- 16 hours ago
Tobi and BMitch preview the Commanders tight end room headlined by Chig Okonkwo.
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00:00But let's talk about the tight end position and what we expect to see out of the tight ends for
00:05the Commanders this season.
00:05Obviously, the big question mark is going to be Chigakonkwo and what type of a season he's going to give
00:11you.
00:12And yesterday, PFF put out a list of their top tight ends in the National Football League and their top
00:1932.
00:20And I think it would surprise some people to see where Chigakonkwo ranked because he's going to be someone that's
00:26a major part of this offense.
00:28When you look at what he's going to have to be behind Terry McLaurin in terms of a receiving option,
00:33he's going to have to be a big part of the offense.
00:35He comes in ranked No. 25 on their list.
00:38But what do you expect to see out of Chigakonkwo this season and how big of a portion of this
00:43offense you think is going to go through him?
00:45I'm expecting some big things.
00:48I know we turn on the radio every day.
00:52You can go anywhere if somebody wants to talk about the number two receivers.
00:55Yeah.
00:55But I have watched over these last 10, 15 years where football has transformed to where tight ends are as
01:04important as the receivers.
01:06And when you have that bigger athletic tight end who can run, who can get yours after the catch, they
01:14can become as important as anything.
01:16I believe Chigak has that ability.
01:19Zach Ertz was amazing.
01:20But we know if he caught it at 10, he got 10.
01:26Chigak could catch it at 10 and go 15, 20, 30, 40.
01:29You know what I mean?
01:30So I'm expecting some big stuff.
01:32And I believe that watching what Ben Johnson does and listening to Blau and all that type of stuff,
01:40I believe that the tight ends are going to be vitally important to where you'll see them on the field
01:47at times you didn't ordinarily see them,
01:49where normally we saw them when it was a running down, running situation.
01:54Now they'll be out there on first down, second down, third and long.
01:58You'll know what the hell is going to happen.
02:00And I think that also helps you have an advantage on your offensive side of football.
02:05I think you could hear some of the stuff from Chig in the offseason, the way that he's talked about
02:09joining this offense.
02:10He's really excited to see what he's able to do.
02:12Because if you look at what he did last season, last year was a career year for him, 56 catches,
02:18560 yards.
02:20And I think there's a real chance that he surpasses both of those this year for the Commanders.
02:24But of those 560 yards, 342 of them came after the catch.
02:30So I do think that they're still going to do some of that stuff, where he's catching the ball underneath
02:35and making a play after the catch.
02:37But he talked about in the offseason, he's excited to play in this offense where he can run some real
02:41routes.
02:42I think they're going to do some of that as well, where he can run something up the seam or
02:46a skinny post.
02:47They can hit him over the middle and allow him to even create a little bit more down the field.
02:51Well, I expect that to happen.
02:54And the thing about it, also, for him, he hasn't had the quarterbacking that he's going to have.
03:00Jaden is better than any quarterback he's had.
03:04And that's going to also be a big plus for him.
03:06You look at his stats and stuff and people go, oh, yeah, just 500 yards of his best year.
03:13Get the right quarterback.
03:14That turns into 900 real quick, 800 real quick.
03:17Well, is that something you're thinking?
03:19Are you thinking, like, maybe you set the ball a little lower than that, but are you thinking, like...
03:24No, I'm not setting it low.
03:24I'm going 60 to 65 receptions, and I'm thinking somewhere around 750 yards or more.
03:30Okay.
03:31So you're thinking he's going to be a major part of this offense.
03:35It's Terry and then Chick.
03:36I think you look at Jaden, how much he would go to the quarterback.
03:40I can't see him not going to this guy.
03:42Yeah.
03:43Because the thing about Jaden, he's going to find the open receiver.
03:47Zach would get open, boom, he would hit him, and then Zach, a lot of times, would go down.
03:53Chig's going to show some color.
03:55Jaden hits him.
03:55He's going to be looking to get some play, get some yards up the field.
03:59Just think about with Zach.
04:01Zach had, what, 800 and some yards one year?
04:02Mm-hmm.
