Fixing the Commanders' D: With Bram Weinstein and Ben Standig

Hello and welcome to my podcast. Do me a favor, subscribe to the John Comrie Port wherever

you get your podcasts, see if you're watching on YouTube hit that like button, hit that subscribe

button, you can find a serious part of ampire media, ampire, ampire e, always much appreciated

when you tune it. Don't forget you can read my work on ESPN.com, I'll have a story up at Thursday

or Friday about the commanders and free and see about, basically, they're going to be very aggressive

folks and so, you know, just buckle up for that. So that'll be out next couple days. In a minute,

I'm going to be joined by Ben Standing from the last man standing podcast, of course, as well as

his sub-stack and then brand wine sign, the voice commanders. Now, all three of us do stuff for

ampire media. So we do, we're doing a little like trilogy this week where on yesterday, it was,

we had the three of us appeared on Ben's podcast where we discussed the commanders and the offense.

Today, we're going to be talking about the commanders and their defense, of course, the commanders.

We're talking about the defense and just some stuff about kind of where they're at, where things

are at, you know, talking about the new coordinator, but also what they should do in Frazier, etc.

And then on the next day, it'll be on Bram's podcast, kind of a state-of-the-union of the commander.

So stay tuned for all that. But before I get there, a couple of things before I just started

recording this, they resigned Shai Tuttle, defensive lineman, but also defensive end detrich-wise.

So that was, you know, I had mentioned the other day on the podcast that I thought he was that

when I was talking about guys who are coming, who could be coming or going, I mentioned him as one

who I thought would be sticking around. So now he is. I think that's, I think that's a fine

signing. It will not stop them from going after other defensive ends. Period. End of sentence.

They know that you cannot go out there and say, hey, you got detrich-wise back, you got dormant

job. So I'm going to be healthy. Let's run the gang back. They know that these are, you have to

get to 90 somehow, folks. And they also had said that they're going to, while they're going to be

aggressive going after people. And I'm going to be talking about that another podcast. My next

podcast will be talking about them in free and see kind of playing off my article for ESPN.com

but going a little bit more depth. But they're not, they can't just go out and sign

everybody to three-year deals. You need the guys with one years. That's Tuttle. That's detrich-wise.

But why is they like because he was in the first couple of games when he played in the minimum,

in the minimal time he did play, they liked what they saw. But he again, good in the locker room

and a guy that can help them in a role. But they're, again, not, they're not done there,

not even close. So if you're worried about that. But anyways, and he was, he's stowed against

one. But so they got those two things done. They're going to get a lot more done. I do think like,

I know they've had talks with Jacob Martin. So another guy that I think that I have thought would

come back, you know, but we'll see what happens there. So don't have a whole lot else. Like I

said, I will be back on Thursday night slash Friday with another episode talking about their

free agency. I hope to have possibly another episode over the weekend getting you ready for,

even more for free agency. Depending if I can line up the one guest or not, free agency really

kind of begins on Monday at noon. Now that's the legal tampering period. We all know that that is

when stuff starts to happen. That's when they agreed to deals. Amazingly at 12-1 despite no tampering

before that, people are going to be going to the deals. How does that happen? Oh man, I can't

figure that out. Anyways, and then the new league, the new league year begins on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

So stay tuned for all that. And the commanders are in a good spot with the salary kept, but they do

have a lot of players to suck. That's it for me. Here is my little round here is the little round table

discussion with Bram Weinstein and Ben Standing. Enjoy.

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All right, so this is part two of our little trilogy. And in part one, Ben destroyed my podcast by

saying don't touch the defense. Ben thinks the defense is perfect. Is that accurate, Ben?

I actually think it's the opposite. I'm saying it's so bad. You might as well spend on the offense

because at least I think there's a pulse there. Well, so then let me ask you let's start with this

like what would you do then? Because again, just kidding aside, Ben's point was in the first one.

Hey, both of the offense, you're strong there. You could make it great. Make one side of

I'm paraphrasing Ben. If Ben had said it like this, it'd have been fantastic. But make one side of

the ball great, right? And then get to the other side later. But what would you do on defense?

