Daily Slop – 1 Sep 24: Articles, podcasts & tweets to keep in touch with the Commanders, NFC East & the NFL

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

Commanders links

Articles

CBS Sports

Ten offensive players in perfect situation to thrive

Reasons for thriving: Playing with an explosive QB in 2024 No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels.

Terry McLaurin is an underrated wide receiver: He is one of six players with 900 or more receiving yards in each of his five seasons, joining Mike Evans, A.J. Green, Randy Moss, and Jerry Rice. The crazy part about that stat is the best quarterback McLaurin has played with is probably Alex Smith.

That all changes in 2024 with second overall pick quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, shattered records as an LSU tiger, like the single-season passer efficiency mark (208.0), and he led the country in total yards (412.2) and total touchdowns per game (4.2). He also became the first player to lead college football in passing yards per attempt (11.7) and yards per carry (8.4) in the past 60 years.

Pairing an explosive quarterback in Daniels with a playmaker like McLaurin could lead to the best years of the 28-year-old’s career.

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NFL.com

Commanders HC Dan Quinn: ‘Very easy decision’ to add ‘dog-a— competitor’ Noah Brown

“I think the first thing I think about with Noah, this is a dog-ass competitor,” Quinn said this week upon Brown’s arrival. “He is a really physical player. He’s got a great background both as a receiver and on (special) teams. He’s a fantastic teammate. And so, when we had the ability to add him to this group, it was a very easy decision from the coaching side.”

Quinn isn’t a stranger to Brown, as the wide receiver was with the Dallas Cowboys from 2017-2022, his last two seasons coinciding with Quinn serving as the team’s defensive coordinator.

Brown produced arguably his best showing in 2023 with Houston, catching 33 passes for a career-high 567 yards and a career-best 17.2 yards-per-catch average. It was all the more impressive considering Brown played in just 10 games and dealt with various injuries.

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ESPN

2024 NFL rookies guide: Stat leaders, fantasy picks, top QBs

Reid’s top Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates

3. Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders (+500)

The No. 2 overall pick was officially named the Commanders’ starter by coach Dan Quinn in mid-August. Daniels is an electrifying runner (he rushed for 1,134 yards at LSU last season) and equally as good as a passer, and he will immediately become one of the most dynamic QBs in the league. His deep-ball accuracy has already stood out during the preseason — he averaged 8.2 yards per attempt over two appearances.

Jayden Daniels could be the rookie passer who gets off to the fastest start because of his dual-threat ability. Not only is he a dynamic threat on the ground, but he also has the arm to stress defenses through the air. Known for his creative run schemes, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will likely involve Daniels heavily as a runner early in the season as he adapts to the pro game as a passer.

Clay’s projected rookie class leaders

Passing yards

1. Caleb Williams: 3,537
2. Jayden Daniels: 3,460
3. Drake Maye: 3,203

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Washington Wire

How ready are the Commanders at offensive tackle?

Andrew Wylie is plugged in at right tackle, and Cornelius Lucas is still the starter until we hear differently from Dan Quinn. Brandon Coleman had a pectoral injury and did not play a snap in the three preseason games.

Coleman is again back working with the team on the field with no restrictions. The TCU rookie said he feels great and is ready to go. So, what happens Sunday in Tampa if Coleman works out all next week?

Will the Commanders make him active? If so, will he play a few series, though he did not play in the preseason?

There is no tackle on the practice squad currently. Certainly, they know much more than we do about why they don’t have a tackle on the practice squad.

Lastly, fans will complain, but they must be reminded that Adam Peters attempted to trade back into the first round to draft a starting tackle; however, he saw the asking price as too much and did not pull the trigger on the trade.

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Podcasts & videos

DT Jonathan Allen Sits Down with the GREATS Fletcher, Moss, and Springs | The Player’s Club

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Washington Commanders’ Season Outlook: What to Expect with Jayden Daniels

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NFC East links

Big Blue View

How young is the New York Giants’ roster?

At an averaged of 25.70 years of age, the Giants are the fourth-youngest roster in the NFL. Their starting lineup, averaging 25.50 years of age, is the second-youngest behind the Packers (25.49 years of age).

That might be skewed ever so slightly when the 28-year-old Adoree’ Jackson is officially added to the roster, but not by much.

Here is the breakdown of youngest and oldest rosters:

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Blogging the Boys

How the Cowboys front office is trying to cheat the system to help them get over the hump

The difficult thing to understand about all this is why the front office chooses to operate in this manner. There are three big differences between them and many other teams. The first is that the Cowboys don’t want to overspend tomorrow’s resources. If they wanted, they could do some creative bookkeeping and restructure several contracts to free up more cap space. The Cowboys have more restructuring potential than half the teams in the NFL.

This table shows where teams are now in terms of cap space (circle) and their possible cap space with the maximum restructures employed (diamond). The Cowboys have the potential to go from $7.2 million in cap space to $63.7 million, freeing up an additional $56.5 million. You may notice that the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns have very little restructuring capability while a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have plenty of flexibility.

The Cowboys are in the middle of the pack when it comes to moving money around. They could do more if they wanted to.

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