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Rookies report to Commanders training camp today. What should we expect from the group in their first season?
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00:00But right now we're talking about Commander's Training Camp.
00:03Rookies reporting today.
00:04I want to go through the rookie draft class and give some expectations
00:08for what we could see from each of the rookies.
00:10800-636-1067 is the number if you'd like to hop in.
00:14So let's just start at the top of the draft class.
00:16We'll go through it and then maybe take a look at some of the undrafted guys.
00:19But top of the draft class, Sonny Stiles, number seven overall pick.
00:23Starter.
00:24I'm excited to see what he can do this year.
00:26I'm excited, but I think starter, off the bat, play caller,
00:32and I'm expecting big things.
00:33You get drafted that high, you've shown the athleticism.
00:37I think they're going to – Sonny, normally they'll get a guy to learn something
00:42and then they teach him something else.
00:44I don't believe that he's going to be brought up like that.
00:47I think he's going to know stuff off the bat.
00:49And they're going to – he's going to be able to do more than one thing
00:53so he can hit the ground running.
00:54One of the big selling points when any of the Ohio State defenders
00:58were being talked about last year during the draft was they played
01:01in an NFL defense last year with Matt Patricia.
01:04That's a former NFL defensive coordinator, really good one at that.
01:08And for him to run the style of defense he did with Ohio State,
01:11for them to be as good as they were, you draft a guy coming out of there,
01:14whether it was Downs, whether it was Reese, in Washington's case it's Sonny Stiles.
01:18And especially with Sonny Stiles, the guy who was a signal caller for that defense,
01:21I think you feel really good immediately that he's going to have a high football IQ,
01:25step in, be able to command the huddle defensively,
01:28and be able to do a really good job of getting everybody in the right spot.
01:31So you add in the fact there's going to be some growing pains,
01:34as there is with any rookie playing significant minutes.
01:36But I'm excited to see what he's going to be able to do because he, in my mind,
01:41if they didn't have him in this defense and say Mansoor Delane would have been their pick
01:45if that's who they wanted and they would have taken him,
01:46that obviously would increase the position at the corner, which would be nice.
01:51But I think the way that they want to play defense this year,
01:54having a guy as athletic as Sonny Stiles that can do a little bit of everything
01:58almost takes the defense to another level.
02:00Yeah, I think you have to have someone at every level.
02:06I think Sonny is projected to be that guy at the second level.
02:11Owe is the guy at the first level that they're expecting this year.
02:14And then I would say, you know, you're looking at the secondary,
02:20and I know people have their doubts, but I totally believe my man from last year
02:24who got hurt.
02:25I can't give a name.
02:26Will Harris?
02:27No, no, no, no, no.
02:28The corner.
02:29Oh, Trey.
02:30Trey is the guy they expect to be the conduit at the third level.
02:37But the ultimate thing is they played a pro-style defense,
02:42which means the complicated type thing.
02:46They won't be amazed by that because sometimes in college people line up,
02:50it's so vanilla, it's crazy.
02:52But they know the – but still, now they're playing pro-athletes at every position.
02:59You know, in college, Ohio State, most teams they play,
03:03they got better athletes then.
03:04And when you're playing a pro-style defense,
03:07that complicated defense causes issues for that offense.
03:11And you're already battling them anyway.
03:13Well, now when you line up against a pro offense,
03:16you got 11 guys over there that are professionals.
03:19So it's going to find out his knowledge, his learning ability,
03:25how that's going to be where it's going to separate him from some other people.
03:28Everybody in this league can play, whether we think somebody sucked or not.
03:32So you think he wears the green dot right away?
03:34I think so.
03:35And so how do you think that linebacker rotation works?
03:38Because I do think that is something they're going to have to work through.
03:40If they're going to keep three on the field, then that's easy when you've got
03:43Stiles, Chanel –
03:43They may have four on the field sometimes.
03:46How do you think they rotate through that?
03:47Because I do think that they're going to want to obviously use some of those guys
03:50they brought in.
03:51Oway's going to be on the field.
03:52Chase on, they're going to use him pass rushing down.
03:54Oway is listed as a linebacker, but he's a pass rusher.
03:59But I think the way guys are listed is based off of what they have said
04:03their base is going to be.
04:05That's why they list them like that.
04:07Oway is not going to be dropping or doing all that other stuff,
04:10but he's going to be rushing that damn passer consistently.
04:14And the way that they play it, look, I wouldn't be surprised if sometimes
04:19you see – you'd be like, damn, why is Sonny outside?
04:21But I think that – because if it's anything like Flores' defense,
04:27hell, people come from everywhere.
04:29Yeah.
