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Daily Slop – 18 May 25 – WR Jaylin Layne reps the Commanders at NFL Rookie Premiere

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

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ESPN

Rookie NFL running back role tiers: Stacking 25 draft picks

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders

2025 projection: 8 carries, 34 yards, 0 TDs; 0 receptions, 0 yards, 0 TDs

Drafted: Round 7, No. 245

After four seasons at Alabama State, Croskey-Merritt had his breakout season at New Mexico in 2023 before appearing in only one game in 2024 for Arizona. His elite 2023 efficiency (8.2 yards per carry) is notable, but he’s an older developmental back at 24. With Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler leading the depth chart, and Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr. being in the mix, Croskey-Merritt is not a lock to make Washington’s 53-man roster.

Commanders.com

Top 5 plays from Jaylin Lane’s 2024 season

Lane scores on a reverse against Miami

Virginia Tech liked using Lane on reverses because he could use his speed to get to the edge. One of the best examples of that came against Miami, and the play helped the Hokies get a leg up on the Hurricanes.

The play was executed to perfection. Drones handed the ball off to the receiver in motion, who then flipped it back to Lane running in the opposite direction. A few of Miami’s defenders caught on but couldn’t catch up to Lane. Once Lane got to the sideline, he followed his blockers and cruised into the end zone to put Virginia Tech up 21-14.

It was another solid day for Lane, who had 69 yards on five touches.

Pro Football Talk

Commanders will face four opponents coming off byes in 2025 – Michael David Smith, NBC Sports

Washington’s opponents will have plenty of rest this season.

The Commanders will play some well-rested opponents this season.

The NFL schedule makers gave Washington four games against teams coming off their bye weeks, which is the most of any team in the NFL this season.

The Commanders will see the Bears in Week Six, Seahawks in Week Nine, Broncos in Week 13, and Giants in Week 15, all coming off their byes. The Commanders’ bye is in Week 12 at the same time as the Broncos, so Washington does not get to play a less-rested team after its own bye week.

According to Seth Walder of ESPN, only 10 teams since 2002 have had to play four different opponents coming off their byes.

The good news for the Commanders is that bye weeks have become less important in recent years, and last year teams coming off their byes actually had a losing record. So the extra rest may not help the Commanders’ opponents all that much.

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NFC East links

Pro Football Focus

2025 offseason grades for all 32 NFL teams

DALLAS COWBOYS: C+

This grade comes down to what Brian Schottenheimer is as a head coach. The Cowboys waited a long time to make a move to hire him (and determine Mike McCarthy’s future), watching several good head coach candidates sign elsewhere in the meantime. They were also very quiet in free agency (not uncommon for them) when they had money to spend.

Dallas’ draft was a home run, though, especially the team’s first three picks. I remain worried about how their offensive and defensive lines will come together in 2025, with Zack Martin retiring on offense and the duo of Mazi Smith and Osa Odighizuwa, who earned PFF run-defense grades of 35.9 and 50.8, respectively, slated to start again.

NEW YORK GIANTS: B-

The Giants took swings at quarterbacks Geno Smith and Matthew Stafford in the trade market, and even called up to No. 1 overall for Cam Ward. But they were forced to settle for Jaxson Dart at the back end of Round 1. Defensive backs Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland were great additions via free agency for a defense that earned a 52.2 PFF coverage grade last season. The Giants’ draft was very good overall, earning an A- in PFF’s draft grades.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: B

It was an offseason of substitutions and additions for the Eagles. They lost Kellen Moore at offensive coordinator but replaced him with Kevin Patullo, who has been their pass game coordinator since 2021. Philadelphia also waved goodbye to Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers in free agency, but the team’s roster is set up — especially with newly drafted players — to fill those vacated roles. It was a lot of change, but the Eagles were prepared for it.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS: A-

No one was poached from the Commanders’ coaching staff after the team’s hugely successful 2024 season. They also made big splashes by trading for Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel and signing Deatrich Wise and Jonathan Jones for depth.

