The NFL Draft is two weeks away, and there's no juice for the NFL Draft in DC. Is this just a one off, or is it cause of where they pick?
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00:00The poll of the day is up right now on the 106.7 The Fan Twitter account.
00:05Go vote if you're on the X app.
00:07T&D poll of the day presented by Metropolitan Moving and Storage Local.
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00:17Danny, the poll of the day.
00:19Exactly what we were just asking on the phones.
00:22Our perception is that there is less interest in this NFL draft this year
00:28among Commanders fans.
00:31We're gauging if that is true.
00:33Are you more the same or less interested in the upcoming first round
00:37two weeks away now than you typically are?
00:40We're going to get to the bottom of this.
00:42Yeah, I definitely am less captivated by it.
00:44I mean, listen, it's still a big deal for me.
00:47Usually it's a 10 out of 10 where I look forward to it
00:49and start thinking about it in a normal Washington season.
00:52In October, November, I'm looking at mocks, looking at big boards,
00:55yada, yada, yada.
00:57I've not done that.
00:57I've not ramped up in the same way where I devour every bit of information
01:01ravenously.
01:02I'm comparing CBS's mock draft, ESPN's, to the second McShay,
01:05to the third Kuyper, to the Dane Brugler, to the Daniel Jeremiah's.
01:09I haven't had that same energy for it.
01:11Don't you blame Obi a little bit too?
01:13I do think the distraction of some of what's been going on in DC sports,
01:19whether it was one thing to the next, right?
01:23It's like the Commanders to the Super Bowl.
01:25And one of the reasons you and I haven't really sunk our teeth into it as much
01:29on the show is, you know, we're on to spring training and then we're on to the Ovi watch.
01:33And it just feels like maybe there's a little if you build it, they come with this too.
01:37But I voted on the poll and I did say a little less excited than normal.
01:41About two thirds of people so far are saying same as always.
01:45Nobody is saying more excitement than normal, which could be a reasonable answer too.
01:50I mean, the team is better.
01:51They're closer.
01:52They just went to an NFC championship game.
01:55And so you could just be hit with the fever where everything,
01:58Commanders, gets that much more exciting.
02:00Let's go to James, who's in Woodbridge, listening on Grant and Daniel 106.7,
02:04the fan.
02:05What's up?
02:06What's going on, Grant?
02:08Danny, how are you boys doing today?
02:10Good, buddy.
02:11Hey, listen, I am actually one in the more excited category.
02:15Um, I have been watching all of the mock draft boards.
02:20So yes, I'm intrigued by the front of the draft and what that all looks like.
02:25But really, I want to see, I looked at last year as that experimental year where it's supposed
02:33to be kind of like a three year build and they got super advanced and did a great thing.
02:39But I still want to see what that, what those next building blocks look like.
02:45And I'm really excited to see if they can get an electric, uh, running back back there
02:50to join Jaden and any other weapons.
02:53I'm all about offensive weapons right now.
02:55So I'm excited.
02:57It's one of the rare opportunities you're going to have to add to this roster.
03:02And they did free agency was fun because they made the huge splash trade for Laramie Tunsil.
03:06They brought in some talent, but.
03:09It's not like they throw money around like it's monopoly cash.
03:13So this is where you could really get creative and make a splash, whether that's via trades.
03:17I'm also really intrigued because we haven't mentioned this.
03:20What if on draft night, they trade the 29th pick and it's not to move back.
03:25They go get Trey Hendrickson, or they do something else crazy to get an edge because Adam Peters
03:30operates in the shadows.
03:31He could be talking to somebody about an edge right now.
03:33It could be happening right now.
03:34Considering.
03:35And that's kind of the point.
03:36And the 29th pick could be a part of that.
03:37They could add a Pro Bowl caliber proven 12 plus sack edge on draft night, and it would
03:45be on brand for this season after what they did with Laramie Tunsil last month.
03:49100% right.
03:50And I think I was more excited for free agency than I was at this point for the draft.
03:56And I think it's mostly because of the salary cap space they had.
03:58And it was this amazing opportunity to go do something to basically say, Hey, we understand
04:04we can't just run it back the way that we did another resign a bunch of their guys and
04:07they should have, but we're going to upgrade.
04:09We're not just going to do status quo and just, you know, throw the football out there
04:12and make sure Jaden Daniels saves our bacon for the second half of the season.
04:16We're going to improve this roster.
04:17And they went and did that.
04:18So because there's less ammo at the stage, I'm probably, again, not, not as steamed up
04:24about it as I normally would be, but still you're a hundred percent right.
04:26It's a window where they're going to improve the football team.
04:29And that is still has some, uh, some exciting weight.
04:32I was talking to the fellows during the break until we brought up a good point.
04:35He said for him is about the same, but his point was I get into the NFL draft with or
04:40without commanders entry.
04:42I am the exact same way.
04:45Like one of my favorite events of my entire childhood, every year was the NFL draft.