And what would be your priorities on defense to fix this group? Because they do need bodies.

Yeah, I mean, I think something more akin to what happened in year one. I mean, it's not like the

first year was like loaded with defense. They, you know, they signed Armstrong and Lou Vue, but those

weren't like huge deals. And I know they still had John Allen at that point. But, you know, the

secondary was such a mess that they had to go make the ladder more trade. So I think it's like if you

build up the depth and like have enough competency, I think that can work. The other thing is,

and I think to me, this was the most disappointing thing about last season, we get all the injuries,

we get they needed more talent. But I was hoping that the coaching staff would be able to

do what they do and hide some of the deficiencies. It just never seemed to materialize,

especially during that stretch when they lost four games in a row by 20 or more points. So again,

Durante Jones, we don't know, but I'm hopeful. And if he's able to help mask that by putting

guys in whatever better positions or maybe creating more turnovers with all these blitzes,

then again, I'm not saying that would get you to a top 10 defense. But does it get you to the

point where you're at least more competitive? Even last year, I think if they just been a little

more competitive, they could have won a few more games. So I think they need to stud on defense.

That I would look for the seventh pick to try to provide that. But yeah, I think I would focus

like more. They did in 24 build up the bottom and try to go that way and spend on offense because

that's where I think they have real shot to push to move the needle. You know, it's really interesting

about it. John, after last year, like I kind of felt like this off season was the one where they

were going to have to choose that. But they kind of did it last year. Didn't they? They acquired

Laramie Tunsell. They acquired Debo Samuel. That wasn't all in move on the offense. And it just

didn't unfortunately work out for them. Terry's hold in slash injury, Noah Brown's injury,

Jaden getting injured eight trillion times during the course of the season, neutered the offense.

And then we didn't know, we didn't know schematically about how they were having some differences

of opinions about what they and how they wanted to run all that and that kind of came out. But

didn't they do this a year ago? Like like acquiring Laramie Tunsell and Debo Samuel is signaling

that you're going in on that side of the ball. It just unfortunately didn't work out for them.

Well, I guess the other thing too is what's your love? Because if you take that approach and let's

say you invest heavily more on the O and you go defensive seven, well, you're getting one player

there. But even if it's a pass or something, those guys take time to develop, right? You're not

coming in here. You want the instant impact. It's going to come more from free agency. And I know,

like I don't, I think people who listen to this know I'm not a big believer in just chasing big

names, but there are names available who make sense here. So I guess the other part to that point,

though, you still need to be competitive in this side of the ball. Do you feel the coaching

will be improved enough? The system improved enough? And are there guys on this roster that you

think that we'd be better in this system? Maybe? And you can say like, Hey, it was a function of

last year versus where they're at. Like, is there enough there to then maybe take a step without

having to get a ton of outside help? Oh, I don't they definitely have to get a lot more bodies.

I just a matter of, are you going for the top shelf? Are you going for the literature? It's like,

I think another thing that's been interesting that we haven't at least I haven't talked about as

much here is that we talk about Adam Peters finding the draft guys. Okay. Cool. There are also

diamonds in the rough all over the league. And last year, I don't feel like they did enough of that.

I go out and find, you know, signs of 25 year old who hasn't been playing much on somebody's team

and see if you can make that guy become all of a sudden a more valuable piece. It doesn't always

have to be the highest price guy. Obviously, they need to start in cornerback one where the other

outside of the slot, depending on Saint or so. They probably need at least two more linebackers.

I'm not going to guess Bobby Wagner's not back, but we'll see. And defensive fans, they don't have

anybody, right? I mean, they've got to get the only guy they have is coming off an ACL surgery. So

they're going to have to go get more guys. But like I said, I'm not and I haven't even gotten to

like depth like they have so many holes on defense. I just don't think they can realistically fix it

enough. But this is where the coaching is going to be the huge component. If the coaches can

mask enough that they could like, you know, I pointed to this, we all thought that the defensive

were largely terrible under Rivera. They were top 10 two years or four years under Del Rio. And it

wasn't like that talent was all that. I know they had the line, but we also saw those guys play.