I also like that the Commanders brought back veterans Zach Ertz and Bobby Wagner. Their draft class was small in number, but the Josh Conerly Jr. pick could be huge for the flexibility of their offensive line in the short and long term. The only things holding Washington back from a better grade were the team’s overpay for Javon Kinlaw and lack of upgrades at edge rusher.

NFL league links

Articles

ESPN

Derek Carr retired, then an avalanche of unanswered questions followed

Less than three months after the New Orleans Saints named him head coach, Moore found himself confronting a barrage of news conference questions about a player he had never coached — never even met with in person — since taking the job. The Saints had announced quarterback Derek Carr’s surprise retirement three hours earlier, with the team saying in a statement that Carr experienced pain in his throwing shoulder in late March after his first significant throwing session of the offseason. The Saints said scans determined Carr had a torn right labrum and “significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.”

The dual May 10 statement from Carr and the team left a lot of questions. Twenty-three of them, in fact, were posed to Moore on Saturday, including these:

When did Carr decide to retire? How did he get injured? Did you talk to Carr yourself about the retirement? Why did you say you were optimistic at league meetings that Carr would play if, according to your statement, you’d just found out Carr was injured? Why were the Saints searching for clarity on Carr’s condition if his communication was “really good” as you said?

Everyone concedes Carr is injured. Not everyone believes it’s the full story of why he retired.

NFL pauses coach accelerator, plans to reimagine program

The NFL has paused the accelerator program it has used for three years to help increase diversity levels in key coaching positions, the league confirmed Tuesday.

The latest accelerator event, which connects coaches of diverse backgrounds with owners and team executives, had been scheduled to take place during next week’s spring meeting in Eagan, Minnesota. There have been a total of five such events since the program’s inception in 2022, most recently with coaches at the 2025 scouting combine.

In a statement provided to ESPN, NFL chief administrative officer Dasha Smith said the program will be reimagined and return next year.

“We believe diversity of thought and background is essential to our success,” Smith said in the statement, “and it’s reflected in the policies, programs, and partnerships that help us attract, develop, and retain top talent at every level on and off the field.

“Every off-season, we take a step back to reflect on the positives and areas for improvement of our programs and assess ways to make them more impactful. This year, we assessed and identified additional opportunities with the Accelerator — including combining the coaching and front office programs to ensure the Accelerator continues to be as impactful as possible.

“We have decided to hold the next iteration of the Accelerator in May 2026. This will allow us to reimagine the program, reflecting on the feedback and engaging with stakeholders so we can ensure a successful program in the future. We’re steadfast in our commitment to strengthen our talent pipeline and create an environment that reflects the diversity of our fan base. The NFL strives to be a unifying force, and we are confident the next evolution of our efforts will take us one step closer to that goal.”

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Pro Football Talk

Cam Ward not being scheduled for a primetime game is a rarity for No. 1 overall QB

The Titans used the No. 1 overall pick on quarterback Cam Ward. Yet, the Titans are one of only three teams not to have a primetime game.

NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning and Scheduling Mike North explained the league’s reasoning for shutting out the Titans.

“We kind of have this adage that you play your way into primetime,” North told Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. “You don’t draft your way into primetime. So the Titans are one of the teams that don’t currently have a national television window assigned. But that’s what things like flexible scheduling are for. And if you look down the stretch for the Titans, they play San Francisco in Week 15, Kansas City in Week 16. They’ve got the same opportunity every other team has to play their way into a national window.”

That’s all well and good, but the past two No. 1 overall picks — Bryce Young with Carolina in 2023 and Caleb Williams with Chicago in 2024 — had multiple night games as rookies despite both their teams coming off 7-10 seasons.

The last No. 1 overall pick not to have a primetime game was edge rusher Myles Garrett with Cleveland in 2017.

The last quarterback drafted No. 1 overall not to have a primetime game as a rookie was Cam Newton with Carolina in 2011.

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