- 12 hours ago
Washington Commanders Reporter Ben Standig from The Last Man Standig Podcast and Substack joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to give a recap and analysis on what he has seen from the first week of Commanders training camp, the first day of padded practice and what we’re learning about players on the roster.
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00:00Four days into camp, but has anybody surprised you so far?
00:02Anybody stood out?
00:04There's a lot of guys that I thought just really came ready to get down.
00:07And I thought that was what I was looking for.
00:10That's what I was hoping to see.
00:11I thought, no surprise, but I felt like Jaden was even further ahead maybe
00:16than I thought he might be into that space.
00:18But there's a lot that I'm pleased with.
00:22And I'm anxious.
00:23All I wanted for those guys was think about that four-day block.
00:26And then as we're starting today, just these next three days and see what went good,
00:30what do you want to improve?
00:31So I'm asking them not to look too far down.
00:33And can they really stay in it?
00:36Dan Quinn, earlier today, they were in pads today for the first time.
00:41Ben Standig was there.
00:43Of course, Ben writes for his own substack called Last Man Standing, covering the team.
00:49I would urge everybody to subscribe.
00:51It's totally worth it.
00:53At Ben Standing on X as well.
00:56Okay, so I'll ask you the same question Nicky asked the coach.
01:00Has anybody just stood out like, wow, that player really looks ready for September 13th?
01:10Well, as a follow-up on Dan Quinn's response there, mentioning Jaden Daniels,
01:15obviously that's the name you want to hear is doing well.
01:19I thought the first couple days in practice, his accuracy was a little wonky.
01:24I mean, they were doing a lot of red zone stuff, so not a ton of room.
01:27I think today he had a couple of throws.
01:29If they happened in a game, they would definitely be leading the highlight reels.
01:33The very first pass of the day, he hit a play, almost out of the Jay Gruden playbook,
01:39a fade pass to the back corner of the end zone.
01:41It was kind of reminiscent of the play where Jaden hit Terry McCorn at Cincinnati, you know, late in that
01:46game.
01:47And it was a perfect throw, and McCorn made a great catch to get his feet in.
01:51And then later, I was standing by the back of the end zone.
01:54I was watching Chika Konkwu run a, basically like a down and out towards the sideline in the end zone.
01:59And he was covered.
02:01And Jaden's kind of biding his time.
02:02All of a sudden, here comes the ball.
02:04I don't know how it got there, but somehow he found a Konkwu open in the end zone.
02:08And it, you know, got through a bunch of guys.
02:10So that was just, you know, the guy you want to see play well, play, I thought it was, you
02:15know,
02:15one of his, maybe his best days from an accuracy standpoint.
02:19Well, today, obviously, the first day was pads.
02:21So you want to see, you know, the play around the line of scrimmage.
02:24I think Sonny Stiles, really early on, I think it was a Corey Kraske merit handoff.
02:30And Stiles absolutely met him in the hall and delivered a good pop.
02:35There's no tackling, but, you know, still.
02:37And then there were a couple times where, as a blitzer, he got in there pretty quickly
02:41and disrupted the play.
02:44So, you know, I'm not just naming the two guys that, like, people really want to know
02:48about probably on this team, but I think those were two of the guys that really did
02:52kind of stand out today.
02:55Catch us up to speed on the last few days, injuries, transactions, et cetera.
03:01I'm specifically focused on the center position.
03:06Yeah, so Nick Allegretti, you know, got hurt first day of camp, straight and capped.
03:11Dan Quinn told us on Saturday it'll probably be out a week.
03:15Did see Allegretti walking around today.
03:17Didn't have any obvious extra gear on to deal with that.
03:22So hopefully it's not more than a couple of days.
03:24They did work out, I think, three interior offensive linemen over the weekend,
03:29along with some other players.
03:30They ended up signing one, Trey Hill, a guy who's been in the league a little bit.
03:34You know, he hasn't really played.
03:36I think he's basically played, like, one game in, like, three years.
03:39Like, he hasn't really played a ton.
03:40But, okay, he has more center experience in the NFL than the two guys they have there now,
03:46and Julian Good-Jones, who's played one game in his career, and Matt Gould been a rookie.
03:49So, to me, I'm reading it as, hey, you know, we've got to get through practices, right?
03:55You need some more guys out there.
03:56And this was a way to have, you know, somebody who could just be a center,
04:00not have to have a guard, you know, having to move over if you don't want to.
04:05So that's what's going on there.