04:04Imagine the same passes to Zach, but being able to run after the catch.
04:09So that's one of the things that I'm very interested in is Zach Ertz did not have any run after
04:14the catch.
04:15There's no question about that.
04:16But what he did have was a reliability of being open, understanding the defense, and being able to sit in
04:22those zones.
04:23I want to see Chig have that same sort of feel.
04:26And maybe not the same as a wily vet like Zach Ertz.
04:29He's obviously gained that from playing years and years and years.
04:31But is he going to be able to just step in immediately and be someone that is that reliable factor
04:37like Zach Ertz was?
04:37I think he can be reliable, but it's in a different way.
04:39Like you just stated, Zach was capable of finding the zones and the spots and using his body.
04:48Chig can one-on-one cook a linebacker running routes.
04:54So it's a different way where now, instead of me having to sit in zones all the time, I'm coming
05:01out.
05:02You coming in man-to-man.
05:02I beat you.
05:04Jayden leaves me a little bit.
05:05I turn up the field.
05:06I'm running away from you.
05:07So it's a different way.
05:09But still, I think he'd be reliable.
05:11Yeah, and I think, too, the way that they're going to use this offense this year, they're going to get
05:15him the ball short.
05:16They're going to use him in the intermediate, maybe even going down the field a little bit.
05:19And I think, too, you started to see this in other offenses around the National Football League, and it's a
05:25copycat league.
05:25Whenever it's working, you're going to try to take some of it.
05:28You've started to see the emergence of two tight end sets, even three tight end sets.
05:32And so while we talk about Chig a lot and how important he's going to be, and there's no question
05:37about that,
05:38I think some of the other guys are going to have to step up.
05:40Like John Bates, we know what he can give you as a blocker, but can I get a little more
05:43in the passing game?
05:44I think John has had his little chances in the passing game,
05:47and he's been able to do some things, but send it a Yankov step up.
05:52Or maybe another tight end comes in here and say, hey, I'm tired.
05:55I want some of that.
05:57I want some of that work.
05:58But I think they are really going to utilize 12 and 13 personnel.
06:04And I think it's going to help them run the football,
06:06because I do think that's going to be the foundation of this offense.
06:09One of the funny things I do find about the way some people talk about the NFL is it has
06:15turned into a passing league.
06:16But I do think you're starting to see a bit of a shift here where it's starting to go back
06:21to,
06:22since you've seen the emergence of the two deep safeties in the defense and how most teams are playing the
06:28passing game,
06:28and they don't want to give up the explosives.
06:30So they're making sure to play with the two deep safeties.
06:33I think you're starting to see a little bit of a shift back to the importance of the run game.
06:37And even the best offenses, when you think about Kyle Shanahan, they always talk about him.
06:42Sean McVay.
06:42When you think about some of those best offenses, while they have really good explosive passing games,
06:48they're built off of running the football.
06:50And I think that's what this offense is going to be built off of.
06:52You look at Seattle last year, they had a running game.
06:56They had a receiver that was unbelievable, but everybody else was way down.
07:01He had like 1,700, 1,800 yards receiving.
07:05The next person was about 600, 700 behind him.
07:08But they ran the hell out of the football.
07:10Look at the Patriots when they were going to the Super Bowl.
07:13They always can run the ball on you.
07:15Even the Chiefs.
07:17Andy ran the ball effectively.
07:19But Andy Reid believes in that quick pass out the backfield.
07:23That's an extension of his run.
07:25So if I give you a toss pass and you get outside, if I let you run a flat rod
07:29and hit the ball real quick, same result.
07:32And I think that's how you use it.
07:34But as you go and you start, hell, when the Eagles won the Super Bowl just recently with Saquon,
07:41did they have that super explosive passing game?
07:44No.
07:44They had a super explosive running game.
07:46And then A.J. Brown made big plays one-on-one against people.
07:50So I've always said if you don't have a running game, you're in trouble.
07:55They can stop your passing game.
07:57And then the thing about a passing game, hell, Kyle Shanahan.
08:01The one time Kyle Shanahan forgot about who his daddy was, he wanted to throw the ball, throw the ball,
08:06throw the ball.