They weren't always killing it. So you can do it with coaching, but I think that's going to be

a huge key to this. Yeah, there's a lot of ways to skin the catch up. Like I just looked up like

who are the regular season leaders in offense? I have the top five. And that's by total yards. I

think it's a little bit deceiving sometimes. But it often, you know, is an indicator of who had

the best seasons. The Rams were number one. The Rams have Matthew Stafford Pukin-Daku's all-time

late round draft pick. It's turned into potentially all the fame talent the way his career has

started. They added Devonte Adams. Kyron Leams is very good. Nobody's calling him a Sequoan Barclay.

You know, no one's calling him Christian McCaffrey. Their tight end really developed. But nobody's

calling him Prime Travis Kelsey. You know, it's interesting. Like Dallas had a tremendous season.

They were number two in the NFL. Daku was healthy. They brought in George Pickens.

The Patriots were three. The Patriots. Okay, this is Drake May. Well, I actually thought

people talked about having a better year than he did. If you actually go look at his numbers,

but they were number three in offense. They had young running backs. They spent on the offensive line.

Diggs is in, you know, by name their best receiver. The rest of it isn't any great shakes.

No one's screaming and yelling. That's the greatest receiving core ever. The bills are four. That's

Josh Allen. They actually were a more run first team than they've actually been. And a long time

James Cook had a tremendous season for them. So it's interesting when you say like go in all in

on offense. Like I look at some of these teams that I go, they kind of didn't do that. Actually,

the cowboys you could argue did by acquiring Pickens. But the, and I guess you could somewhat say

the Rams did with Adams, but most of it is kind of homegrown the way that they did it.

The bills have actually shifted the way that they do their offensive. People complain they had

no receivers there. And the Patriots, I don't think you look at that and you go, that's an

all-star cast running around out there. So there's a lot of ways to go about it. I think the

defense needs to be addressed because I don't think they have enough impact players period,

like period. And I don't think that they can be competitive. They want to be competitive until

they bring that floor way up from where they are. And so I'm all for getting one side of the ball

to try to be dominant. But if the other side is ranking bottom third because of a talent deficiency,

I don't see how you win. So I think that they need to go defensively here.

Well, I also think to that point too is you need guys who can make plays. Like they don't have,

you know, Mikey is going to pick it off passing all that. But he's got a bounce back from

a tough year. But like they don't have enough guys who create and make plays. I think that's

what they need to get. Who would be, all right, Ben? So like if you don't want to, you don't want

to shop at the top of the market here. Who are like, what are some level of players that you'd say,

like these guys would be good to add to what you're saying. And the other problem is too,

I'm looking at offense. Who are the high price guys that you would go get instead?

We should also remember because I don't know if we've mentioned it so far. Jade only has so much

time left on his rookie deal. Once that deal is over, the reason the bills can't go all in on

some stuff is because Jack Allen makes a billion dollars. Same thing with the chief, same thing with

Dallas to a degree now. So there's that. But in terms of like defense, there's a bunch of like

mid 20 something year old guys like boy, Mafe. I have keep blowing. I have to say his name,

Akete from the Falcons away with the chargers. I mean, look, they're all going to get money because

defensive ends get paid. But they're not going to get paid as much as like a Trey Henderson. And maybe

and there's still some upside there. It's me. It's like everywhere I can find speed and upside.

I'm going to look there and and you know, like you talked about on offense, it doesn't have to be

a star. I get receiver like Deonby Brown and Alameda Zacchaeus were not stars and neither was

Noah Brown. But they were effective. One guy was tall. One guy was fast guy was versatile.

They didn't have that last year. So like just if you get the players with the certain skills,

you don't have to spend the big money. But what's the plan? So either way, defensive. Yeah, I think

some of those young pass rushers could could work. And there's undervalued guys that most of us don't

know a ton about. I think Traylon Hawkins is the safety of someone that I think could could make

some sense. But yeah, I just don't think it's like. Yeah, I don't know. I think that's to me,

like I said, I just don't know no matter what they do. They're going to get enough on defense. And I

would try to take a defensive player at seven because they got to have this one attempt at a stud.