04:07Well, I just have to wait and see.
04:08I did a story today on my site about who are the most indispensable players on the team,
04:14which is different than who are the best.
04:15And I had Allegretti.
04:17I would have had him pretty high anyway because of the nature of the backups
04:22or various unsettled or uncertain and factor in the injury.
04:26And you're like, okay.
04:27So I think his injury is very notable.
04:30And hopefully it's not long because the backup situation is a bit dicey.
04:36John Bates was probably the other one.
04:38He's out a couple of weeks.
04:41Hamstring injury, Dan Quinn said.
04:43He's another guy that if you're ranking the best players on the team, you know,
04:47he's not probably going to make the top 10 or so.
04:49But from an indispensable standpoint, I also had him on the list because, you know,
04:55they're going to have anybody else like him.
04:57Right.
04:58I mean, Ben Sennett is the only other tight end on the roster who's within 18 pounds
05:03of base.
05:04A Conclu and Yankoff, those guys are pass catchers more than they're not.
05:08So if you're going to run this multiple tight end set and the goal is to have at least one
05:13guy as a blocker, well, Bates has got to be out there.
05:15So, you know, they can always do the bit where they bring in the six offensive linemen,
05:19but that's obviously not the ideal situation.
05:22So hopefully that's, you know, one that does not end up being a big concern.
05:28But, you know, for the moment at least, they've got to get by without him.
05:31So, okay, we are, you know, we're more than a week since the rookies came in.
05:37We're approaching a week since the veterans came in.
05:39The number one question, certainly in the top two or three, is the wide receiver room.
05:45I understand they're not lining up against Quinion Mitchell or Cooper Dejean on opening
05:49day yet, but you had kind of a sense last year that, you know, at the very least, there
05:56was no depth at the position.
05:59So what's your early gut on if they have to enter the season with, you know, six or
06:05seven from this current group as the wide receiver room?
06:10Yeah, I mean, like you said, you got to take everything with a grain of salt, but I like
06:14this group.
06:15Again, I understand it would be a lot cooler if they just had an obvious number two guy
06:20opposite McLaurin and call the day and go from there.
06:22But, you know, the difference again between this year and last year is it just did not feel
06:27that they had guys who were, had much upside or did a lot of specific things that David
06:34Blau could incorporate.
06:36Today, I really thought the receiver room had a pretty good day.
06:39Jalen Lane had a couple of touchdown catches.
06:43You know, he was a guy that last year, you know, he's got that, you know, 4-3-4 speed.
06:48He's put in slot in college, but slot was blocked last year because you had Debo Samuel and they
06:53needed help on the outside.
06:55So he was put in a sort of a tougher spot last year.
06:57And, you know, I think he's a guy who's got legitimate potential.
07:01And again, you know, for offense, it doesn't have a ton of playmakers having a guy with
07:06that kind of speed helps.
07:07So I thought he had, I thought he had a good day.
07:13You know, I think that's the thing, though, like when everybody's like talking about the
07:16receiver room, sure.
07:18Stephon Diggs, just to use him as the guy we all talk about, he's been around the league.
07:22We know exactly what he can do.
07:24He's a thousand yard season.
07:25There's a lot to like there, even if he is probably on the downside of his career.
07:30But the players on Washington, they're not static.
07:33Like it's like they got three guys in lane and McCaffrey and obviously Antonio Williams
07:38is a rookie.
07:39You're hoping they're ascending.
07:40They, you know, this is not just like, well, this is who they are for the rest of their
07:44careers.
07:44Even a guy like De'Ami Brown, who obviously he's been around for a minute.
07:48We, you know, here the first four years of his career.
07:51Again, I'm not saying he's gonna be a 50 catch guy, but at the same point, we saw it
07:55even at the end of 2024.
07:57And he today or the last couple of days, I thought has made some plays down the field.
08:02That show, you know, he can, in the right circumstances, be pretty effective.
08:07So, you know, I think Van Jefferson's had a good camp.
08:10Traylon Burks, especially on the first day of camp, really stood out.
08:13So, again, could they use more help there?
08:16Certainly you can make that argument.
08:18But I don't have any problem with them wanting to let camp play out a little bit and see
08:22what these guys can do.
08:24And I think if that's how Adam Peters is looking at it, I think he's probably pretty
08:28pleased with what he has seen so far.
08:30And Antonio Williams has also, you know, looked the part of the rat runner.