04:30Well, and what I like, too, is when you look at specifically the three main
04:33linebackers, Sonny Stiles, Leo Chanel, and Frankie Louvin, they all –
04:38They're all athletic.
04:39They're all versatile.
04:40They're all athletic.
04:40And they all excel in one specific thing, but then they can do a little bit
04:45of everything.
04:45Like Frankie, really good getting downhill as a pass rusher.
04:49He's not as great in coverage, but can do it if you need him to.
04:51Chanel, more of a run stuffer, struggles a little bit in pass coverage,
04:56but, again, still can do a little bit of everything.
04:58And when you think of Sonny, we'll see what he does at the NFL level,
05:02but I would think he's going to be the best pass coverage of those three
05:05linebackers.
05:05But he's also someone that's a very sure tackler.
05:08He missed, I think, two tackles the entire season last year,
05:11and you can use him in a variety of ways.
05:13I really think that Arvel Reese was someone that stood out a lot in the Ohio
05:18State defense last year, the way that he was able to rush off the edge.
05:21We'll see what he's able to do in New York this year.
05:23I truly think Sonny Stiles could have done a lot of that stuff,
05:25but he was so natural as a linebacker, understood the feel of it,
05:29that they had no reason to take him out of the middle of the field.
05:32Yeah, yeah.
05:32And so if they want to, like you said, line him up off the edge
05:34and have him rush around the end, I think he can do that.
05:37I say this, man.
05:38Listen, once you get to the league and you are secure in what your first job is,
05:46try to do some other stuff.
05:48Because if you can bring more to your game, you can affect the game differently.
05:53And when you affect the game differently, guess what you do?
05:55You get paid.
05:56Well, and I just think, too, like when you have a guy like Sonny Stiles
05:58that has his speed and his agility at the linebacker position,
06:03think of the Brian Flores defense and what he likes to do
06:06and sometimes having a bigger safety.
06:08When you have a linebacker that can move like him,
06:10you can use him in that sort of a role where they're going to have guys
06:13mugged up to the line of scrimmage.
06:14You're going to have six, seven, sometimes eight guys lined up
06:17right across the line of scrimmage.
06:18And I'm telling him, I'm dropping out.
06:20I need you to get back deep into his own.
06:23Sonny can get to that.
06:24Yeah.
06:24Or other linebackers across the league cannot.
06:26Yeah.
06:26Well, you remember they said, I think you read this yesterday,
06:30where they led in pressures of six or more people.
06:34And they also led in rushing only three.
06:38Yeah.
06:39When they rushed three, I guarantee they didn't line up like they were rushing three.
06:43No.
06:44They lined up like they were bringing a house.
06:46And the quarterback is now,
06:48and the center are pointing out stuff to say, pick up this, pick up this.
06:51So everybody can focus on, oh, they're coming, they're coming.
06:53And when they drop out, that quarterback throws that quick pass.
06:56Guess what?
06:57Defense is in somebody's lane.
06:58Yes.
06:59I mentioned to you that they expect three linebackers.
07:02They can have four.
07:04What if you have four?
07:06You know that big nickel thing they used to play?
07:09What if you have four and your big nickel is actually Sonny?
07:12Yeah.
07:13Sonny now is your fourth linebacker playing right on the nose of that damn tight end.
07:18Change up the ball game, don't it?
07:20What I love too is if you're doing that, he ain't afraid to set an edge.
07:24You know, that's what, so it's like the possibilities, when people, I was asked yesterday, man, what
07:29you think the record's going to be?
07:30I say, listen, I can't tell you right now.
07:33I said, a lot of people tell you now, they're guessing.
07:36I can't tell you.
07:37Once I start, I don't know exactly what the record's going to be, but once I start to
07:41see them play and see how they're implementing people, I can begin to have a little idea
07:47of what I feel.
07:48I can't wait to see because there's so many things in my head I think they could do with
07:53him and some of these other guys because Chanel might be as athletic as anybody on the damn
08:00football team, you know?
08:02Yeah.
08:03So I'm waiting to see how they're going to utilize these guys, their abilities because
08:08some of them have individual ability that, yeah, you want to run a team defense, but
08:13you also want a guy who you know individually can disrupt the hell out of something to be
08:18able to utilize that sometimes.
08:19Yeah.
08:20He, I think, is going to be really, really fun to watch this year, and I think it's going
08:23to be noticeable right away for fans that aren't able to get out to training camp, but
08:27maybe you watch the preseason, but especially week one when you turn on the TV, the speed
08:31at linebacker from what you saw last year to this year, that's probably going to be the
08:35first thing that jumps off the screen.
08:37Yeah.
08:37That will be different.
08:38That is different.
08:40It is different.
08:42Yeah.
