Daily Slop – 29 Jun 25 – Bobby Wagner praised as one of the top-25 draft picks of this century

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

Commanders links

Articles

Bleacher Report

Ranking the Top 25 NFL Draft Picks from 1st Quarter of 21st Century

17. LB Bobby Wagner — Round 2 (47th overall) by the Seahawks in 2012

An integral part of the Seahawks throughout the Russell Wilson/Pete Carroll era, Wagner is a six-time first-team All-Pro with longevity to boot. Yet he was only the second-best pick in one of the greatest team draft classes in NFL history.

1. QB Tom Brady — Round 6 (199th overall) by Patriots in 2000

Duh. The most accomplished player in the history of professional football was famously just the seventh quarterback selected in that draft.

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Pro Football Focus

2025 NFL linebacker unit rankings

1. Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia holds the top spot in these rankings with a stacked linebacker unit that only got better this offseason. They handed Zack Baun a well-deserved contract extension after he finished 2024 with a league-leading 90.2 PFF overall grade. Nakobe Dean wasn’t far behind, placing 11th among qualified linebackers (77.4).

The team drafted insurance for Dean’s postseason injury in Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell, who was the 2025 class’ best linebacker. Youngsters Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Smael Mondon Jr. also provide quality depth.

5. Washington Commanders

The Commanders face questions in other areas of their defense, but Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu are the heart and soul of the unit. Wagner continued to prove why he is a sure-fire Hall of Famer by earning a 91.2 PFF run-defense grade and a 90.9 PFF pass-rush grade at 34 years old in 2024. Luvu’s 64.2 PFF overall grade represents a decrease from his prior work in Carolina, but he is still a valuable and versatile piece capable of affecting games in multiple ways.

Wagner and Luvu were both incredibly durable last season, as well, with each playing well over 1,200 snaps. If they need rest, young players such as Jordan Magee and Kain Medrano are available.

27. Dallas Cowboys

While Dallas’ linebacker unit is filled with familiar names, it doesn’t offer a track record of elite production. DeMarvion Overshown is likely to be sidelined for a large portion of the season due to a knee injury. Former first-rounder Kenneth Murray Jr. has posted sub-55.0 PFF overall grades in each of his five NFL seasons. Jack Sanborn projects as a rotational player who is familiar with defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Damone Clark and Marist Liufau also project as serviceable depth, albeit with low production ceilings.

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Heavy.com

Brian Robinson Jr. Undermined By Core Weaknesses

A career average of 4.1 yards per carry is solid, but Robinson lacks elite quickness, natural shiftiness and keen field vision. He’s not a swift, one-cut-and-go runner, nor is the 6-foot-1, 228-pounder an overwhelming bruiser able to batter defenses into submission between the tackles.

Those deficiencies in his game help explain Robinson tallying a mere 1.9 yards after contact, per Pro Football Reference. Breaking just 34 tackles from 570 rushing attempts also hints at Robinson’s problem.

The 26-year-old is tough and dependable, but he’s never going to scare defenses. That won’t change even if the player who’s missed 10 game in three years can finally complete a full season.

Robinson told JP Finlay of NBC4 Sports, “the biggest thing for me is being available. I’m hell when I’m well.”

It’s a confident boast, but…he’ll continue to find his playing time threatened once training camp gets underway on July 18, when more than one exciting youngster will be vying for carries.

No player can do more to put Robinson’s job in jeopardy than potential draft steal Jacory Croskey-Merritt. This year’s seventh-rounder turned heads at minicamp thanks to the kind of sudden burst Washington’s ground game has lacked with Robinson leading the way.

Robinson simply can’t match this variety and acceleration. The veteran still has his fans, with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury even singling Robinson out earlier this offseason, but the Commanders can’t ignore any chance to add more big plays on the ground.

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Riggo’s Rag

The story of the coach who ended a Washington dynasty and disappeared

Richie Petitbon’s head coaching tenure is a forgotten footnote in Washington’s history.

What happened to Washington’s football team between 1992 and 1999, setting the stage for the dark years? It all started with Joe Gibbs’ initial retirement and a successor who wasn’t quite able to fill his shoes.

The name Richie Petitbon should be one that’s celebrated in Washington. He was a three-time Super Bowl champion as a defensive coordinator under Gibbs and is a member of the Commanders’ Ring of Fame. Instead, younger generations are likely not very familiar with him, while older fans may most remember his one-year head coaching tenure in 1993. It did not go well.

Washington entered the 1993 season only two years removed from a Super Bowl, and having still made the playoffs with a 9-7 record the previous campaign. Mark Rypien remained the quarterback, and the roster featured additional key contributors with championship pedigree, such as Art Monk, Darrell Green, Jeff Bostic, Charles Mann, and Brian Mitchell.

[T]he team went 4-12.

Petitbon took much of the criticism and was relieved of his duties following the season as the organization hired an outsider in Norv Turner. The former standout coordinator was never heard from again in the NFL.

