure of.
05:03Yeah.
05:04His leg is strong enough to drive 104.
05:06I got that covered.
05:07Yeah, that's good.
05:08Grant Paulson at 106.7 The Fan.
05:11Odyssey Station in D.C.
05:12joining us here with it and dibs on 95.7 The Game.
05:15Grant, from the sound of it, you probably scoff at this, but I do want to ask, is there
05:21any chance that Washington even gives the Niners a bag of chips?
05:28I mean, would they move from the sixth round to the seventh round?
05:33Is there anything that Washington would do to, I don't know, I guess maybe help the Niners
05:40save face?
05:42So, I don't think it's the giving up of some non-value, right?
05:47I think they would be fine with a pick swap or something like that.
05:51When you make the trade, though, the contract carries over in some capacity is the understanding.
05:57So, you could rework some of the numbers and they could take some on and you could take
06:01some on, but this is a guy that was paid at a top five level and still to this moment
06:05looking it up today as, I think, the ninth highest AAV at the position.
06:09So, the reason Washington and every other team is going to not offer a seventh round
06:14pick in three years or anything else that they could offer is that they're going to
06:18sign this guy for 60 cents on the dollar.
06:22I mean, he's going to get a one-year deal, and for me, it should be the minimum based
06:26on the fact that, again, everyone talks about the antics off the field and those
06:31have hurt him.
06:31He has not played in a year and a half.
06:33He's not played at a high level since 2023.
06:36I don't know what about that would secure him some $5 million, $10 million in a one-year
06:41deal bag, but maybe because of the relationship with Peters, because they have tons of cap space,
06:48you know, they'll be more willing to pay him a little bit, but I think you could get
06:51him at next to nothing on a show-me contract, which is kind of the mode I feel like he
06:55should
06:56be in at this point.
06:57So, I say no to that.
06:58I just don't know why, unless you can, if you made the trade and then you're able to
07:03just get a new deal, okay, they don't care about giving up a pick swap, but why do that?
07:08He also is wearing your gear.
07:09You know, he wants to come here, so it's not like you're in some competition.
07:13Unless another team's quarterback also played at Arizona State and is his best buddy, I
07:18don't think there's a team competing with him, if that makes sense.
07:21It doesn't make sense, and I think you put that perfectly.
07:24Does Jaden Daniels have enough sway, even at his young age, to, you know, go to the
07:29front office and really advocate for Ayuk to become a commander?
07:34So, it's a great question.
07:36If this was a non-problematic player who wasn't at odds with the team, I would say definitely.
07:43Like, let's just say, if Kayshaun Booty was about to be released by the Patriots, who
07:49played with Daniels at LSU, who was an ascending young player who was okay last year, and Daniel
07:54said, I really want to play with this guy, great relationship, great rapport, let's do
07:58this, I think that would carry some weight.
08:00He's well-liked in the building, he's very sharp, he's a hard worker, everybody kind of
08:03loves the demeanor, the mindset.
08:06I think with Ayuk, you listen to him, and maybe you do your due diligence, but I don't
08:12think it's the end-all, be-all.
08:13You've got a lot of legwork to do after that.
08:16Grant Paulson is with us here from D.C. on Willard and Dibs, 95-7 the game.
08:22Grant, like, this is a sort of an aside, but out of curiosity, what was Washington's experience
08:30with Debo Samuel, and why do you think he's still just sitting on the sidelines right now
08:35of the whole NFL?
08:38It was interesting, I mean, Debo had games where he was tremendous.
08:43He was their best weapon, and circuit to circuit last year, frankly, because Terry McLaurin
08:47was hurt so much, he was their de facto lead receiver and probably their most dynamic player
08:53on offense for the most part.
08:55There were too many games as the year went on, though, where he was banged up, either
09:01played through pain or would come on and off the sideline, things that you guys remember.
09:05There were some questions as well, and you guys had a lot of these in San Fran about the
09:10shape he was in at different points and things as well.
09:13I think overall, it was a success, because they gave up a fifth-round pick.
09:17They got a guy who put up very similar numbers to what he did in his final year in San
09:21Francisco,
09:22and they used him a ton.
09:24I mean, he was heavily involved in their offense.
09:27They didn't love their offense, though.
09:29They didn't love what Cliff Kingsbury was doing.
09:31They blew him out.
09:32They're going to a completely new scheme with David Blau, a first-year offensive coordinator
09:36and play caller, former quarterback, who's going to run something like a Ben Johnson,
09:42Chicago, Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota team.
09:45Those are the last two offenses he quarterbacked in in the National Football League, along with
09:50Arizona.
09:50I think he's going to have a little Kingsbury in there, too.
09:52But my guess is, fellas, that Debo will be somewhere in training camp and will get an
09:59okay deal.
09:59I just think you've now seen, over multiple stops, that the health being in shape, that
10:07the 17 games over 18 weeks, you're not going to get maximum capacity Debo every single week.
10:13When it's 72 and sunny, it's 7 for 75 and a touchdown, but there's a lot of those weeks
10:19where it's like 3 for 24, and he's not a guy that can route people up or get open.
