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Daily Slop – 2 Jul 25 – What did Johnny Newton show on film in his rookie season?

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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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Where does DT Johnny Newton stand entering his second year?

Breaking down DT Johnny Newton’s rookie season and where he stands entering his second year

Much was expected of Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton when the Commanders surprisingly drafted him with the 36th overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft. He was a surprising pick because defensive tackle wasn’t a perceived need at the time, but the team felt he was just too good value to pass up. Unfortunately, Newton fell in the draft due to injuries, which kept him out of the majority of the offseason after being drafted. That put him behind the eight ball and he was playing catch up for a large part of the season.

Newton did see the field pretty early on though, only missing the opening game of the season. His numbers were pretty underwhelming and he managed just two sacks in his rookie year. That’s not a horrific return for an interior defensive lineman, but for one that was drafted with a high second round pick and was hyped up for his quickness and pass rush ability, it was a disappointing return.

But the stats don’t always tell the full story. So how did Newton actually perform in his rookie year and where does he stand going forward? Let’s take a closer look.

Run game

We’ll start with the positives in the run game. Throughout the season, we saw glimpses of the disruptive ability Newton has with his quickness in the run game. The Commanders under Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. want to be a very disruptive defense because they know the value of a blown up run. If you can get a tackle for loss on first and 10, the defense is suddenly ahead of the chains and can go into full attack mode on second and third down. Newton fits that style well thanks to his quickness.

That quickness can also be very disruptive on run stunts.

The Lead

Commanders Build the Trenches for Jayden Daniels

In the span of a month, Washington added two new starters in the trenches and will enter next season with a reconfigured offensive line. Center Tyler Biadasz is slated to be the only returning starter at the same position on the line.

Brandon Coleman (LG)

Coleman started 12 games in his rookie campaign last season and was Washington’s left tackle for the majority of the year. He earned a slightly above-average 63.9 overall grade from PFF, but allowed nine sacks—the most on the team and the fifth-most in the league among tackles.

The addition of Tunsil allows Washington to kick Coleman inside to left guard. Though he played left tackle in most of his games at TCU, Coleman started four games at left guard in 2023.

Improving his run-blocking prowess seems to be the next step for Coleman now that he’s moving to guard. He was graded as a roughly average run blocker last season and could take a leap in that area as a sophomore.

Josh Conerly Jr. (RT)

The former No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in high school broke out during his junior season at Oregon.

Conerly made the All-Big Ten First Team in 2024, allowing one sack and nine pressures, while anchoring one of the nation’s best offensive lines as left tackle.

His campaign peaked in the Big Ten Championship Game against Penn State, when Conerly matched up with third overall pick, and now divisional rival, Abdul Carter. Conerly rose to the challenge, shutting down Carter with zero pressures allowed in 35 pass-blocking snaps.

Conerly will shift to right tackle in Washington, replacing Andrew Wylie. The rookie’s athleticism should provide a boost to the run game if he develops properly. Conerly clocked a 1.71 10-yard split and a 34.5-inch vertical jump at the NFL Combine—numbers that showcase explosiveness useful in pull blocks and second-level assignments.

Commanders.com

2025 opponent breakdown | Las Vegas Raiders

  • Can Geno Smith elevate the Raiders’ quarterback room? The Raiders rolled into 2024 with Gardner Minshew, Aiden O’Connell and Desmond Ridder all getting snaps, and while each player ended the year with a completion rate of at least 61%, it was obvious they needed an upgrade at the position. Enter Smith, who has revived his career over the last three seasons with 12,226 passing yards in that span. Although he still has some issues, particularly when it comes to committing turnover-worthy plays, he’s ranked in the top 10 in big time throws, according to Pro Football Focus, over the last three seasons. He was also one of the best deep ball throwers in the league last season, tying Lamar Jackson for fifth among quarterbacks with at least 30 throws of 20 yards or more. All signs point to the quarterback play being better than what it was last season, but with the overall roster still needing more work, it’s unclear how much Smith can elevate a team that finished 4-13.
  • How effective can Ashton Jeanty be as a rookie? Jeanty was clearly the best running back in college football last season. He had the best offensive grade at his position from PFF with 1,695 yards after contact, 125 missed tackles forces, 55 runs of at least 10 yards and 1,247 breakaway yards (all of those stats were the best in the FBS). It was an easy decision for head coach Pete Carroll, who clearly wants to lean more heavily on the run game in the first season with his new team, to add him to a backfield that already had Raheem Mostert as a change of pace option. The key for Jeanty will be whether he can be more of a pass-catcher in the NFL. While he dominated Boise State’s ground game with 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns, he only had 23 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. To be fair, Jeanty was more available as a receiver in 2023 and averaged 13.2 yards on 43 catches, so he does have the ability to be a more dynamic weapon. He’ll be a heavily utilized piece in the Raiders’ offense this year, so he’ll have plenty of opportunities to work on it.
  • Can the Chip Kelly experiment work? Kelly’s last stint in the NFL was an interesting one. His unique offensive style gave the Philadelphia Eagles back-to-back winning records, but things soured quickly with him being fired in Week 16 of the 2015 season and one 2-14 campaign with the San Francisco 49ers. After a stint with UCLA and Ohio State, Kelly is back in the NFL as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator. By many accounts, Kelly has tweaked his playcalling style, which can still be more fast paced but is also more methodical and uses heavier tight end personnel sets. There are certainly pieces for Kelly to work with, including Smith, Jeanty and Brock Bowers, and there is potential for it to be a fun offense. A large portion any success the Raiders have will hinge on whether Kelly’s second attempt at bringing his system to the NFL is an improvement from his first.
Heavy.com

Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders Seem ‘Destined’ to Part Ways

Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton thinks it’s inevitable Kingsbury will end up leading another NFL franchise.

“Kingsbury has head coaching experience that will boost his resume,” Moton wrote on July 1. “As the Arizona Cardinals’ lead skipper, he helped Kyler Murray make two Pro Bowl rosters and led the club to a playoff berth in 2021. Teams that plan to take a quarterback early in the 2026 draft will hold Kingsbury to a high regard based on what he’s done with Murray and Daniels, assuming the Commanders signal-caller builds on a strong rookie campaign.”

While that would be great — mainly for Kingsbury’s bank account — it’s important to note he failed just as miserably as a big time college football head coach at Texas Tech. So if we’re trying to correct past mistakes … well you get the picture.

Teams Likely In Market For Kingsbury

Kingsbury is smart. Let’s start there. By not going in on any of the jobs available last year he probably avoided some pitfalls — being the Dallas Cowboys head coach ain’t all it’s cracked up to be — and opens himself up to what could be some primo openings in 2026.

Leading the way of those speculative jobs would be the Miami Dolphins, where head coach Mike McDaniel might not even make it through the regular season after the Dolphins went 8-9 and missed the playoffs after back to back AFC Wild Card Round losses in McDaniel’s first 2 seasons. The New York Giants could be another great opportunity — head coach Brian Daboll is as bad as it gets — and of course there’s always the Cleveland Browns, where head coach Kevin Stefanski doesn’t seem like he will make it out of this season.

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The Athletic (paywall)

Patriots, Giants, Seahawks among 5 defenses primed to break out: Nguyen

Giants

The quickest way to ascend defensively is to assemble a fierce four-man pass rush. The Giants have invested heavily in their pass rush over the years. In 2019, they drafted Dexter Lawrence, who has developed into one of the league’s best interior pass rushers, with the 19th pick. In 2022, they drafted Kayvon Thibodeaux fifth overall. Thibodeaux has been inconsistent, but he’s clearly talented and has room to grow.

Last season, they traded for Brian Burns and gave him a five-year, $141 million contract. This year, they picked Abdul Carter third overall. In passing situations, Carter has experience rushing inside as a “spinner” (rushing from a two-point stance from the inside). The Giants’ speed lineup will be as dangerous as any in the league if they can get opponents into passing situations.

The spine of the Giants’ defense could be strong if inside linebacker Bobby Okereke can have a bounce-back season. A concern is the lack of quality run-stoppers on the interior aside from Lawrence. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen will likely depend on getting an extra defender in the box to stop the run. Bowen wants to play quarters with two deep safeties, but they may not have that luxury. Last season, the Giants were the fourth-worst defense in allowing explosive runs, but were slightly better than average down-to-down (18th rushing defense success rate). They have to improve in this area to allow their pass rush to eat.

Second-year safety Tyler Nubin was having a breakout before injuring his foot in Week 13. The Giants signed safety Jevon Holland, which will allow Nubin to play closer to the line of scrimmage, where he excels at disrupting the run. Injuries limited Holland last season, but he can provide high-level safety play. Nickel Andru Phillips can stop the run and cover in the slot.