The Commanders wouldn’t win more than 10 games in a season or advance past the second round of the playoffs again until accomplishing both feats in 2024.

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Podcasts & videos

ALVIN WALTON WASHINGTON REDSKIN SAFETY 1986 – 1991

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Bram Weinstein: the RFK delay

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NFC East links

Big Blue View

The 6-technique: Pros and cons

The letters are the GAPs, and the numbers are the techniques. In this article, I want to focus on the 6-technique lined up directly over the tight end.

A 6-technique lines directly over the tight end instead of shaded to the inside over the tackle’s outside shoulder (5-technique) or outside wide of the tight end (WIDE-9). The utilization of the 6-technique helps defenses control gaps in the run game.

Pros of the 6-technique

The 6-technique forces tight ends to block a defender—who is typically comparable in size or bigger—straight up, eliminating an advantageous angle. Depending on the defender’s technique and execution, this could force rushing attacks to spill or be boxed inside. The utilization of the 6-technique leads to better overall edge containment.

6-techniques also give the front a lot of versatility. They can easily drop into coverage off simulated pressures, slant inside or outside, and operate games/twists/stunts that confuse the protection and set up a mismatch with a bigger defensive lineman against the tight end (T/E Twist).

Cons of the 6-technique

The 6-technique is better used against the run, and it limits the pass-rushers’ angle to the pocket. Depending on the front, the 6-technique is easily engaged by the tight end and the tackle could be a reinforcement, giving the defender little space to operate when trying to sack the quarterback. It’s also easy for combo blocks with the tackle, depending on the defensive front employed.

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NFL league links

Articles

Pro Football Talk

Who’s on the [head coaching] hot seat entering the 2025 season?

this is my own assessment of the broader, 32-team situation. I’m not reporting anything. I’m identifying the guys whom I believe are under the biggest cloud of uncertainty as the season approaches.

5. Panthers coach Dave Canales.

The key becomes owner David Tepper. Will the hard-charging, results-demanding, drink-throwing (at least once) owner tolerate, say, a 4-13 finish?

[Editor’s note: In a prior version of this story, I said Canales is entering his third season. I had my head up my ass. Sorry. It’s year two. Which doesn’t matter for an owner who fired his last coach, Frank Reich, during year one.]

4. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer.

He was on exactly zero teams’ short lists during the latest hiring cycle. For the Cowboys, who wanted to have offensive continuity for quarterback Dak Prescott, it was either Schottenheimer or Eagles offensive coordinator (new Saints coach) Kellen Moore. Schottenheimer came cheaper.

3. Colts coach Shane Steichen.

Through two seasons, Steichen is 17-17 with no playoff appearances. His non-interim predecessor, Frank Reich, went 40-33-1 with a pair of playoff berths and was abruptly fired.

2. Giants coach Brian Daboll.

[O]ne day, Giants co-owner John Mara said he’d be sticking with G.M. Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll. Then, Mara said he’s running out of patience.

It’s a mixed message to Daboll as to the potential impact of the upcoming season, and it necessarily puts him on the hot seat.

1. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel.

There’s dysfunction. There’s turmoil. There’s an unsettled situation with a star player who received a market-level contract in September 2024, and another star player who has said he wants out and who may feel the same way all over again if the 2025 season starts poorly.

Thirty years ago, the late Jets owner Leon Hess fired Pete Carroll after one season by saying this, “I’m 80 years old. I want results now.”

Stephen Ross is five years older than Hess was when he said that.

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Discussion topics

The Athletic (paywall)

Justin Tucker had a decision to make. Will it help him return to the field?

Justin Tucker didn’t issue an apology Thursday or acknowledge any wrongdoing after the NFL suspended him 10 weeks for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Instead, in a statement released by his longtime agent, Rob Roche, the former Baltimore Ravens kicker stood by his previous denials and said he’s disappointed with the league’s decision. The statement also made clear that he will not appeal the decision “in order to put this difficult episode behind him and get back on the field as soon as possible.”

If he and his high-powered legal team made it known they planned to fight it, his status likely would have been unresolved for months.

Attorneys Michael Belsky and Catherine Dickinson, who represent 13 of Tucker’s accusers, praised the league’s investigation, calling it “incredibly thorough and thoughtful.” Dickinson said the league interviewed 15 of the accusers. Yet, Belsky said Friday at a news conference at the SBWD Law office, which is down the street from the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium, that Tucker’s refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing left “many of the victims, our clients, with the stain of a denial.”

Most teams carry only one kicker. Signing Tucker now so he’ll be available in mid-November would send a clear message to a team’s current kicker that he almost certainly isn’t in the long-term plans.

[In 2024] his 73.3 field goal percentage was fourth-worst among kickers who were active for more than 10 games.

Would an established GM be willing to absorb the heat if he felt Tucker would help his team win games in December and January?

By not appealing, Tucker left that door ajar.

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All aTwitter

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