08:07They up 28-3.
08:08And the team came back and beat him in the Super Bowl.
08:10If he had been running the football like the Shanahans normally do, they don't lose that football game.
08:15Yeah, 100%.
08:16I mean, I watched him play an NFC Championship game when I was still living up in Milwaukee and working
08:21there.
08:22They beat the Packers.
08:23Jimmy Garoppolo threw the ball six times.
08:25That's what I'm saying.
08:26Look, man.
08:28Running the football, yes, passing the ball has gotten a lot of people in fantasy happy and all this type
08:35of stuff.
08:36But if you can run the football effectively, you can close out a damn football game.
08:41You remember back in the day they would run the four corners on all, they'll score two and then they
08:45run the four corners the rest of the game.
08:46And you can beat a team.
08:48If you can run the football effectively, you score, they get the ball back and kick it to you and
08:53then you can run it and they can't stop you from running it, you can take time off the clock
08:58where they are going to have to throw it.
09:00And then it makes it a lot easier for your defense to combat that, right?
09:04Yeah.
09:04When you know they're one-dimensional.
09:06Well, I mean, even you look at the difference.
09:08I know last season, and this is where stats can lie a little bit.
09:12Last season, the Commanders were one of the best running football teams in the NFL.
09:16It didn't feel like that a lot of the time, but they statistically were.
09:20But you go back to 2024, a big reason why they were able to go on the run that they
09:24did at the end of the year and then go on the run they did in the playoffs was their
09:27ability to control the clock, run the football.
09:31And the funny part was that running game a lot of times was Jaden Daniels.
09:34It wasn't necessarily B-Rob or anyone else.
09:36It was a lot Jaden Daniels.
09:38But if they're able to be more effective through that run game, I think running some of these two tight
09:42end sets and stuff, I think that's going to really help them out.
09:45And in turn, it's going to help out Jaden.
09:47Because think about, too, when you've got guys and you're able to run some of those two and three tight
09:51end sets and you're running some sort of bootleg with Jaden, think about the holes that are going to be
09:55open in the second level.
09:56Because if Tom Brady is running a bootleg, I ain't got to worry about him running for three yards.
10:00If Jaden Daniels is running a bootleg and I don't go out there and cover him, he's going to run
10:04for 15.
10:05Yeah, yeah.
10:06But last year, they were a top five rushing team.
10:10But they didn't run the ball all the time.
10:14Like, I think back to getting inside the five against Minnesota and throwing it three times.
10:19They had run the ball.
10:20I'm sure they'd get a touchdown.
10:21Now, this year, if they can recoup that with a better defense and not dropping behind so much and having
10:29to just throw the ball, throw the ball, throw the ball to try and come back, this team can surprise
10:35some people.
10:37With the running game and the passing game, they can surprise some people.
10:40Yeah, and a big part of that is going to be the tight end position.
10:44And I think you mentioned Sinnott.
10:47You mentioned Yankoff having to step up.
10:51Sinnott's interesting to me because, to me, he's in the mold of Chig.
10:55He's not the same guy, obviously, because we've seen what Chig has done throughout his career.
10:59But he is more of that run-after-the-catch type of tight end versus the feel and Zach Ertz
11:05type.
11:05But I don't know if he's not been given the chance or if he's not been open.
11:09But I'm curious to see if he gets more of those opportunities and you're able to get him the ball
11:15near the line of scrimmage and he can make something of it.
11:17Because remember last year, or maybe it was two years ago, when Colson Yankoff had the one play in preseason
11:22and everyone went nuts?
11:23Ben Sinnott had that same play in his rookie season and the preseason.
11:27And everyone went nuts then, and then it kind of got forgotten about because he's been largely an afterthought in
11:33his career.
11:33He only has 16 catches for 142 yards in his career.
11:37How many did Yankoff have?
11:39Not many.
11:40Let me see exactly what his numbers were.
11:42But he hasn't done a whole lot in his career either, catching the football.
11:46Last season, he caught two balls for 18 yards.
11:48Okay.
