00:00You know, I feel like after three years, we got a pretty good tell on what a player is and
00:04what they're not.
00:06So I'm going to put together a list here of what I would consider to be now or never players
00:11for the commanders.
00:12We can go through these, and then we can also get some participation from folks on the phones on how
00:17they feel,
00:18both about these guys that we're listing, but if there's anyone else they'd put into the now or never category.
00:23One other thought real quick on Johnny Newton.
00:25I love that he talked to John Allen, who played in Minnesota last year, about this defense and picked his
00:29brain.
00:29Isn't that cool?
00:30That was smart.
00:31Now, he didn't really say whether he called him or Allen reached out, but if he had the foresight to
00:36call him and say,
00:37hey, you worked with Durante, give me the cheat codes here.
00:39Hey, you play my position in this scheme.
00:41What do I need to know?
00:42How should I be training?
00:44What kind of things are they going to use me to do?
00:46That shows me a lot, too, so I like that.
00:49But here's the short list, the quick list I put together for now or never commanders in 2026.
00:54So we'll start with Johnny Newton, third year, drafted in the second round just outside of round one.
01:00Yep.
01:01In his same draft class, I think it's really easy to put two other guys on this list.
01:05Luke McCaffrey, who had a great day of practice today but has mostly been quiet, I'd say.
01:10He is working with the first team as the slot receiver, basically an 11 personnel.
01:14When they go 11, three receivers.
01:17When they go three receivers, they have Terry, Burks, and McCaffrey for the most part right now.
01:21So he's getting that shot to start camp.
01:23The other one, Danny, also on offense, also from that draft class, Ben Sinnott.
01:29Ben Sinnott was drafted in the second round just outside of the top 50.
01:32I think McCaffrey, Sinnott, and Newton are the easiest guys to put into the now or never class.
01:37Those are the most obvious, right?
01:38I mean, because, again, as you said, part of the same draft class.
01:40You've had the time to, hey, man, it's a process.
01:43It's slow.
01:44It's, you know, not everybody hits the ground running right away.
01:47Okay, now it's your three.
01:48You know, we've given you plenty of grace, period.
01:50Even guys that we think of that have been mildly successful.
01:53In terms of McCaffrey, I know he was hurt his injury short in season last year.
01:57Still averaged a catch a game or just over that last year.
02:00Not a terribly impactful guy.
02:02Better as a kick returner, frankly, than anything else.
02:05And so he's made his bones there.
02:06But that's kind of not why you drafted him in the top 100.
02:09You thought he'd be more as a guy that was a former quarterback that had taken the receiver position.
02:13You thought he'd grow into that.
02:14Sinnott, to me, has been bitterly disappointing.
02:17You know, it was both a Kyle Juszczyk slash George Kittle reference from Adam Peters, who knows both those guys
02:23very well.
02:24He's been none of those things.
02:25He's been the backup blocking tight end.
02:28And it hasn't seemed to be much of an impact guy at all.
02:31But those are the three most obvious players on this list.
02:33So I've got some other ones here.
02:35These are differing degrees of now or never.
02:38So I've got Jalen Lane on the list, even though it's only year two for him.
02:41I do too, yeah.
02:41But here's the thing about Jalen Lane.
02:43Jalen Lane's already proven he's an excellent punt returner.
02:45He was really good in that way last year, and he had two punt return touchdowns.
02:49So, like, he, as a fourth-round pick, I think is still a, whether you call it a win or
02:54whatever, I don't know.
02:55I don't care.
02:55But he is going to be awesome on special teams and is probably the long-term solution as a punt
02:59returner, barring some kind of regression.
03:01I put him on this list from a receiver standpoint.
03:04And normally two years is too quick to do that.
03:06This is his second season.
03:07But I think because they're giving a chance before they go get a digs or something like that to these
03:13younger guys, like, you had an opportunity you probably didn't necessarily deserve last year to play more than you should
03:19have when you had all those injuries.
03:21You didn't really take advantage of it.
03:23Same thing this year right now.
03:24They could have gone out and drafted a receiver in the first round.