But I actually spend like some of those guys you named, I think they're good players for them. So

I think they, you know, they need to be very helpful for them. Sure. If you get a healthy Doran's

Armstrong back too, who is having a terrific year before he got hurt. So like those guys would

make sense. Brad, like, I mean, I know one guy that I know you would love. But who are, give me two

guys that you would want to add on defense this off season? Well, I don't think they have a choice

but to go spend premium money on an ed rusher. And if I'm going to do it, and I know he's had

injuries in the past, but I'm taking a big swing of jail and Phillips personally, if he's going to

end up being on the open market, which I think is going to happen. I love Tray Anderson, but he's on

the other side of 30. And if the market is going to command like a five year deal for him, and I know

it's funny money when you get to the back end of these things. But like, I don't, I want somebody that

I think I'm going to, if I'm going to do this, I want somebody who I think is going to be here

and productive for at least three or four of those years, or at least attempt to. And so I like

Maffe. I'm more inclined to take a run at Phillips personally and see, you know, if you're going to

take the big swing as he's going to get a big contract, then that's probably the person I would

earmark. And I think they need another corner. Um, so I like a lot of Taylor of the saints. I

want to know what the number is going to be on him. I know that some of his metrics have been

weighed down the last couple of years. I'd like to know how much that has to do with record and

competitiveness of the team as a whole, but like I just kind of like his skill set long lean

fast can get to the ball catches the ball. I like him. Um, you know, other than that, I want to hear

what Durante Jones thinks of Nishon Wright from Chicago, having, you know, coached against him for

a couple of years. He would be available. So, but I do think they need another starting outside

corner. Um, I like the idea. I know by the end of the year, the Dan Quinn was talking a lot about

Mike Sanders still might just be better on the outside. We need him on the field. He's going to be

a starter, but I still think he's prototypically in the slot. I think that he's the type of player.

It can be very versatile in a very diverse defense that allows him to blitz at times be kind of

in the mix. He's that kind of physical player and maybe a different scheme works better for him

in what would be the natural position where they thought he was going to be a star, which is in the

center of the field, a movable part that can be a difference maker. So I think they have to go get

another corner and I think Taylor or Wright, to me are the ones that really stand out. I expect

him to spend money. So I expect a high priced for the agent defensive end, Maffe or Phillips.

And I expect a high priced corner. Uh, Alante Taylor, maybe Watson, maybe Wright.

Well, I was saying just to piggyback off of that. So let's just say they do that. How much how much

that better is his defense? Like they still need so many other things. That's my only point. I agree

that he said, but they would still, what are they doing at linebacker?

You know, they spent for Milton Williams and Roberts Blaine and like look what happened. Like they

actually had a like that was like, we talked about earlier like how their offense might have been a

little bit of a mirage, you know, to like to have the rankings. They didn't go as far as they did.

I bought the variable defense last year and they were high high spenders. And I was one, I'm not

going to, you know, like walk this back. I said last year, like I think Milton Williams is a good

player, but I wouldn't spend 28 million a year or whatever the number is on him. He turned out

to be fantastic for them. So, you know, they spend more money than any, didn't they spend more money

than any team in history for years? Yes. And I would say to the point about Milton Williams,

that's the kind of guy you want to try and get a guy who's on the ascending and you're paying

for it, who had like, he had had good production, but he hadn't been a full-time starter until like

now and was, but it was showed enough in spurts. Can you find that guy? Does that guy exist in

free agency this year? And so, you know, that's, that's always a tricky part. But with the tailor,

if you get a lot to tailor, he plays inside too. Now you can have two guys who can play inside.