08:33And, you know, there's ups and downs, of course, as a rookie.
08:36But he's also, I thought, had some pretty good work in camp.
08:39Talking to Ben Standing.
08:40So, Ben did in his column today, his sub-stack column, he ranked the commander's 10 most
08:49indispensable players entering the 2026 season.
08:52That does not mean they're best players.
08:54But let me just tell you that the most indispensable players, he writes, if I have to explain Jaden
09:01Daniels at number one, we should have a conversation.
09:04So, we understand that after number one.
09:07I'll ask you the question that I asked callers in the first, you know, segment of the show
09:12and asked Logan on my podcast, which I just played from over the weekend, what area of
09:20the team after the quarterback room, obviously, you know, assuming the quarterback stays upright
09:26the entire season, what area of the team do you feel the best about right now?
09:33Well, you know, I think the defensive front is looking pretty strong.
09:40I mean, look, they don't even have Dorrance Armstrong yet.
09:43Dietrich Wye is still out.
09:44But they still have a ton of guys.
09:47I mean, Owe, you know, just from an athletic specimen, and you and I talked about this the
09:51other day, he just absolutely looks the part of a guy who could become an elite pass rusher.
09:56Kalevon Chason has also made a lot of nice plays, a lot of good energy.
10:02You know, I think the pads helped with that today as well.
10:05I think that, you know, even Joshua Joseph, the fifth-round pick, you know, we're talking
10:09about a raw athlete, I've said before.
10:11To me, the plan for him should be getting him ready for 2027 when, other than Owe, a lot
10:18of the guys are free agents.
10:19But from that raw skill perspective, man, he really can get up the field quickly.
10:25He's got good speed.
10:26The length is impressive.
10:27And then, you know, you factor in, like, Charles Amenta, who can play inside and outside.
10:31The fact that, you know, we'll see how it works up front when they're getting into, in
10:37the middle of the line when they're getting against, you know, real teams and real games.
10:42But that Daron Payne, Javon Kinlaw, Tim Settle, Johnny Newton group, you know, there's
10:48at least some, I think there's still some hope there.
10:50Obviously, they've got to get maybe a little bit more pass rush production than we saw a year
10:53ago, but I think having more of these guys on the outside, these edge rushers, is going
10:57to help that a lot.
10:58So, then combined with the fact that Durante Jones with this new system, guys are lining
11:02up here, there, and everywhere.
11:03They're coming from different angles.
11:05And you could see today that that was causing some confusion for the line.
11:09Jaden was getting rushed a bit pretty quickly on some guys, even some blitzes.
11:13So, I just think that front in general, it just looks so much deeper and so much more
11:19athletic than it did a year ago.
11:20And so, it's funny to almost say that that's the group that stands out, considering it's
11:24not really been a big strength the last couple of years.
11:27But I do think it's looking pretty promising right now based on just the pure depth and
11:32athletes that they have.
11:34Yeah, that was kind of my answer.
11:36My answer was, look, I mean, I have to feel like I'm most confident in the defense not
11:43being as bad as it was last year, A, because it would be almost difficult for that to be
11:48achieved.
11:50But then secondly, more specifically, is just the number of pass rushers they have.
11:55It'd be hard-pressed to believe that they're not a better pass rushing team.
11:59But, you know, what's crucial to that, Ben, is that they become a much better run-stopping
12:05team, too.
12:06Because most teams that end up being, you know, excellent pass rushing teams with excellent
12:12pass rushers, don't do it consistently on third and twos and third and ones and third
12:18and threes.
12:19Because those are difficult, you know, what are they going to do offensively?
12:23Are they going to run it?
12:25Are they going to throw it?
12:26So, you know, it all starts with the ability to put them into obvious passing situations.
12:34Yeah, no doubt.
12:36And look, obviously, this is, you know, kind of football 101.
12:39But for the secondary to succeed, it's going to help to have a pass rush.
12:44So the quarterback is, you know, has to throw a ball quickly or maybe on the move.
12:50And, like, you know, a good example today of that was that on the very first play, as I
12:56mentioned, where Jaden found McLaurin in the end zone, he was like a two-step drop, threw
13:00it over the top, and McLaurin got a catch over Sanders still.
13:03Later in practice, with the pass rush being more of a factor, Sanders still in back-to-back
13:09plays was able to get to the ball and knock it away two plays in a row.
13:14So, you know, all these things have to marry with each other.
13:17And yes, you're right.