11:49So I'm curious to see if one of those two guys can step up because you know what you're going
11:53to get out of John Bates.
11:55And I did love the way that they would utilize him at times where he was the blocker, the blocker,
11:59the blocker, and here comes the fourth quarter.
12:01He's slipping out the other side.
12:02They'll do some of that.
12:03But I'm curious to see if one of those other guys can step up and give you a little bit
12:06of that.
12:06They have to.
12:07And the thing of it is, like, a lot of people were blaming Cliff for certain people not getting it,
12:15getting the opportunity.
12:16This is the NFL.
12:17This is not high school and college anymore.
12:19Damn sure not a little league.
12:21You don't get given chances.
12:24You force the opportunities.
12:27You know what I'm saying?
12:28Yeah.
12:28When you practice a certain way, perform a certain way in preseason, perform a certain way when you get a
12:33chance in the game, the coach has no choice but to keep giving you opportunities.
12:37So they're going to have to make this happen.
12:39Not a coach.
12:40The player.
12:42Got to make it happen.
12:43Well, I think the tight end position is a big way in which they can solve some of the questions
12:48about who's the second leading receiver.
12:49Because, you know, Terry McLaurin, we know what he's going to have to do, and he's going to have to
12:53be a major part of the passing game.
12:54Once you get behind him, any one of a number of those guys could step up, but it alleviates some
12:59of the pressure on an Antonio Williams or whoever you want to be a wide receiver to if Chigakonkwo is
13:04doing what you're saying, and he's going for 750 yards.
13:07And now, I don't need a number two receiver to go for 800 yards.
13:11I just need him to go for 500 or something like that to give you what you need as that
13:16third option in the receiving game.
13:18And that's what it is about.
13:20It's not just about, you know, one guy going and do it.
13:23But what if Terry has what he does, over 1,000 yards?
13:30Chig gives you 750.
13:32Let's say Antonio ends up getting 500.
13:37De'Amy gives you four.
13:39Van or Luke or both of them end up with about 300 apiece.
13:45Rashard White out of the backfield gets you 300, 400 yards.
13:50You can't tell me that's not an offense that's moving up and down the football field.
13:53Yeah.
13:54But people act as if both receivers got to have 1,500 yards.
14:01As good as Dallas receivers are, they were sitting at home for the playoffs last year, right?
14:06As good as Cincinnati receivers are, they were sitting at home for the playoffs, right?
14:13There was one guy with 1,800 yards, Jackson Smith and Jigman.
14:17No other receiver had, I think, over 600 yards on that football team.
14:23Stephon Diggs, the oldest guy playing for the Patriots, he had over 1,000.
14:28Everybody else, subpar, 600, 700.
14:31But they were in the Super Bowl.
14:34A lot of people call these stations and talk about, however, the number two receiver is just because they, it's,
14:40it's, it's, that's, that's fantasy led and they heard somebody say it.
14:44But when you start breaking it down, not many teams have double 1,000-yard receivers.
14:51Well, and one way that they can do it, like you said, is if Chig steps up and has the
14:55season you're talking about, then that alleviates a lot of it.
14:57Because I still feel like they do need someone to step up as a second option, but there is a
15:03way you can do it.
15:03You talked about Seattle.
15:05That's kind of the blueprint where you have one guy that really stands out and everybody else chips in and
15:09helps you out in those ways.
15:10And Chig, I think, is better than A.J. Barner, what he had last year, and he had somewhere around
15:15500 yards.
15:16So, I think it'll be interesting to see if they can get that type of production.
15:18Jackson, Smith, and Jigba, 1,793 yards.
15:22Cooper Cup, 593 yards.
15:251,200-yard difference.
15:26Tight end Barner, 500-and-something yards.
15:30You had Kenneth Walker with over 282 yards.
15:34They won the Super Bowl, people.
15:36So, your second receiver was 1,200 yards behind your first receiver.
15:41Well, and a big part for Seattle, too, was they had a commitment to the run game, even if they
15:44weren't always the most effective.
15:46They made sure to take some of the pressure off of Sam Darnold.
15:48So, I'm curious to see if David Blau is able to accomplish some of those things.
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