If you have Mikey, because like, you talk to people there. Some people say inside,

some people say outside, plays a good vision, but now you have some more flexibility. It may be

maneuver a little bit based on matchups because of those two. But, you know, it's funny because

also with these, some of these defensive players we're talking about, they're like, okay, like,

away from, with the charges. Hey, great finish, but where was the production before? You know,

a lot to tailor, really good year last year, but the year before missed a lot of tackles,

not up and down, right? Like, are these ascending? Or, you know what I mean? Like, that's,

that's going to be the hard part with frames. He is like knowing which is the guy. Like, who is

this guy now? Is he this this the year? Or what? Like, that's all the other, you know, the other

interesting one too, I think now that like Minnesota is put out there, the Jonathan Grinard's going to

be available and in all likelihood is going to be released. You know, like, if that's the case,

like that, that feels like a no brainer. The coach knows him worked with him. It's the clear

position of need. Um, and I listen, I am not, and I think we all agree on this. Even if they go

and spend money at Ed rusher, I don't think that prohibits them one bit from taking one of the

premier ones that they end up at number seven. I don't think they could have enough of it. Like,

they could use two, frankly, go look at Seattle. They had five. Like, this team could use two for sure.

Man, never have enough of it. And again, I always say don't sound strong in the mix, but you still,

like, if you have it, I think what you, the goal and frame, see, is put yourself in a position to

take whoever you want at number seven, not what you feel like you need, um, for sure. So what,

what about with Grinard? Like, would you trade for him? I'm not. I'm not trading for

short races. I don't think John, like, I just, I don't, you know, no, I guess the answer is no.

Man, you had a, I think you thought you had a funny line because you smiled, would you say?

Well, I just said I wouldn't trade for Jerry rice with a, with a few amount of picks they have.

I mean, you just like, you know, I look, if you want to become the George Allen situation and

we're the old over the hill gang, cool, but that then go all in on that. But no, I, I would not

trade for Grinard or pretty much anybody at this point. I would maybe trade down out of one,

but I wouldn't trade stuff. Yeah, I, I would not trade for him, but I certainly, if he's free,

I mean, kind of makes a lot of sense. Yeah, that's totally different. Yes. Is there anybody on

the defense that you say, like, I'm anxious to see how this guy does, like, whether for bounce back

or for fit, like, who's the guy on defense? You say, like, maybe more people should be talking about

this person going forward or maybe this guy will have a bounce back year because of this.

Frankie Louvoo. Frankie Louvoo. Like Frankie Louvoo had a down year. Like, I thought Frankie Louvoo was

going to lead the team in sacks. I thought he was going to excel with this kind of amoeba-esque

large defensive line that they were going to put in front of him. And it just did not pan out at

all. And I want to redo with him. I know what kind of, I know his personality. I know the energy

brings. I know what he means in the locker room. And I know the talent he has. And I want to see

him in a defense where maybe they can mask where he is supposed to be and give him some

opportunities. I'm hoping for a big bounce back from Frankie Louvoo this year.

I think I would probably say, Jordan McGee. I mean, one way or the other, he's going to be playing.

And I know we played some last year, but bigger role. But the question I sort of have, like,

this isn't about Johnny Newton. But this is sort of the weird thing with his defense. I would say,

I think you guys would agree that the strength of the defense right now today is the defensive tackle

group, right? Pain, Ken Law, Newton, Fair. Yeah. Who's the nose tackled? Like, do they have one?

Because if they have to, that doesn't exist. Right. So like, this one comes out like even in the

position of strength, if they play three, four, however much percentage of the time, they don't even have,

like, or can those guys all play? I mean, I think the answer is probably no. So, you know, even a

strength right now, someone of a strength is limited. The upside is limited because they don't have

something that they need. And that's why, like, I don't know if Johnny Newton can't do it. He's

obviously too light. Ken Law, that's not him. I don't think pain's going to want to do that.

So the funny thing with pain with it is before he would play it, he's played the nose, right?

Some of those in some of the looks. And then when they bring someone else in, they say,

oh, it can free up pain from not having to do that. And now you hear like, oh, well, pain can do

it. Like, so what is it? So you're right. Like, you know, do you bring in any golden back?

