00:00We'll catch up with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN in just a couple of moments.
00:04He was out here at training camp today in Ashburn.
00:09Grant and Danny on the fan.
00:11Toby is in for Danny.
00:13I wanted to give you a little notebook from today's practice, though,
00:17some of the observations from what was practice number four.
00:21We've been at all four of these sessions, and it was the first day with pads,
00:24which always adds for a little intensity and physicality.
00:28I mentioned this right off the top today.
00:30I thought Sonny Stiles was a monster.
00:31He was really, really good.
00:33The first play of 11s, Bill gets a carry at the goal line,
00:38and Sonny Stiles just completely blew him up.
00:41This was the loudest, most impactful practice he's had by far.
00:45I also thought Jaden Daniels had his best day in terms of accuracy
00:49and ball placement for the most part.
00:50Threw a perfect fade corner end zone to Terry McLaurin over Mikey Sanders still
00:54for a touchdown.
00:55Had another fantastic play where he threw Chigakonkwo open for a touchdown.
01:00He was well covered by Witherspoon, and it was just a,
01:03oh, that's why this guy is special kind of moment,
01:06which you're looking for in these practices.
01:07But let's get a national perspective, see what Jeremy Fowler of ESPN thought,
01:11first time he's been out here in Ashburn.
01:13Jeremy, I know you're on a tour of sorts.
01:15You see a lot of teams.
01:16You drop in for a day.
01:17Hey, what were your big-picture observations on the Commanders today?
01:23Yeah, well, it was hard to ignore that connection you just mentioned
01:27between Terry McLaurin and Jaden Daniels for that beautiful pass to start.
01:31The 11-man work had another touchdown later in practice.
01:35McLaurin looks like himself again, and their last year was hard with the hold-in
01:38and then the injuries.
01:40So he and Jaden Daniels both look like they're on the same page.
01:43I talked to McLaurin after practice.
01:44He was almost downright giddy about the connection that they have,
01:47that they're growing again or regrowing.
01:50So that's a positive.
01:52And, yeah, you know, Chigakonkwo, you mentioned him.
01:54I think he's probably their receiver two right now.
01:57You know, he runs routes like a receiver, even though he's a tight end.
02:01So, to me, he's more of a hybrid model.
02:03And so, you know, with the absence of, like, another bona fide number two,
02:07he's probably the two to me.
02:09And, yeah, so that stood out.
02:11Just, you know, the offense as a whole, the passing game, looked pretty fluid.
02:14And, you know, Jaden Daniels looks like he's added a little bit of bulk,
02:17maybe another ton, but he looks a little stronger to me from what I've seen.
02:21And, yeah, you know, Sonny Stiles is interesting.
02:24He's a physical guy, yes, but he can also cover so much ground.
02:28So I know Dan Quinn's been challenging him to, like, take gambles and go for it,
02:33you know, try to get a 10-yard closed gap.
02:35When other guys can't do that, you can.
02:37You know, you have that kind of ability.
02:39Jeremy, you mentioned the wide receiver two position.
02:42And I think it's noticeable when Terry's not on the field
02:45and some of the other guys are maybe not able to create the separation.
02:48Do you have an update on what the commanders could be doing?
02:51It seems like they're out on IUC now, but what about Stephon Diggs?
02:55What's your update there?
02:58Well, they are monitoring this Stephon Diggs situation.
03:01You know, that's one that's firmly on the radar, I would say.
03:05It's really a situation where they can play out at least this week
03:08and just see who emerges, who develops.
03:12You know, they really have pretty big plans for Traylon Burks.
03:15Not that he's a bona fide two at this point,
03:17but they do feel like he can help them with some of his strength,
03:20you know, especially in the red zone.
03:21He might not be able to look like the quick twitch separation guy,
03:24but he's a contested catch guy in the red zone, so he'll help.
03:27And, you know, they want to see what Antonio Williams can do.
03:30The early signs are promising.
03:32I still think they'll add somebody.
03:33I think Diggs would probably be the pick if they can work it out.
03:36But, you know, he, one, needs real money,
03:38and, two, probably isn't eager to get to training camp this early.
03:42You know, guys like that that are in their 30s can wait a little bit.
03:45So the commanders will have to navigate that.
03:47Yeah, I was going to ask that very question.
03:49I mean, look, they weren't interested in Deebo Samuel, I know that.
03:52But all of a sudden, he signs with San Francisco
03:54because they have some injuries and he's off the board.
03:56And I guess my point is that could happen with Diggs
03:59where the Chiefs are somebody.
04:01I know they had some injuries over the weekend.
04:03They just come calling,
04:04and even though it sounds like maybe a fit with Washington,
04:07somebody offers you the money you want and you could go.
04:10Like, how do you play that if you're them
04:12to make sure that you don't miss the boat, so to speak?
04:16Because I'm sure both of them are content not doing anything right now.
04:19Diggs doesn't want to be here sweating and bleeding.
04:21And, you know, they probably want to get reps for their younger guys, too.
04:24You don't need Diggs in here just yet.
04:26But how do you make sure that you don't end up
04:30playing a game of musical chairs
04:31where everybody's already kind of sat down
04:33and you're still standing there?
04:36Well, that's partly why you keep in contact with the agent
04:38and try to monitor the situation best you can.
04:41And when it's time to jump, you've got to have an instinct.
04:44And a lot of times injury forces GMs to make that move, right?
04:48We saw that with San Francisco.
04:49Ricky Pearsall going out, plus some other injuries.
04:52They're like, we've got to stop the bleeding here.
04:54But Washington's not in that boat yet.