04:50It's been ruined a little bit because it used to be for the OGs that remember this used
04:55to be two days.
04:56And the first night we got rounds, I think it was one through three and then day two.
05:01So it was Saturday night, one through three.
05:03And really it was all day long, Saturday at noon.
05:05And it would go, you know, five, six hours for three rounds.
05:09And then as it was dark out at night, we'd shut it down and we'd come back on Sunday
05:12and they'd go rounds to four through seven.
05:14But the first three rounds of the NFL draft, Danny, in my childhood, I would have put that
05:20over Superbowl Sunday.
05:21Probably I'm trying to think if anything would have surpassed it, maybe opening day in major
05:25league baseball, but I mean, not much like it was right there.
05:28I still, the NFL draft is, is just, I love it.
05:32You just sit there on your couch, eat three meals via delivery, but they have just kept watering
05:37it down more and more and more for TV.
05:40So now it's one round spread out over multiple hours.
05:43It plays everything the league does is, is quality television, but I would kill to go back
05:50to the Saturday afternoon all day.
05:52That was perfect.
05:52Hey, hon, cannot do anything tomorrow.
05:56I'll be on the couch.
05:56Like it's an NFL Sunday for five hours because it's rounds one through three, the best, but
06:01I don't need, like you were talking about the commanders quarterback situation.
06:05I don't need them to be a main storyline to be giddy, which is why I feel a little surprised
06:10by my lack of intrigue this year.
06:12I just think for me, it's hyper specific to my life.
06:15It's been crazy.
06:16Like there's been a lot going on between Ovi and us traveling a lot and running around.
06:21I think this is the time now where I'm flipping the switch last night.
06:24I started to watch a bunch of the edges and getting into the highlight reels and stuff.
06:28I'm just further behind than I normally am.
06:30Yeah.
06:30I think, which I think is where I'm at too.
06:32I would say this difference between you and me.
06:35And I think Toby as well is everything that happens.
06:38I always think about how does it affect me?
06:41Right.
06:41I'm, I have a very selfish worldview when it comes to a lot of things, whether it's, you
06:45know, you're talking about as a fan or just in life too.
06:49Like how does this affect me in all sincerity?
06:51Like I, I view things that way.
06:52So for me, the, the intrigue of the draft was always about, okay, what does that mean
06:57for Washington?
06:57Like for the sake of argument, I was getting into this earlier, but if in a certain year,
07:02if four receivers go before Washington picks a pick 14, that means that they can maybe get
07:07the second best lineman or the third best defensive end or whatever.
07:10The intrigue for me was always about how Washington could be the best.
07:14And like, that's what I cared about more than anything else where one guy would go one place
07:17or it should, or going to or nine.
07:20Like I'm very, I'm way less concerned about that.
07:22Cause that's really not a Washington centric thing.
07:24How salty will you guys be?
07:26If Washington trades back at 29, at the end of the night out of the first round and doesn't
07:34pick.
07:34And I don't mean upset that they don't pick as much as you sat around for hours waiting
07:39and waiting and waiting.
07:40And then right when they're supposed to be on the clock, the logo disappears and green
07:44Bay is back on the clock or whatever, because I think that while a lot of fans would like
07:49to trade back, that's also an opt-in.
07:52You waited around for a while, an entire night to get nothing out of it.
07:55Let's go to Anthony and Calvert.
07:59Okay, guys.
08:00How y'all doing?
08:00Good, buddy.
08:01So, uh, I am less excited, but more intrigued.
08:06And I think part of the reason is there's really no showstopper in this draft.
08:12Also, we're not looking for a savior.
08:14We're not looking for our franchise quarterback or, you know, our, our foundation left tackle
08:21or anything like that.
08:22We're, we're just looking for bits and pieces.
08:23So I'm intrigued as to what Peter is going to do.
08:27And I'm also kind of excited about if he starts wheeling and dealing, you know, one
08:33pick could turn into three or four pretty quickly when he starts trading.
08:37So I'm, I'm definitely less excited, but I'm also more intrigued if that makes any sense
08:42at all.
08:42Yeah.
08:42Because there's way more possibilities last year at this time, we knew they were taking
08:47a quarterback and we thought we knew which quarterback they were taking.
08:51We ended up being right.
08:52It became crystal clear a few days before the draft, but it was really, I would say
08:57over the last 10 to 12 days, pretty poorly kept secret that they were going to take Jaden
09:02Daniels.
09:03Right.
09:03But for whatever reason, they didn't tell anybody all off season and they kind of left
09:07it open to interpretation.
09:09But can you think of a bigger juxtaposition year over year in the draft?
09:13I don't think there's been a team in the boat where you picked second after being the
09:18second to worst team in the NFL, not because you traded up.
09:21But you literally were the second to worst team in the NFL.
09:24You take a quarterback.
09:25So in a quarterback heavy draft where all the QBs are beloved at the top of the board,
09:31you're choosing between some following year.
09:34You got to the NFC championship game and you're picking in the bottom three.