The biggest area of weakness for this defense is at outside corner. Bowen called a high rate of man coverage last season — eighth in cover 1 (man-to-man with one deep safety) usage (26 percent). Free-agent signing Paulson Adebo is a credible man corner, but former first-round pick Deonte Banks has poor technique and gives up a lot of yards. Maybe he can break out in this third season with Adebo taking some of the pressure off of him. Regardless, having just one weak spot in the secondary can be hidden with scheme.

The Giants finished 28th in DVOA last year, but the tools are there to make a significant jump. However, they have the hardest schedule in the league on paper and they need the offense to help get opponents in passing situations. The only major upgrade on that side was signing quarterback Russell Wilson (the plan is to let first-round pick Jaxson Dart sit and develop). There’s potential for a breakout here, but it may not be significant enough to make a major difference in the win/loss column in 2025.

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Washington Post (paywall)

No negotiations expected until next year on 18-game NFL season, CBA issues

The NFL and NFLPA have had informal discussions about an expanded regular season, but formal negotiations are unlikely before next spring.

The NFLPA wants to “continue to have conversations with players to inform a strategy when that time comes” to begin bargaining, one of the people familiar with the deliberations said, adding, “That’s not now.”

Some owners had hoped to have an 18-game season put into effect as soon as 2027. It might be unrealistic for an 18-game season to occur in 2027 if bargaining does not commence until the spring of 2026, at the soonest. But while some owners seem to remain interested in launching formal negotiations with the NFLPA as soon as possible on an 18-game season and other issues related to a potential extension of the collective bargaining agreement, Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league leaders have not pressed the union to begin those negotiations, according to a person with knowledge of the NFL’s inner workings.

The league and the owners are prohibited by the CBA from unilaterally increasing the length of the regular season. They must instead reach an agreement with the NFLPA, via either an extension of the CBA or a deal that addresses a more limited scope of issues.

Front Office Sports

ESPN, Fox Reluctant to Share Talent With Netflix for Christmas NFL Games

It appears as though Netflix will have to rely on talent from NFL Network and CBS for the 2025 slate of Christmas NFL games.

When the Commanders face the Cowboys and the Vikings play the Lions on Christmas Day, ESPN talent won’t appear on the Netflix presentation of the games, sources said. Fox talent is not expected to appear, either.

Things could change in the event that Netflix agrees to the terms the networks have demanded.

There are several reasons why networks like ESPN and Fox wouldn’t want their talents appearing on Netflix. It has been widely speculated that the NFL could opt out of rights agreements with its partners in 2029, and that Netflix could be in contention for a bigger package. Rival outlets don’t want to help Netflix gain a leg up in the process.

Another factor is that the networks pay a lot of money for their broadcasters, in many cases, in the hopes of keeping them exclusive to their own programming. Fox, for example, bars its talents from appearing on CBS and ESPN as a blanket rule.

While we are still nearly six months out from Christmas, it appears as though Netflix will have to rely on talent from NFL Network and CBS, perhaps even more so than last year.

Discussion topics

Pro Football Focus

2025 NFL receiving corps rankings

1. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

The Eagles earned a team 79.1 PFF receiving grade last season and boast the No. 1 (A.J. Brown) and No. 17 (DeVonta Smith) receivers in PFF’s top 32 wide receiver rankings, as well as the No. 2 running back (Saquon Barkley) and No. 8 tight end (Dallas Goedert). Throw in Jahan Dotson as an ideal No. 3 receiver, and you’ve got a group that has a strong case for being the best in the league.

13. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS

Terry McLaurin leads the league with 89 contested catches since 2020, and his 1.31 PFF WAR over the past three seasons ranks seventh among wide receivers.

The Commanders traded for Deebo Samuel, who is poised for a bounce-back season with a change of scenery. Noah Brown, Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler all recorded receiving grades above 70.0 last season and are back for 2025.

15. DALLAS COWBOYS

CeeDee Lamb carries the Cowboys’ ranking here. His 79.9 PFF receiving grade in 2024 was low for his standards, but he recorded a 91.2 mark the year prior when Dak Prescott was fully healthy. Dallas traded for George Pickens, who is coming off a career-high 78.6 PFF overall grade, but they need more from Jake Ferguson, Jalen Tolbert and someone — anyone — out of the backfield.

24. NEW YORK GIANTS

The Giants’ passing attack isn’t just Malik Nabers, but he represents the biggest piece of the pie. Nabers earned an 87.1 PFF receiving grade as a rookie despite a terrible quarterback situation. He was the only Giants receiver to earn a single-season receiving grade higher than 65.0 in 2024.

Tyrone Tracy Jr., Theo Johnson, Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt make up the same group from 2024, which posted a 29th-ranked 67.1 PFF receiving grade.

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