Daily Slop – 27 Jun 24: Asst GM Lance Newmark explains the thinking behind every 2024 draft pick

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

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Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Terry McLaurin working to improve footwork at top of routes

Breaking down what the Commanders star receiver was focused on improving this offseason

The 28-year-old receiver isn’t resting on his laurels and is instead still looking to improve. Back in April, he was asked about his focus for this offseason and gave a very detailed response:

“I got some really good work down in Florida. Just working on my footwork, just being better at the top of my routes. Sharper on my speed cuts, dig routes, out routes and just being cleaner with my footwork at the top of the routes.” McLaurin explained. “With a little bit of zone coverage that we’ve seen in the past with some teams, kind of running more two high shell, you’re gonna get a little bit more of ‘catch technique’ where guys are kind of sitting at the top of your route.

So I want to be better at being efficient at getting out of those routes when a guy is kind of sitting at my depth, whether it’s a 15-yard comeback or a 12-yard curl route, you know being able to get out efficiently so I can create and keep the separation within my route. Obviously I’m still working on my ball skills and making sure I’m still catching a lot of footballs in the offseason, but just really being better at the top of the routes and sharper out of my cuts is something I think I can improve on.”

I thought it could be interesting to see exactly the type of thing McLaurin is talking about, so I went back and watched some of his play from the 2023 season and sure enough, found some examples of the types of plays he was talking about.

Here’s the first example I wanted to look at. When McLaurin talked about defenders playing a “catch technique”, what I believe he means is corners squatting on routes without really giving any ground. You can see that clearly here on this play. McLaurin is running an in-breaking route from the left side of the formation. Eagles cornerback James Bradberry aligns eight yards off the line of scrimmage with outside leverage, knowing he has two deep safeties inside of him as his help.

At the snap of the ball, Bradberry takes a step back to get to about 10 yards of depth from the line of scrimmage, but then makes a clear effort to hold his ground and sit on the route rather than continuing to gain depth. From this squatting position, Bradberry can get a clean read on McLaurin’s route and as soon as McLaurin starts to cut inside, he’s able to drive down on the route. McLaurin’s route isn’t the sharpest, without any real fake or threat outside or intent to challenge Bradberry vertically to get him out of his squatting position before making his cut. Instead, he rounds off his route as he breaks inside, making it easy for Bradberry to read and break on it.

Bradberry arrives at the catch point at the same time as McLaurin and his presence is enough to prevent a catch. In fact, the ball sails past both of them into the hands of the deep safety for an interception.

This is likely the type of play McLaurin was talking about trying to improve on. His route isn’t great here. He failed to give the corner any real challenge. You’d ideally like to see him get vertical quicker to challenge the corner that way, forcing the defender out of his squat. At the very least you’d like to see him use some sort of move or fake to the outside to try and get the corner to bite outside first and open up the route inside. But McLaurin didn’t do any of that. The roundedness of his route made it very easy to read and break on.

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Washington Post (paywall)

Inside the first Commanders draft of the Adam Peters regime

How the ‘Commanders Caucus,’ the ‘Commander’ tag and a spirit of collaboration guided Washington’s 2024 draft.

Executives, scouts and coaches huddled in the draft room, away from the cameras, for what they called the “Commanders Caucus.”

The idea — which Peters brought with him from San Francisco, where it was called “Table Talk” — was to give everyone involved a chance to advocate for any lesser-known prospects they thought the organization should either draft or compete to sign as priority free agents.

By the end of the caucus, the room had a clear favorite: Temple linebacker Jordan Magee.

Early in the draft process, “there were a lot of people that didn’t know a lot about him,” assistant GM Lance Newmark said. But then Northeast college scout Ron Rose gave a presentation on the athletic, two-time captain who had shined even as the Owls struggled.

“When we met on [Magee], his film and the conversation opened a lot of people’s eyes,” Newmark said. “He really kind of burst on the scene for us.”

