A lot of people LOVE the pick the Commanders made, but do YOU think they could have done better?
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00:00Jeremiah, NFL Network's draft coverage last night, talking Josh Connerly Jr.
00:05That's your new starting right tackle for the Commanders after he was taken at the end of the first round.
00:10I say that, but I'm sure they'll tell you he's going to have to compete and win the job, and maybe that's true.
00:15But you don't take him where they took him if you don't think he can start over Andrew Wiley.
00:19The show is live today out and about.
00:21It's a Friday field trip, and we are at Pupitella Pizza in Chantilly.
00:25There are 11 locations all over Virginia.
00:28They're also now in Columbia, Maryland, as well.
00:31This is a wonderful spot, delicious Neapolitan Pizza.
00:35They've got happy hour specials running all show long, so come on out right off Route 50 in Chantilly.
00:41Pupitella Pizza, serving the real MVP of flavor with authentic, delicious, hat-trick-worthy Neapolitan Pizzas.
00:47They're Caps fans, too.
00:48People are rocking their red and rocking their gear in here that are working today,
00:52and they're excited for Game 3 tonight, as are we.
00:56But the phones are open for you right now.
00:57800-636-1067.
01:00What did you make of the Connerly pick that, for the first time in show history, and I mean this,
01:05in the six weeks leading up to the draft, you and I talk about the draft almost every single day.
01:09Not one time did either of us speculate that this could be the pick,
01:13and not one of our guests did as well.
01:16I don't want to say it was out of nowhere because he was a first-round caliber tackle.
01:20It's a position where they could stand to get better.
01:22But we just had our eyes on different things, and honestly, I'm beating myself up a little bit for not at some point thinking maybe he could have been the guy.
01:30Grant, it never occurred to me.
01:32It didn't occur to you.
01:33I don't think it occurred to most of our hosts or any analysts that we had on.
01:37So, I think for me, my own personal thought process was, that's Coleman's gig, right?
01:42He was a left tackle, he was a rookie, he was a third-round pick.
01:46They said, you know what, we need to upgrade there.
01:48Let's go get Laramie Tunsil.
01:49You're right.
01:50And then Coleman's the right tackle.
01:51That was in my brain.
01:52Because last year, Brandon Coleman played left tackle, and it was not bad.
01:57I don't think so.
01:57I think you watched him and you said, you could do better, and maybe you should try to do better.
02:01And by the way, they did in a big way with Laramie Tunsil.
02:03Now, maybe before Laramie Tunsil, maybe the better is Coleman playing better, going into the role.
02:07Okay, fine.
02:08So, in my brain, I went, okay, they've upgraded really three spots potentially, or two spots at a minimum, just by making one move.
02:16A.K., your right tackle is better now.
02:18Presumably, Coleman in year two will be there transplanting Andrew Wiley, who's now going to be inside,
02:22and whoever is going to start there until Cosby comes back, hopefully gets a seedlix underneath him.
02:27Now, you've upgraded three spots.
02:29And that was in my brain.
02:30And that's why it never occurred.
02:31Wiley's a two-year starter, and they opted to keep him.
02:35There was a thought.
02:36Remember, they could have saved a lot of money by cutting him.
02:38So, when they made that decision, in my mind, I went, okay, Andrew Wiley's their starting right tackle.
02:43Then they moved Brandon Coleman off left tackle when they went and got Laramie Tunsil,
02:46and they said immediately he was going to compete on the right side.
02:50They didn't say tackle.
02:51They just said the right side.
02:52We all assumed that meant him versus Wiley.
02:55He probably beats him out.
02:56So, I'm looking at a competition, two guys for that spot, better situation than you've even had the last couple of years.
03:03But it's going from a five to a six.
03:06And they said, what if we had an eight out of ten at right tackle?
03:09So, it all makes sense.
03:10Your number one asset is Jaden Daniels.
03:12Every decision you make as an organization, if it starts with, does this help Jaden Daniels?
03:17It's probably the right way to operate.
03:19And I feel good about the end result, even if we didn't see it coming.
03:23But let's see what you guys think.
03:24Mike is in McLean, home of the Highlanders.
03:26What's up, Mike?
03:27How are you?
03:28Grant and Dave, how are we doing today?
03:31Dave.
03:31How are you on the day after they took a tackle and nobody thought they would?
03:35Dave.
03:35Dave.
