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Daily Slop – 6 May 25

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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

Commanders links

Articles

ESPN

NFL expects more than 1 million fans to attend 2027 draft in D.C.

If the crowd indeed tops seven figures, it will set a record for the event. Two years ago, Detroit drew more than 750,000 people for the draft, Goodell said. Last month, Green Bay attracted more than 600,000 fans.

The Detroit Sports Commission estimated the 2024 draft had an economic impact of $213.6 million on the city. Last month’s first round was watched across TV and digital platforms by 13.6 million people, the second-highest total in history — behind only the 2020.

“The draft has become one of the great entertainment sports events,” Goodell said. “We can have a tremendous impact on this community, and it will not just be an event, it will show the world how far the nation’s capital has come and where it’s going.”

It’s the second time in a week that Goodell has participated in a major announcement for the district. Last week, he attended a news conference announcing the stadium deal between the team and the city for nearly $4 billion. That deal still must be approved by the D.C. Council.

Riggo’s Rag

One NFL-ready trait each Commanders’ 2025 draft pick already flashes

Trey Amos – Commanders CB

  • NFL-ready trait: Press coverage

The Washington Commanders considered taking Trey Amos with their first-round pick at No. 29 overall. When the physically imposing cornerback was somehow available at No. 61 late in the second round, Adam Peters wasn’t going to turn down a can’t-miss opportunity.

Amos adds a different dimension to the Commanders’ secondary. He’s tall, agile, physical, and everything in between. Teams rarely tested him over his final college campaign at Ole Miss, something that Rebels’ head coach Lane Kiffin believes hurt his stock considerably.

That worked in the Commanders’ favor. Amos has the tools needed to be a major asset on the boundary opposite Marshon Lattimore. This will also allow second-year pro Mike Sainristil to spend more time in the slot, which is where most believe his skills to be most effective.

There will be some rookie growing pains. Most first-year cornerbacks go through them aside from the truly elite, such as Sauce Gardner and Patrick Surtain II. But looking at the player’s credentials in press coverage, he could help immediately if everything goes according to plan this summer.

Amos jams receivers at the line of scrimmage superbly. He can get them off their routes and impose his physical will from start to finish. That will be more difficult versus high-level competition every week, but he’s more than capable of making his presence felt.

Lane Kiffin provides glowing reference for new Commanders CB Trey Amos

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin believes the Commanders have a tremendous player on their hands in Amos. He also revealed to John Keim of ESPN that not being targeted much during the 2024 campaign is the primary reason behind his falling draft stock.

“He can do everything. He’s got great length and can run, great ball skills. He’s going to be a really good starting corner in the NFL… people didn’t throw at him very much or else he would’ve had that much of a bigger year.”

Lane Kiffin via ESPN

Amos was on an island last season, with quarterbacks wary of throwing in his direction. This should be seen as a positive, but Kiffin thinks it harmed the player’s draft stock.

If everything goes according to plan or perhaps even better than anticipated, he could be among the 2025 draft’s biggest steals when push comes to shove.

Good prospects slip through the cracks every year. But it’s not about where you get drafted, it’s about what they do upon reaching the sport’s pinnacle.

Commanders Wire

Jaylin Lane had no idea who might select him in the 2025 NFL draft

“It’s a cool process,” said Lane. “I meet with a lot of teams. A lot of teams come out, work you out. The Commanders were one of the teams that came and did a private workout with me.”

So, come Saturday, Day 3 of the NFL draft, Lane found himself at home in South Carolina with family and friends, waiting to see who would call him. 127 names had been called when the phone rang for Lane. It was the Commanders’ GM Adam Peters.

“When they called, I was ecstatic, you know, extremely happy,” Lane said. “I am ready to get to work.”

When Paulsen shared that he had seen sites online that Lane is really only listed at 5-foot-8, Lane was quick to respond that he was actually 5-foot-10. Reports are that he was measured at 5-9 3/4 inches tall.

Lane was quick to inform listeners that he has worked both inside in the slot and outside as a receiver, referring to himself as “very versatile.”

[I]t’s not hard to imagine that Lane will be used with quick screens in the Kliff Kingsbury offense that attempted to get the ball quickly to Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus last year. This allowed Brown and Zaccheaus to use their quickness and agility to advance the ball. Lane has more speed than both departed receivers.