During the caucus, Newmark recalled, at least one person from every department stumped for Magee. The Commanders didn’t have a fourth-round pick, so they sweated for a couple hours, but early in the fifth, at No. 139, Washington was on the clock and he was still there. Peters asked Rose to pull Magee’s name off the board.

“It was the ultimate organizational pick,” Newmark said, and he considered it a symbol of the most “open, collaborative process” he had been around in nearly three decades in the NFL.

Newmark discussed each of Washington’s draft choices in-depth during a recent interview. He praised the devotion of the personnel department, including the two national college scouts, six regional college scouts and the representative from the BLESTO scouting service, which studies underclassmen.

The information in this story, unless otherwise noted, comes from that interview and from behind-the-scenes video published by the team. A star (*) signifies the prospect received the “Commander” tag, explained [within the article].

When asked to explain the tag, Newmark was coy, calling it “a trade-secret-type thing.” He said there was no set list of criteria and that the organization held open-forum discussions with the coaching staff and personnel department to determine whether a player should get the exclusive designation (out of hundreds of prospects, only 20 received it).

In Washington, the tag seems to have a talent threshold — all four picks who received it were chosen in the first two rounds — and three of them were team captains in college. But, Newmark said, “you don’t have to be a captain to get a Commander tag.”

“In the end, you just kind of know that they’re our kind of guy,” he added.

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Riggo’s Rag

Emmanuel Forbes represents Commanders’ biggest 2024 conundrum

All hope is not lost with Emmanuel Forbes.

Emmanuel Forbes’ rookie struggles were well documented. The Washington Commanders tasked the cornerback with responsibilities he wasn’t ready for in 2023 as Ron Rivera tried to justify the selection over Christian Gonzalez. He paid a heavy price.

Forbes looked overwhelmed and outmatched physically. The No. 16 overall selection was bullied by the likes of D.J. Moore and A.J. Brown. Rivera eventually sent him to the bench, which isn’t what the coach had in mind when he gambled heavily on the ballhawk with what turned out to be his final first-round pick at the helm.

Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. have proven credentials with defensive back development. They’ve helped Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland earn All-Pro honors in recent seasons. That might be unrealistic for Forbes right now, but it would be a shock if improvements didn’t arrive under their expert tutelage.

David Harrison from Fan Nation explored this topic in greater detail. The writer believes Quinn and Whitt can find a way to maximize Forbes’ skill set and bring back some much-needed confidence. He also preached patience regarding the Mississippi State product after he was mismanaged during a turbulent first year in a professional environment.

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Commanders Wire

Bold prediction for Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu

Earlier this offseason, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar — a noted film guru — ranked Luvu as the NFL’s second linebacker heading into 2024, behind only 49ers star Fred Warner.

Here is some of what Farrar said about Luvu:

The former Panthers star signed a three-year, $31 million deal with the Commanders that includes $14,625 in guarantees, and he’s earned that after a year in which he had seven sacks, 20 total pressures, 84 solo tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 47 stops, and two forced fumbles. In coverage, Luvu allowed 38 catches on 51 targets for 371 yards, 240 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, no interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 107.6. Luvu did all of this on a defense that didn’t present a ton of star power around him. Now that he’s with Dan Quinn in the nation’s capital, we could see a higher level from Luvu.

As much as anybody on this list, Luvu brings a fully-realized skill set in which he’s at or near the top at so many things. He attacks from the line of scrimmage like a legitimate edge defender, and he’s a real pain when covering opposing receivers all over the field.

How can Washington fans not be excited about Luvu?

Farrar isn’t the only one who sees big things for the versatile 27-year-old star.

Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated recently made 100 bold predictions for the 2024 NFL season. He sees Luvu making the Pro Bowl.

The Commanders’ linebacker was awesome for equally terrible Jets and Panthers teams in recent years, posting massive tackle numbers and serving as an apt pass rusher situationally. Now with Dan Quinn and working alongside a block-gobbling Bobby Wagner, Luvu can excel and get the notoriety he deserves.