03:36Dave.
03:36Dave.
03:38Love the pick.
03:39I can't – we live in a copycat league.
03:44And what the Redskins and the commanders have done to combat the Eagles is with their incredible defensive line,
03:53we saw what they did to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
03:56This is a long-term investment to protect Jaden Daniels.
04:01As we've seen, the offensive line can never be deep enough.
04:04You go get a big, angry dude to block Jaden Daniels backside and frontside for years to come.
04:11Great pick.
04:12Thrilled about it.
04:13Thanks, buddy.
04:14So I brought this up in the first segment.
04:16I want to circle back to it for a second based on this call.
04:1911% of their schedule is played against Philadelphia, right?
04:23Two of 17.
04:2511 more percent is played against the New York Giants.
04:28And, yes, everyone focuses on the Eagles, and I understand that because they're the team you're chasing.
04:33They're the bully.
04:34They're the team you're trying to catch.
04:35So you do need to compare yourself to them.
04:37They're the measuring stick.
04:39But the Giants might actually have a better-built defensive line right now than the Eagles.
04:43And the Eagles is awesome.
04:45But the Giants have Dexter Lawrence, who might be the best D-tackle in football.
04:49They have Brian Burns, who is potentially any given year a 12-16 sack-type player on the edge.
04:55And they just drafted Abdul Carter, who I think could ultimately be an all-pro and maybe even mess around and get DPLI votes in the next few seasons.
05:02Remember, Thibodeau has eaten their lunch a couple times over the show.
05:04That's a good point.
05:05I'm not even thinking about Thibodeau, who they said yesterday will get a fifth-year contract.
05:08He's just okay, but for some reason he dominates Washington.
05:11He's beaten up Charles Leno pretty good over the years as a speed rusher.
05:14But you're right.
05:14He's a good player.
05:15So my point is the Giants, they're not a good team.
05:17They're loaded on the D-line.
05:19The Eagles are very good at that area as well.
05:21And the Cowboys, not so much, but Micah Parsons is the best player in the division that you deal with maybe on either side of the ball.
05:28And they can just move him.
05:29They do all the time.
05:30He lines up on one side.
05:32Now he's over the center.
05:33Now he's on the other side.
05:34They could go him against Wiley.
05:35So I don't know how much of a factor Carter getting picked last night was, but I think we'd be naive if we didn't say that the division being absolutely stacked on the D-line,
05:46all three of your opponents, and that's now six of 17.
05:50So add that up, that is 35% of your schedule in the division and your most important games.
05:56Yeah, you sure as heck better feel really good about both tackles.
05:59Yeah, I think that's a big first part of this stoop that we're making here, which led to that pick.
06:05I think the second part is what happened this past year, I had as much fun as anybody did.
06:10I saw the Hail Mary.
06:11I saw the fourth and whatever's.
06:14I saw the third down and one where he escapes the grasp of a Tampa Bay defender, dives for a first down.
06:20I saw a team playing ball control without being able to run the football down the stretch, too.
06:24I watched it.
06:24I had a great time.
06:25Daniels is special.
06:26He is it.
06:27This is the thing that we've been searching for since Joe Theismann broke his leg.
06:32The point is it doesn't get easier.
06:34Everybody sort of assumes, like, oh, he'll just keep getting better.
06:37The league adjusts.
06:38The league figures out.
06:39The league has now studied every play that Cliff Kingsbury called who, what, where, when, why, and how.
06:43You need better personnel.
06:44They got away with some stuff last year.
06:46Key touchdown moments, respectively, to guys like Olamide Zaccheaus and Jamison Crowder who were available at any time for anybody to sign for a reason, right?
06:56You do this because you need the upgrades.
06:57You need to be able to say, we don't want to get away with something.
07:01We want to accentuate his strength, and that's why they did it.
07:03I'm also not sure there was another pick to be made that would have affected more positions positively.
07:10So, in other words, you fix right tackle, right?
07:13By fixing right tackle, now both of the guys that were competing there could end up starting at guard in week one.
07:18And if that's the case, then you also upgraded at left guard and right guard.
07:21So, you're talking about 60% of your line that was directly affected by that pick.
07:26Elijah's in D.C. on Grant and Danny.
07:28What did you think of Connerly?
07:29I think it's a great pick, and I think it's a great time to get that cat.