When a contract here is paying, I mean, who knows what he's going to do, but does he

don't want to put a nose where he's absorbing punishment versus getting 11 sacks like he did the

last time we had a contract here? No. And it depends on like, what are you like, like, style of

a three, four, what are you asking them to do within that, within that defense that can maybe

unlock something more in him. But I am curious to see, you know, what, what the impact is on like,

or the impact of Jordan McGee playing more, like, we see the energy, see the speed. And then

does Johnny Newton take a step, you know, and I think the other one is Sarah still like,

Sarah still had was, I mean, I know people want to cross Latin one. That's fine. But Mikey did not

play well. But I think down the stretch, he was better. I think when you're using with the vision,

he's better. But he's got to have a bounce back here. And what does it look like if though,

if all those guys ascend, now you have that 2024 class making a mark that you need it to make,

like whether or not they get there, but that's what you need. Depth aside, if I tell you that

they've moved Juan Martin from free safety to Nickel, which is I think where a lot of people thought

he might play when he came in. Sandra still goes outside and you draft Caleb Downs and you still

have Will Harris Jeremy Reeves there. How much better if it all is that then where they were a year

ago? Well, that that that begins and ends with they signed edge rushers in free agency. Sure,

begins it like that. I get that. To have that scenario, that's assumed. Well, that scenario doesn't

cost them any money throughout the whole cost them with the seventh pick. So it's like, you can be

really good on the back end. If you can't get pressure, you can't win. So like, like, so the reality

is like on that scenario, I'm all for that. And I actually think that that is a possibility.

But that is assumed that one of those major, if not two major upfront players, edge rushers

specifically have been signed by this team. And I think to that point, like definitely an edge rusher

and then if you somehow got Caleb Downs, I'd want another corner in free agency because like,

you know, you're right, like, you cannot, you want the pressure upfront. But when you watch like

Minnesota's defense the way they are in the defensive secondary and how versatile they are within

they make things look the same and it's different within that structure. So you need smart players.

And so Downs would fit very well. I think, you know, if you get a good corner like that now, and with

Mike, you get some versatility, that then helps the pass rush. And that's what it's always as we know.

Like in the off season, it's always like, well, one, you know, it's this group, this group helps that

group or this group does that. And it's all working together. And it always sounds good in April,

May, June, July, it's got to look good in September and October.

Well, can I ask Mr. Ohio State, it's possible sunny styles or Caleb Downs are going by seven,

but they'd need both of those spots. And I know that styles is blew up. It's a common,

but you watch them intently. Which one would you think is a better fit for what these guys need

right now? I think I'm a big believer in bolstering that front seven. So, and I know like with

styles, everything's positional value. I think the same is true for both those guys. Like this is a

good draft for safety. So if you really want a guy, and there's some good linebackers too. So

there are guys for both positions. If you want to go, if you don't believe they're the best player,

then you can go elsewhere. You know, if you want to, but of those two, I'm a big believer in

getting those front seven, especially because with this defense, when you watch assuming that,

you're doing a lot of what Mike Zimmer, he's a big Mike Zimmer guy and the floor is and all that.

You want the speed at linebacker. And I think if you have some, you have that length at that position

and the impact in zone coverage, which you know what I mean? Like so I think that's where I just

think that he gives you some versatility there that you just don't have. And so like I would like

to see them both of the front seven. If you get Caleb down, I think he's a terrific player, but I do,

like I said, there's good, there's good depth at safety and frequency and also in the draft. So

you know, but I think if you, I think you're going Caleb, to me, if, if styles is in there.

Can I wait and real quick on that? No. All right. Go ahead. Go ahead.