13:18If you can get the third and long pretty consistently, that's going to make it a lot easier for the
13:24O-ways and the chase-ons and others to get in there and make hay out of the blitz.
13:31Otherwise, yeah, you know, you don't want to give the defense or the offense, you know,
13:35the better down at distance to be able to dictate.
13:37So I think that is the thing.
13:38It's just, you know, we've talked about it a lot.
13:40They got younger, they got faster, but they also got deeper.
13:43They just have more options.
13:44And, you know, again, last year when Doran Armstrong got hurt, the pass rush was over.
13:49This year, Doran Armstrong is even out there yet, and yet the pass rush looks to be, you
13:54know, much better than it was in totality than it was a year ago.
13:57So, yeah, I think all that's a good sign.
13:59But, again, obviously, caveat, all the caveats is camp and blah, blah, blah.
14:03But, yes, it looks promising in that regard.
14:06Yeah, I mean, I went through the math.
14:08It's like they added nine new players that they're expecting contributions from.
14:14Even if four of them are absolute whiffs, misses, and five of them contribute, you're in better
14:21shape than you were last year.
14:23Like, you know, even if it's flipped and, you know, five of them are not, you know, not
14:27what you thought they would be, but four of them are.
14:30It's still going to be, you know, an upgrade from what they were a year ago.
14:35With pads on today, did you notice or observe anything about Blau's offense, under center,
14:43you know, percentage, play action, throws, the kind of run scheme, anything that would
14:49be, you know, lead anybody to believe about what we're going to see for sure?
14:55I just think there's a lot of diversity.
14:57Like, I mean, they have run more, like, trick plays than I would have thought so far in camp.
15:03And I only say that just to note that, like, it's not like they're just simply, okay, it's,
15:09you know, third and six, drop back, throw the ball to the outside receiver.
15:13I mean, they're looking for guys in a lot of different spots.
15:16You see situations where, like, you know, a running back might be in the backfield and the
15:20next play is maybe lined up outside, you know, Chigakonka was moving around a bunch.
15:25Jaden has, you know, been doing a lot of stuff under center for sure.
15:29And again, today was red zone-ish.
15:32It was like 30-yard line and in.
15:33So it's not like we're getting to see the whole field.
15:36In fact, of the four practices, three of them have been that type of deal.
15:40So, you know, I think we're all excited to see when the ball, you know, when they're truly
15:46using the whole field and what that looks like for some down-the-field work, which we haven't
15:50seen a ton of yet.
15:53But, yeah, no, I mean, look, I think the offense is still the more work-in-progress side of
15:57the ball right now.
15:58I think the defensive front probably had the better end of the day, but I think both sides
16:03had some good work.
16:06But, yeah, no, I mean, I think, like I said, the blouse system, just a lot of diversity.
16:10You know, Jaden looks like he's defining the ball pretty well, as Quinn said in that clip
16:16he played earlier, you know, Jaden's ahead of maybe where he thought.
16:20I mean, I don't know if that's true or not, but I feel like he had a high hope for
16:23Jaden
16:23Daniels anyway.
16:24But, you know, he's looking more and more comfortable with his read and getting the ball where he
16:29needs to than needed the first couple of days.
16:31So, yeah, I mean, I think the system, the offense is looking pretty good.
16:35But at the same point, you know, you've got to get a little more fluidity.
16:38You know, the run game, it's been hard to do much in the run game today, you know, with
16:43the pads on.
16:45So maybe that's something to keep an eye on going forward.
16:47But, yeah, I think in general, you can see where the excitement is going to come from.
16:51A lot of diversity, a lot of willingness to try different things.
16:56It's not going to be a stodgy offense, I would say, at a minimum.
16:59So, yeah.
17:01All right, two more real quickly.
17:03Number one, Brandon Coleman took some snaps at center.
17:06Is that what you tweeted?
17:09Well, no.
17:11Yesterday, he, after practice, was one of the guys that they were having take some snaps
17:17just to do it.
17:18And Quinn was asked today kind of about that.
17:22And he basically was like, look, if you're going to be on the game day roster and you're
17:26playing guard, you pretty much need to be able to play center because we need to have,
17:32you know, options.
17:33So it seems like it's more long in that line.
17:35I've been saying all along, even if they think, hey, Chris Paul is going to be our left guard
17:40and maybe that means we have to move Coleman to center, I can't comprehend that that would
17:44take place anytime soon.
17:46I mean, he's basically not played the position.