Podcasts & videos

2025 NFL Schedule Breakdown & Betting Guide | Sharp Football Show with Warren Sharp

Dreams into Reality | Watch as GM Adam Peters Calls All of Our Commanders NFL Draft Picks

NFC East links

Crossing Broad

Farcical Commanders Lovefest Continues with Washington Being Awarded the 2027 NFL Draft

Here’s the other thing, are you getting sick of this Washington Commanders lovefest? I am. They’re getting all of this publicity and praise for simply not being terrible, for finding a franchise quarterback after like 30 years of stinking up the NFC East. Oh boy, they had a good season for the first time since the first George Bush was in office! Josh Harris hired some people who aren’t idiots! They’re replacing their crappy husk of a stadium with something modern!

Don’t get me wrong, these are all good things, and finally being challenged by the Commies in the division is refreshing, but you and I could have done this. You and I could have stumbled into Jayden Daniels with the 2nd overall pick and fired everyone from the previous regime. We could have brought in the 49ers assistant GM and hired a retread coach. It’s less about how amazing Josh Harris is and more about how completely inept Dan Snyder was. But these people haven’t seen winning football in ages, which means the bar was placed lower than it’s ever been. The bar was basically laying on the ground. All you had to do to clear the bar is have half a brain and a pulse. It’s kind of like that Chris Rock skit where he talks about people taking credit for “shit they’re supposed to do.”

have you noticed that Commies fans are really bad at social media? They got their rear ends kicked in the NFCCG and then watched the Eagles smoke the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. What did they come back with? They talked about fleecing the Birds in the Jahan Dotson trade. Talk about reaching. They’ve been so irrelevant for so long that they don’t know how to banter. It’s sad!

Pro Football Rumors

Cowboys Expected To Be Cautious With Dak Prescott During OTAs

Prescott claimed last month that he was already healthy enough to play in a game, and this followed earlier reports that the quarterback would likely be ready to go for May practices. The veteran underwent surgery for a partial avulsion of his hamstring tendon in November, so the expedited timeline wasn’t completely unfounded.

Entering the first year of a four-year, $240MM extension signed last September, Prescott and the Cowboys are naturally being cautious with his return to the field. In addition to protecting the asset, there are some other positives to limiting the player’s practice reps.

As Machota notes, there should be more opportunities for Joe Milton to get acclimated with his new team during those early practices. The 2024 sixth-round pick was traded from the Patriots to the Cowboys last month, and after mostly serving as a third-string QB as a rookie, Milton will now enter his sophomore season as Prescott’s primary backup.

Discussion topics

Sports Illustrated

NFL Takeaways: Pump the Brakes on Arch Manning’s 2026 Draft Hype

Manning got into two games during his redshirt season, throwing a total of five passes and logging three carries, all of which accounted for 37 yards. Last year, he flashed, starting two games, getting into 10 and completing 61-of-90 passes for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two picks. He also ran for 108 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries, punctuated by a 67-yard touchdown run against UTSA.

I get it. Everyone’s excited. You should be. It’s a great story.

But, for now, for NFL teams, that’s really all it is. There’s not anywhere near enough to go on to know whether he’ll be a top-five pick or a fifth-rounder down the line. Lots of folks thought Quinn Ewers, whom Manning is succeeding at Texas, was destined to be a first-round pick when he became Texas’s starter in 2022. He went in the seventh round.

“What are we looking at? You’d like to watch a quarterback in double-digit games to really evaluate them. … At other positions, you might get a feel after watching four games and have a good idea of who a guy is. The quarterback position is much different, it requires a much larger bank of film. You want to see him against a variety of different looks. In college, the talent is not as concentrated, so you want to see him against an Alabama or a Georgia.”

In other words, you want to see him after defenses start to game plan for him, and against teams that won’t be overwhelmed by Texas’s array of stars—his two starts last year were against Mississippi State, which went 0–8 in the SEC, and UTSA. Ideally, teams want college quarterbacks to have at least 25 starts, so the volume of things they’ve seen is large enough to get a full assessment.

“You just don’t know until they’re really playing,” said another AFC college scouting director. “Right now, the body of work is too small. We’ve seen big guys with talent, the tools, the arm, that don’t know how to process, and don’t have the accuracy to all levels of the field consistently enough. What we have on [Manning] isn’t nearly enough. You could guess, but that’s really all you’ll be doing—guessing.”

So keep putting Manning first in your 2026 mocks if you want. And I’ll keep thinking it’s way more likely we see him in ’27 or ’28.

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