03:28They could have, you know, gone out and signed a receiver for $20 million.
03:31They didn't do that.
03:32So they're giving you some chances, even though I think he is good on punt return.
03:36He did not have his best day of practice today, a couple of balls, particularly in the end zone on
03:40Russell Douglas' pass breakup that he couldn't secure and get into the chest.
03:44Then I've got Quan Martin on this list of now or never for the Commanders.
03:48I thought he had a really good second season, first year with this group, pick six against Detroit in the
03:53playoffs.
03:54Last year he got benched two times.
03:56Right now he hadn't really been working with the ones consistently.
03:59Not really sure where we're headed there.
04:01But I feel like if he's going to end up being a starting safety in the league, you've got to
04:04prove it right here and right now in this defense.
04:07And, I mean, Sam Hartman's an easy one.
04:09Like, are you in the league?
04:10Are you a quarterback?
04:11Are you a coach?
04:12What are you?
04:13They've now drafted Ethan Kaliak-Manus to compete with him.
04:16I don't think they're going to keep three and a practice squad guy.
04:19So he's an obvious one.
04:21The last one I've got, we can kind of talk through this one, is Brandon Coleman.
04:24He's on my list, yep.
04:25But Coleman's interesting, though, because Coleman has not struggled, really.
04:30He just, you know, at left tackle he was pretty solid.
04:33They moved him to right tackle.
04:34Then he never got to play right tackle because they drafted Connerly.
04:37Not his fault.
04:37Then he got kicked to guard, and that was the one spot he struggled where he, I don't think, fits
04:41as well,
04:41but also, like, hasn't been asked to play that position nearly as much.
04:46Even having him take some snaps at center, he's like a third-round pick that has mostly been pretty good
04:51when he's played
04:51and just feels like he's been passed around a little bit.
04:54So I don't feel the same way about him I do these other guys.
04:57I also think you can make the case, as a third-rounder, there's value in being the backup at, like,
05:00four spots.
05:01That's not the worst thing in the world.
05:03Yeah, I like Coleman more than they do, it seems like.
05:05And, you know, obviously they know better than I do.
05:07They see him every day.
05:08But every time Coleman plays, it seems like he does fine or, you know.
05:13You're never mad that he's playing, you know what I mean?
05:15I'm not going, oh, crap, it's this guy.
05:17As you said, he's filled in admirably in a number of spots.
05:20He's been perfectly okay at left tackle.
05:22As a rookie, by the way, protecting Jaden Daniels' blind side,
05:24which I thought, frankly, was irresponsible, but they got away with it.
05:28He was pretty good in that regard.
05:30Is he among the best ten?
05:31No, you've upgraded there with Laramie Tunsil.
05:33I'd start Tunsil there a thousand times out of a thousand.
05:35But it just hasn't really caught.
05:38Like, I thought he would just walk inside and kind of do the Sam Cosme transition,
05:42who was a tackle for an hour, now is a Pro Bowl caliber guard.
05:45It just hasn't happened yet.
05:46So Coleman was on my list.
05:47Not necessarily for me, Danny Rue, a evaluator, but for them.
05:51What are you going to be here?
05:52Are you just an Andrew Wiley character where you're backing up four different spots
05:55and good in the room, taking guys out for pizza once a week?
05:58Or are you a guy that's maybe a starter here and an asset for them?
06:02I think good.
06:03One of two ways with this on the phones.
06:04We'll open them up at 800-636-1067, 800-636-1067.
06:09Of the now or never players we're putting on this list here,
06:12McCaffrey, Sennett, Newton, Lane, if you're going to go Quan Martin, Coleman, whoever,
06:17who do you have the most confidence in actually getting right and going with the now part of the now
06:23or never?
06:23Is there anyone else that we're not listing that should be, that you would consider it's time?
06:28Got to have it right now or it's probably not coming as far as someone on this roster.
06:33800-636-1067.
06:34Danny's in D.C.
06:36I'm out at training camp.
06:38Practice day five today.
06:39You're listening to The Fan.
06:40You're listening to The Fan.
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