17:48I'm sure he's taken our breath.
17:49I was going to say, I don't think he played the position at TCU.
17:52I know he played some tackle, obviously, at TCU along with guard, but he didn't play center
17:58in college, did he?
18:00I don't think so.
18:01I mean, this isn't like the end of basketball where you could say, hey, I know typically
18:05you're playing the two, but we need you to play up because you're a little, your physical
18:09support, guard the power forward or something.
18:11That's not this.
18:12You can't just go in there and, you know, play center.
18:16So, no, I don't think that's the case, but like I said, they, you know, whichever between
18:20Chris Paul and Brandon Coleman doesn't win the starting job.
18:24The other guy is going to be the backup interior offensive lineman.
18:27That was a spot, let's say, Nick Allegretti was in a year ago and Nick Allegretti can play
18:31all the spots on the line.
18:32So, I think they just want to check, you know, give some reps when possible, put in some work
18:37just to have that versatility.
18:40But, yeah, I don't think, like Trent Scott also was taking some snaps after practice yesterday.
18:45So, like, I think it's just more in case of emergency than, hey, maybe we move Coleman
18:50inside.
18:51Right.
18:51So, that actually was my last question is, have you gotten any sense as to whether or
18:56not Brandon Coleman or Chris Paul will be the starting left guard?
19:01Not, not yet.
19:02You know, I think my basic stance is, I think it's just a fascinating decision.
19:06If, if, if they want more athleticism for the zone blocking, you would think Coleman would
19:10be that guy.
19:12But when you watch, you know, but Chris Paul is obviously the one that started the last
19:1515 games.
19:16You know, he is just, when, when he's in on the pass rush and he, or a pass protection
19:21and he's, you know, squares up with the pass rusher, you know, it's kind of game over.
19:26It's just super strong.
19:28But, you know, he's also not, you know, maybe it was not the best lateral quickness isn't
19:32the best.
19:33If you're going to have him on the move more, maybe that's not his ideal strength.
19:37So, I think it's a really fascinating situation that we're going to see play out.
19:42So, no, I, like, even if, say, Jaden and some of the other starters don't play much at
19:48all in preseason, I would imagine that those two guys will get some work because you got
19:52to see them in real time out there.
19:54Joint practice is obviously the same as well.
19:56So, I think, you know, I still call it a draw to some degree.
20:00The coaches may disagree, but that's, you know, both guys, I think, have really interesting
20:05cases to make.
20:07You know, the other thing, so I'll just add this and then you can comment.
20:11The best guard on the team over the last few years has been Sam Cosme.
20:15Obviously, he got hurt in the playoff game and then missed the first six games of last
20:21year.
20:22But 2023-2024, Sam Cosme was, you know, approaching kind of pro bowl level as a starting guard in
20:32the league.
20:32How has he looked?
20:35Yeah, so, I'm with you.
20:37I mean, like, when I did that indispensable list, he was, like, top of the list of, like,
20:42honorable mentions only because they have, you know, maybe a couple other options that
20:45they could plug in if he's out.
20:46But, yeah, I mean, he's looked pretty good.
20:49They had, today was they had one-on-one drills with the linemen, so they line up in the standard
20:54formation and then two guys are going head-to-head with each other.
20:56And Cosme was pretty powerful in one rep against Javon Kinlaw.
21:01I will note that it doesn't look like it's an issue, but at one point he kind of looked
21:05like he maybe, like, tweaked his calf.
21:09At one point he was getting stretched out by the trainer and getting looked at, but he
21:12did go back in a little bit later.
21:15So, you know, these are football players.
21:16They're not me, so they go back in there.
21:19But, you know, yeah, he's looked the part, and I really, I'm with you.
21:23I think that we talk about Tunsell, we get where he is, one of the best in the league.
21:28If Cosme is able to get back to, like you said, where he was before the injury, you know,
21:33they're going to have two guys that could legitimately be in the Pro Bowl.
21:37I will note, I don't, I think Josh Connerly had a bit of a rough day today, both in the
21:4211s and the one-on-ones, but obviously this is a, you know, young guy, work in progress,
21:46et cetera.
21:47But hopefully with Cosme there, they can ultimately form a pretty good combination.
21:52Talk to you later.
21:53Appreciate it.
21:54Always, man.
21:55See you.
21:56Ben Standing, everybody.
21:58He's playing basically, everybody.
21:58I'm playing basically.
21:58We're playing basically.
21:58We're playing, everybody.
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