04:57But I think, I can't speak for Washington,
05:00but they can sort of bank on what I've heard a little bit,
05:03which is Kansas City isn't looking to break the bank on a receiver.
05:06You know, they've kind of been bargain shopping
05:08throughout the last few months.
05:10So if they spent real money on a receiver, it would surprise me.
05:14Now, they could have some injuries come up in it.
05:16They've had a few scares.
05:17So if there's a bigger issue, they could always jump on it.
05:21But, you know, if you're Washington,
05:22you could probably say there's no other immediate threat right now
05:25that's looking to knock the door down
05:27and give him real money at the moment.
05:30Now, that's a calculated risk because that can always change.
05:32But I would think that because Diggs does have somewhat of an interest in playing here,
05:37he's from here, he likes young quarterbacks,
05:40you know, he could nudge Washington if he does have a bird in hand elsewhere.
05:45You've mentioned money a couple times.
05:47He wants to get a decent bucket of cash,
05:50and then you mentioned maybe not signing
05:52because other teams may not have the cap space.
05:54Obviously, the commanders have plenty of it, I think $43.5 million.
05:57But how much are we talking about?
05:59What is he looking for on a one-year deal?
06:02Well, I don't think it's huge money at this stage.
06:05But, you know, he's still productive.
06:08Still put up a 1,000-yard season with like 55% usage
06:11or 55% of the snaps played.
06:14So that costs.
06:16I don't know what it costs.
06:17We saw Devo Samuel get a one-year deal worth up to $7 million.
06:22I have Diggs above that.
06:24But I don't know where exactly.
06:26You know, it's not going to be 20 or anything like that.
06:28You know, I'd be shocked at that.
06:29But it's got to be something that gets him out of bed, so to speak.
06:33Talking with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN,
06:35Toby Altizer sitting in for Danny today on Grant and Danny.
06:38What did you make of what you saw from the offense today with David Blau
06:41and what were some of the things you mentioned talking to Terry McLaurin?
06:45I'm sure you talked to plenty of other people out here as well.
06:47What were some of the thoughts of the first-year coordinator for Washington?
06:52Well, he's aggressive.
06:53You know, they were taking, even though it was just red zone,
06:55they were taking a lot of shots on the 18-20 yard line going into the end zone.
07:00You know, it seems like he doesn't want to waste time.
07:02They'll set things up with some short intermediate work,
07:05but it's going to be aggressive and it's going to be pretty creative.
07:09I mean, it's from the Ben Johnson school.
07:12And what does Ben Johnson like to do?
07:13He's got at least one trick play most games.
07:16You know, I was joking with Terry McLaurin when I talked to him after practice
07:19about, hey, do you need to be ready to throw?
07:22Because, you know, David Blau might like to use receivers on trick play.
07:27And he said, that's not me, but, you know, we've got Johnny Brown that can throw.
07:30Luke McCaffrey can throw a little bit.
07:32So I think they're going to create, at least create the illusion
07:35that they have four or five throwers on the team
07:37and they can throw the ball at any time on any sort of handoff or screen pass.
07:41So that's going to be really interesting to me.
07:44And, I mean, look, the under center play action work, it is helpful to quarterbacks.
07:50You know, we saw with Matthew Stafford last year,
07:52it's just a way to keep you healthy when you have your back turned to the defense
07:56and you create the illusion of the play action
07:58and, you know, defenses have to respect the run that way.
08:01So because of that, it seems like Jaden Dales is taking to that.
08:05And that's a good sign for David Blau so far.
08:08It's very, very early, but I think the early signs are positive.
08:11And the commanders feel like they're getting ahead of this a little bit
08:15as opposed to just going with the sure fit.
08:17You know, they're trying to go with an ascending talent.
08:20Jeremy Fowler, national reporter, ESPN, here on Grant and Danny.
08:25So just to put a bow on the conversation before we let you go,
08:28it sounds to me, I don't want to put words in your mouth, though,
08:30that you still think there's a really good chance Diggs signs here.
08:33Is it overstating it to say you're expecting at some point that he would sign here?
08:39I'm not going to go that far yet, but I just know that they've had contact
08:44and it's on the radar.
08:46So that, to me, tells me that if they sign a receiver, he's certainly on the short list.
08:52And that's probably as far as I'd go right now.
08:56I don't think it's heated up to that stage yet where it's intensified.
09:00So, but it's on a platter for them to make the move.
09:03You know, it makes a lot of sense.
09:04They've been aggressive all offseason, or at least in March, you know,
09:07with free agency and signing players.
09:09And I think they're already seeing the benefits of that of, you know,
09:12Ndafe Owe, Aliyah Chenault, Chigakakwo.
09:15Like, these guys are helping immediately.
09:17So, you know, the more advantageous it is to utilize free agency,
09:24the quicker you can try to get yourself into contention.
09:27Jeremy, I appreciate you hopping on with us and safe travels.
09:30Where are you heading out to next?
09:33Going to Baltimore tonight and then Philly and then the Jets
09:37and then going to the West Coast.
09:39So we've got a bit of a long trip here, but it's that time of year.
09:42So good to be back.
09:44One of those teams is not like the other, Crow Barn and the Jets on that wing of the trip.
09:51Well, you know, they're looking up a little bit.
09:53I kind of like the roster, but it is the Jets.
09:55So we need to temper all expectations.
09:58Thanks, Jeremy.
09:58Be good.
09:59Great seeing you out here today.
10:01Hey, you too.
10:02Thanks again.
10:03You got it.
10:03There's Jeremy Fowler.
10:04There's Jeremy Fowler.
10:04There's Jeremy Fowler.
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