08:42It's no knock on what Bobby Wagner, obviously he's a Hall of Famer.
08:46Bobby was unbelievable, just that some situations he ended up in, the defense shouldn't have
08:51allowed it.
08:52Absolutely.
08:52Yeah.
08:53Absolutely.
08:53So their second pick, we're going through the rookie class and what we expect from them
08:58this season.
08:59You'd like to hop in 800-636-1067.
09:01They're reporting to Ashburn for the beginning of training camp today.
09:05Second pick came in the third round.
09:07Pick number 71, Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams.
09:11You know, it was an interesting discussion hearing how people reacted to Antonio Williams
09:16being the draft pick there.
09:17I was excited.
09:17I was doing a live draft show when they drafted him and he was one of the guys I was
09:21looking
09:21for them to target when they got to that pick and I really like him because what they needed
09:27in this offense, in my opinion, when, you know, now we kind of know that there's probably
09:31not going to be a Brandon Iyuk brought in here.
09:33And at that point there might've been, but you needed someone that could create separation.
09:38Yeah.
09:38You know what Terry can do.
09:39You're pretty confident there and you're pretty confident in what Chig's going to be
09:42able to do right after the catch stuff.
09:43We'll see if he can do some of the extra stuff as he evolves.
09:46But you just needed someone that play out of the slot, out wide, whatever, that can create
09:51separation and be that guy that you can depend on.
09:53I think Antonio Williams can be that guy.
09:56The question is how quickly can he become that guy?
09:59And the thing of it is like health is the thing for every one of these young guys.
10:03Like this is a little bit more intense than college and your competition level.
10:09And like I said, when we were at, when they were draft and I saw the schedule, my thing
10:14that JP was intensity has to pick up right now.
10:18And we saw them move a little quicker than they were last year.
10:21Yeah.
10:22The thing for me is you want guys that can win.
10:27Antonio Williams can win.
10:29If Antonio Williams is winning and Terry is winning and Chig is winning.
10:33It puts pressure on your defense.
10:35And then all of a sudden you got, you're doing things from different areas because now they
10:39got to figure out how to stop it.
10:41You know what I mean?
10:42So I, I really believe this kid is going to help him out because of the mere fact he
10:47can win one-on-one battles.
10:50Yeah.
10:50And I think they'll be able to utilize him inside and out.
10:53Is he going to always play outside?
10:55No.
10:55Does he have the prototypical size for outside?
10:59Probably not.
11:00What is the prototypical size?
11:02Because Tyreek Hill was outside, wasn't he?
11:04100%.
11:04And that's why I think it's a little bit.
11:06Tanner was outside, wasn't he?
11:07That's why I think it's a little bit over talked about at times.
11:10Like if you can find a way and JP's brought this up a bunch and I think this is a
11:14good
11:14point.
11:14Like I want to see what he looks like when you throw the pads on and he has to face
11:18press coverage.
11:19Cause that's going to be something interesting to see with him.
11:21That's one of the knocks, but I think he's going to be a really good route runner.
11:24You already hear the way that the quarterbacks have talked about him when they were asked
11:28about him in OTAs and he has a little bit of that savvy that you wouldn't expect out
11:32of a rookie.
11:33So if, if you can get open running the slot, because see, when you're in the middle of that
11:42football field, they normally put those cornerbacks in the slot are normally guys that they can
11:47go either direction.
11:48The outside corners are considered the best, but, but they have, they have a sideline.
11:54They have a boundary to help them slot with corners.
11:57Don't that's such a hard, those guys are normally better.
12:00I think at the overall coverage aspect.
12:03So my question is, if you're a guy that can get open in the slot, shouldn't you be able
12:07to get open if you're outside?
12:08Yeah.
12:09Yeah.
12:10And I think he's going to be able to.
12:12So also too, I mean, you're just assuming that they're going to line up people similar
12:17like, they're going to move people all around.
12:19There's a man.
12:20Terry's going to move around.
12:20Where they start is not where they should end up.
12:23No.
12:23That will make, that'll, that would change up the offense that we had last year.
12:26There's going to be shifts.
12:27There are going to be motions, all sorts of things.
12:29So I think with Antonio Williams, he's going to be a major factor in how good this offense
12:34can be.
12:34I'm excited to see what he can do.
12:35I, I really believe that he's going to have a really good rookie season.
12:39800-636-1067.
12:40If you'd like to hop in, we got through the first two picks.
12:42We'll get through the rest of the draft class.
12:45Take a look at some of the undrafted free agents.
12:47But what do you think are the realistic expectations for each one of these rookies
12:51as the commanders rookies report to training camp today?
12:54Toby Altizer sitting in for JP on BMitch and Finley.
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