07:36Having Lermy come to here as a bit of a guide on what it's like being in the NFL and being a first-round talent,
07:44I think they do a real good job pairing vets with young guys.
07:48Even they got McGee here last year.
07:50It doesn't matter where they get you.
07:52And they paired him, obviously, with Bobby Wagner.
07:55And, you know, having Brandon Coleman being a rookie last year, he can also talk to him like,
07:59yo, this is what I learned from being a rookie because it was fresh in his mind versus a lot of these vets.
08:04You know, they were working years ago.
08:06So, I think it's a good place for him to talk to, you know, some young cats, talk to the older vets,
08:11so he can build his chops.
08:14And I think it's going to be good for the team.
08:17One thing I'm really excited about is his measurables.
08:22When you look at this, his ability to just move it faster, his cat can move.
08:27So, you've got to think of some of these plays where his ability shines or where it would potentially look good at.
08:35Think about how often they run screens, to your point.
08:38Yeah, screens.
08:39Get him out in space.
08:39Oh, my goodness.
08:41Appreciate the phone call.
08:41It's a really astute point about Tunsell, who's a five-time Pro Bowler, who is 31 years older.
08:46He will be this football season.
08:47He's 30 right now.
08:49But, just as someone who you bring in here and now, everything Laramie Tunsell does,
08:54you're going to ask Josh Connerly to do.
08:56See him?
08:57That guy's one of the best in the league of his position, has had a Pro Bowl career.
09:02Follow him.
09:03If he wants to answer questions, even better.
09:05If he doesn't, that's okay, too.
09:07Everything he does, you do.
09:09Be in his back pocket.
09:10And he's right.
09:11They have done a really good job.
09:12Think about the relationship between, even on different sides of the ball, Bobby Wagner and Jaden Daniels.
09:16The marriage and the rapport between the vets and the kids is a cool point.
09:21Chris in Hyattsville.
09:22You're on Grant and Danny.
09:23We're at Pupatella Pizza in Chantilly off Route 50.
09:26How are you?
09:28I'm good.
09:28I'm just thankful that you guys don't recall any of my mean tweet from 10, 15 years ago.
09:37Investigation might be forthcoming.
09:38I've gotten into it with Chris on Twitter a time or two.
09:40That's true.
09:41He is the tact of a sledgehammer, this guy.
09:46So this is what I think, right?
09:48I think that...
09:49Anyway.
09:51Any hoodles.
09:54Success is boring, right?
09:57And this is what it must feel like, I think.
10:00This draft is what it's like to be a Ravens fan every year or a Steelers fan or a Packers fan.
10:05Teams that are perennially successful in the playoffs, that pick late in the draft, there's less buzz, there's less excitement, and also there's more uncertainty.
10:13Because for the last 25 years, the draft has been the highlight of the season for this franchise.
10:20So there's so much interest.
10:22We always went big and tried to draft an immediate solution instead of trusting our process.
10:28Now we have a general manager.
10:30I feel like this is going to be routine where they're going to dig where we think they should zag.
10:37We're not going to know exactly what they're doing, but we will trust them because the process will produce results.
10:43And often it's very boring.
10:44That's actually such a good point in that...
10:47Thanks for the call, Chris.
10:49Like, yesterday felt, as I'm thinking about how to word this, it was not sexy or that fun, but smart.
10:59Yep.
11:00You know what I mean?
11:01It was not what anybody, like, wanted, but maybe it's what you needed.
11:05Batman style or something?
11:06Like, it was just...
11:08You look at it and you go, oh, yeah, that makes sense.
11:10But it wasn't a thing everyone was talking about.
11:12And to his point, I think what he's saying is, that's probably a sign that a good team did a good team thing.
11:19Yeah, that it's matured.
11:20I mean, his Ravens point is 100% right.
11:22Like, Ravens, for example, last night drafted Malachi Starks.
11:26And as soon as they did, I went, oh, yeah, that's them.
11:28Of course.
11:28Of course it fits, right?
11:30Now you may not necessarily have had the cornerback there that you maybe want or needed.
11:35So let's pair him with Kyle Hamilton to have a really dynamic safety core.
11:38Of course, that's a really smart pick.
11:40It feels like that's what they do every year.
11:41That's not the, they drafted this sexy thing or this big trade or whatever.
11:45Just a normal, competent, boring at times, efficient pick.
11:49I'll see you at 12 wins again.