I think sunny style is the best player in the draft. So honestly, I think if he's at number seven,

somehow, which I actually don't think he will be in the end. I don't think he will be, but I think

if he gets there, I run to the front of the room and put that card in. I think he's the best player

in the draft. And they don't have that right now. And so I'm not even going to want to hear a

positional value conversation thing. If you get a guy who looks like looks feels the part of a

pro bowl to all pro player, you take him. I don't care what position he's at. The other player, I think,

is the second best player in the draft and the sure thing is Jeremiah love. And that's a strange

conversation to have when this team needs so many things, it would feel like a luxury pick if he's

available at seven. And I actually think if for all those who want them to trade down,

I think you want Jeremiah love to be there at seven because I think somebody might actually

move a couple spots to go get him if you're not willing to take him. So like that's the only one

outside of a quarterback that I could see someone moving up for. And in those cases like

in both cases, I think they would get hit over the head with you had other needs. You didn't

have to do this. In the case of styles, I would just say they need impact offensive players.

And he is one of them. And he's my favorite player in the draft. And I would say to the good,

the thing with hit where there's two things. One, if they go again, Jeremiah love, it's because you

really address defense and free agency. And so you feel like you can go in a way. And also that

the guys you like, styles, downs, bane, baili are all gone by the time you get to seven. So now you're

looking at like, okay, and maybe you get a corner. So you don't need, you know, Mansoor from LSU,

you don't need him because you already, you got a corner of free agency. Then you can go to love,

but you're right. Like that could give you the chance to trade down because there aren't many

guys that teams are going to trade up for. That's right. The thing I like with styles, of course,

getting to watch him is that his first year as a linebacker up and down, more mistakos than you'd

like, but up and down and like, you know, but the second year, you saw a different player. And I

talked to Dan Quinn about this. And he even said, when you watch the Ohio State, it was you had

two quarterbacks in the field, Caleb and sunny styles. And the like, they wear the block. Oh, like,

you give a block. Oh, Jersey to a guy like this number zero. And it signifies like the leadership,

that's like you are the leader on this team. And like, that's what he is. So he really took a big

step. So I like that progression that he made. Where can he take his game? That's what I'd like to

see. So I think he made a big step. He's not just a workout warrior. But again, like, you know,

I don't think he's going to be there. So we'll see. Just quickly, I would say like my biggest takeaway

coming out of the combine is that the positional value discussion is irrelevant this year.

Because the guys at the top will play the positions that you would spend on are clearly not exactly

moving. They're not getting everybody in love with them, whether it's Bains, you know,

short arms or whatever. Like people are not like falling in love with those other guys. It

doesn't look like. So that's also interesting if they were to fall. What is Washington doing?

And then the other thing is whether you're spending money or the draft, whatever, what a terrible

year to need a lot of talent when both the draft and free agency this year are not that exciting

relative to the norm. I actually think that there's good players in free agency. I think it's a

little underrated. I actually think there's I think it's better than it was a year ago. Actually,

I think there are better players in free agency this year than there was a year ago. And maybe

I'm just looking at it from the point of view of the players they the positions they need are

actually available to them. That's what I was going to say. The same thing that I think what

their needs are match up well with what they can get in frame and or the draft. That's right.

But they've got to hit it, man. They've got it. Yeah. I mean, like I'm sitting there going at

number seven, like they really could use a linebacker. They really could use a safety. They really

could use an edge rusher. They couldn't use or you could argue a running backer or receiver.

Hey, all of those things might be available to them at number seven that is best at their position.

So I actually, it feels like it's kind of landing right for them at least that they're going to have

two or three need positions and probably the best player at that position sitting for them at number

seven. But that, but that refers to the best. I'm just saying the best player this year would not

necessarily be the best player in another year. Yeah, I agree. Yes. And I may have mentioned before that

one school has four guys that could make sense for them at that spot. And I did write a story for

that on ESPN.com. So a little plug there. But you're right. Like it may, you know, shoot. There's

a few ways they could go. But we'll get through free and see and see what it is. But the defense needs

a lot of work. And there we go. So fellas, that's the wrap on number two. There you go.

That kind of sounded funny. Didn't

Thanks, fellas. That's it for this episode. Thanks to Brandon Bennett for joining me.

Thank you, as always, for tuning in. I'll be back on Thursday nights last Friday morning with

another episode. Getting you ready for free, you see. So I will talk to you next time.