Luvu has played on some terrible teams, and while Washington was terrible in 2023, playing for Dan Quinn changes everything. Quinn is known for getting the most out of his players. Quinn identifies where each player best fits and turns them loose. Luvu’s versatility could have him on the verge of stardom for the Commanders.

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Podcasts & videos

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ESPN’s Ryan McGee Joins Show to talk Jayden Daniels, Pat McAfee & SEC | Get Loud | Commanders

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Washington Commanders NFC Sout Catch-Up on Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Saints & Panthers

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NFC East links

Pro Football Focus

2024 NFL defensive line rankings: New York Jets take the top spot

3. Philadelphia Eagles

For the first time in a while, the Eagles have some questions along their defensive line. Their depth is still outstanding, but it isn’t as proven as it has been in the past. Jalen Carter was a dominant force out of the gate as a rookie before cooling off in the second half of the season on his way to an 87.4 overall PFF grade.

Bryce Huff is a significant addition but may not be an upgrade over Haason Reddick on the edge, while young players like Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith need to establish themselves as the dominant forces the players they are replacing did in the past.

6. Dallas Cowboys

An elite player will take you quite far on the defensive line, and the Cowboys are this high thanks to Micah Parsons, who racked up 103 quarterback pressures in the regular season a year ago.

Demarcus Lawrence also earned a 90.0-plus PFF grade, thanks in large part to his run defense, but Dallas is lacking the depth of the teams above them and, in particular, needs to see growth from second-year nose tackle Mazi Smith.

18. New York Giants

Dexter Lawrence is a unique player, winning at a greater rate and with far more volume than any other nose tackle in the game when rushing the passer. Adding Brian Burns in the offseason gives the Giants a much better threat on the edge, and now the team needs Kayvon Thibodeaux to take a step forward. Though he got into double-digit sacks in Year 2, he had just 43 quarterback pressures from 520 pass-rushing snaps and his PFF pass-rushing grade declined from his rookie season.

19. Washington Commanders

Last season resulted in unexpected down years from the interior duo of Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. Allen led the team in quarterback pressures, with 49, but it was his worst PFF pass-rushing grade since 2019 and the worst overall grade of his career.

Rookie Johnny Newton will hope to force his way into the rotation inside and make some noise, but the big issue for this team is on the edge, where new free agent Dorance Armstrong may be the most proven commodity.

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NFL league links

Articles

Front Office Sports

Billions in Public Funds Are Pouring Into NFL Venues. More Is Expected

• The Jaguars and Panthers are primed for hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
• Kansas officials are ready to spend big on a new stadium to lure the Chiefs.

The Jacksonville city council [approved] public funding for a $1.4 billion proposal to renovate the Jaguars’ EverBank Stadium. The Jaguars would then be on the hook for the remaining $625 million, plus any cost overruns.

Jacksonville’s presumptive move comes just one day after the Panthers were awarded $650 million from Charlotte officials for upgrades to Bank of America Stadium. The $800 million project will see Panthers and Charlotte FC owner David Tepper initially contribute $150 million to renovations, and be responsible for cost overruns and maintenance over the next 20 years, which are estimated to be around $421 million.

Chiefs, Browns Have Options

Last week, Kansas legislators approved a measure to issue bonds to build new stadiums for the NFL’s Chiefs and MLB’s Royals, should those two clubs choose to move across state lines when their respective leases end in 2031. As much as $3.5 billion could be given to the two franchises, which are exploring alternatives following voters in Jackson County, Mo., rejecting a $2 billion proposal to help fund renovations at Arrowhead Stadium and a new Royals ballpark.

Meanwhile, the Browns are weighing multiple stadium proposals in and around Cleveland. Renovating their current home could cost as much as $1 billion, while building a new venue in the suburbs may take $2.4 billion. Either way, a 50-50 split between private and public funding is likely to be in the works.

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