10:23You kind of have to scheme him open, get him going downhill, let him run over people.
10:27So there's a scheme element to him, I think, that matters a lot, too.
10:30You're listening to 95.7 The Game, KGMZ FM and HD1 San Francisco in Odyssey Sports Station
10:35in the home of the Golden State Warriors and Valkyries, always live on the free Odyssey app,
10:40coming to you live from the Laughing Monk Studios.
10:41And we're talking to our friend, Odyssey, Washington, D.C., 106.7 The Fan, Grant Paulson
10:47on 95.7 The Game.
10:48Grant, one more from the alumni file.
10:50While we're here, Javon Kinlaw is a Commander's.
10:53What do you guys think of Javon, who, first-round pick here, didn't really do it as a 49er, but
10:58now he's on his third team.
10:59What do you think of him?
11:01Yeah, so Kinlaw had some huge plays for them.
11:05He's so big and disruptive.
11:08He wrecked games.
11:09He was very good at living in the backfield on some flash plays.
11:14I think at times, though, talking to a lot of the people within the building and also
11:19study the tape closely, they had issues stopping the run with run fits, and he was a big part
11:25of that.
11:26Just kind of being either in the wrong lane or maybe trying to make a play, doing things
11:31where they need to clean that up.
11:34He needs to clean that up if they're going to be a better run-stuffing team.
11:36He's very noticeable with his size, and he does make these plays where, I would say,
11:42two or three in a really good game, four times, you're going to hear his number.
11:46You're going to hear his name.
11:47You're going to see him flashing in the backfield.
11:49Overall, I would say he had a pedestrian first season in Washington, and they paid him huge
11:53money.
11:54He got $15 million a year in free agency, guys.
11:57I mean, he was there.
11:58Big splash last year.
11:59And I remember having guests on from the Jets where he had been, from San Francisco,
12:03and everyone's kind of going, I don't really see that.
12:06I don't get that.
12:07He doesn't rush the quarterback a whole lot.
12:09You know, he wasn't great against the run, and Adam Peters was convinced and sold with
12:13that size.
12:14He was going to help them get a lot better against the run.
12:16I see the vision because he is so monstrous, and he does take on double teams and do some
12:21of those things.
12:21But he had zero sacks, was never really a factor at all getting up the field, pressuring the
12:26quarterback.
12:27They need a lot more out of him, in my opinion.
12:29The big emphasis for them is defense.
12:31They have the sixth most money spent in the NFL after this offseason on their defense.
12:35Spent $100 million on Adafi Owe on the edge, brought in another edge in Caleb on Chase
12:39on for $12 million.
12:42They signed 13 free agents that I believe are going to end up either starting or playing
12:48big roles, 10 of them on the defensive side of the ball.
12:51They're going to have almost an entirely new starting front seven at different positions,
12:54and they have a new defensive coordinator in Durante Jones.
12:57So they have two new coordinators.
12:58I think defensively, the story of their season will be how much can they take off of Jaden
13:04Daniels played.
13:04I told you they're a little short on weaponry and wide receivers.
13:07They're banking on that kind of indirect balance being affected positively for Daniels, where
13:13maybe he only has to score 20 to win, where you play a little complimentary football.
13:17But Kinlaw's got to be in the middle of that, guys.
13:19He's got to play like the player that they thought he was when they signed him for $15
13:23million.
13:24I would have given him like a CC minus last year, which was fine.
13:27But when you sign him to that kind of money, you're looking for A minus, B plus football,
13:31and they probably need a few more real impact games to get that.
13:34Grant, I do have one baseball question for you.
13:37And it's this, everybody, when their team is stinking, uses the Washington Nationals as
13:45the example of, hey, it could turn around.
13:49Everyone knows that whole, they were 19 and 31 through 50 games and then went on to win
13:55the World Series.
13:56Well, the Giants also right now are 12 games under 500.
14:00They're 66 games in.
14:01But what would you tell people who think that it's realistic to do that, to be 12 under
14:08500, about a third of the way through, and then, boop, just turn it around?
14:14Yes, I would tell them that being drafted in the sixth round doesn't mean you get to be
14:19Tom Brady.
14:20That season was insanity.
14:23It was a blast.
14:24It was crazy.
14:25But it could have gone a different way than it did a million times over.
14:29And only one of those has happened for that reason.
14:32But it's funny.
14:33We talk about this on our show a lot.
14:35Anytime the Nats are playing a team that's struggling or bad, like a month or two into
14:39the season, they'll be doing that same thing.
14:42The 2019 Nationals, all that means is you're just not a good baseball player.
14:47The one time Tom Brady became Tom Brady.
14:51There are so many other fill-in-the-blank random sixth-round quarterbacks that didn't become
14:57him.
14:57If you're saying that, you're wearing a black t-shirt and sucking in and going, I don't
15:03need to go to the gym tonight.
15:07That's well played.
15:08Hey, Grant, thanks for doing it, man.
15:10Appreciate you.
15:12Yeah, my pleasure, guys.
15:13Take care.
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