09:39You're now picking 29 and you're likely getting like the fifth or sixth edge to come off the
09:44board.
09:45So that's screaming into a megaphone.
09:48This one's just not going to be as fun.
09:50Yeah.
09:50I can't blame you for not being quite as excited.
09:52There's no way there's the same intrigue is the right word.
09:54Cause you're right.
09:55We kind of knew what was happening, but even still it was like, okay, here we go.
09:58That you're handing the keys over.
10:01So everybody's hopes and dreams rest on the, the, the throwing shoulder of this quarterback
10:05that they're going to take, which we all were pretty sure was going to be Jaden Daniels.
10:08This is not the same level of responsibility for whoever's at pick 29 or really pick 39
10:12when the, after they trade draft night is dinner.
10:14Okay.
10:15It's fun to eat.
10:16But last year was a filet mignon for you, Danny.
10:20A ribeye, the superior cut for me at a wonderful steakhouse this year.
10:25We're getting fast food.
10:27We like it.
10:28Crispy fries, burgers, burgers.
10:30Cooked well.
10:31Right.
10:32But we're getting fries out the window.
10:34It's just a different thing going quarterback at two 29.
10:39Do they go edge?
10:39Do they go corner?
10:41You know, maybe you get a weapon, maybe a receiver falls and it becomes a, you know,
10:44a high profile guy that adds to the excitement.
10:47Kevin's in Virginia on the fan.
10:48Hey, Kev.
10:50Hi, thanks for taking the call.
10:53Yeah.
10:53I'm more interested this year because I think the difficulty factor for Adam Peters
10:59is higher.
11:00Like in diving, you have more difficult dives.
11:03You have to perform.
11:05It's harder, in my opinion, to get from where they were to the playoffs.
11:09I mean, it's harder to get from the playoffs to the Super Bowl and win it than get to the
11:15playoffs, in my opinion.
11:17I think he has to hit on every pick in order to fill out this roster to get past the Eagles
11:23and get to the Super Bowl.
11:25And he doesn't have as many picks to do it in.
11:27Plus, he has to consider the future.
11:30He has to lay the groundwork for the future.
11:33So I think this is more pressure on him and there's more expectation on him than there was
11:40last year.
11:41I could have picked Jaden Daniels last year.
11:44Nothing against him, but it was an obvious choice.
11:47This is not as obvious.
11:48You've got a few holes you need to fill.
11:50You want a valuable pick and someone who gets you 10 years.
11:55So it's fascinating to see what he's going to do in the draft to meet those goals, I think.
12:03Thanks, Kevin.
12:03Good perspective.
12:04I appreciate it.
12:05So we do this a lot with GMs where we'll go, Mike Rizzo doesn't get credit for Strasburg
12:09at one or Harper at one.
12:11And I'm leery of that kind of thinking anyway, but I understand the premise.
12:15I'm not putting Jaden Daniels in that bucket.
12:17Which is not to say that after 50 touchdowns in the SEC and winning the Heisman Trophy,
12:22he was not a beloved prospect.
12:24But they get credit for that pick.
12:26They easily could have taken Drake May, who was also a tremendous prospect.
12:29They could have fallen in love and gotten smitten with Bo Nix, who had a great year.
12:33Michael Penix, who's taken over as a starter.
12:35There were a lot of good quarterbacks there.
12:37And there were major concerns about the frame, the size, the health for a lot of teams about
12:43Jaden Daniels' size or whatever it was.
12:45Maybe you thought he ran around too much, or maybe you just wanted someone who was going
12:49to be more stationary.
12:50So they should deservedly get credit for picking him.
12:53I'll disagree with that part.
12:55The rest of it, though, I think is a great point.
12:58It's obviously way more complicated and difficult to hit a home run at 29.
13:02No, it's the equivalent of trying to hit a home run, up 3-1 in the count, leading by
13:09nine runs in the game when they're just kind of...
13:12There's a position player pitching.
13:13Yeah, getting it over with.
13:15Yeah, you're right.
13:16Maybe the shortstop is pitching, lobbing the ball in there, versus you're left on left.
13:21It's a one-run game.
13:22You're down 0-2.
13:23He's got the full arsenal ready and waiting.
13:26And you have no idea what's coming.
13:27And you're behind in the count.
13:28You're not seeing it well that night, and it's cold, or you're playing in the shadows
13:31or something like that.
13:33This just got a lot harder.
13:35And they do have to get these right.
13:36They don't really have the luxury to swing and miss because they have no young talent
13:41on the roster from the previous regime.
13:42That's right.
13:43Yeah, there's very little wiggle room.
13:45I mean, every organization, no matter where you are, if you are the Kansas City Chiefs,
13:48where you've committed a lot of resources to Pat Mahomes or a team that's paid their
13:52quarterback or otherwise, you've got to get draft picks right.
13:54If you're a team that isn't very good, that's trying to get up to that level,
13:57you've got to get your draft picks right.
13:58You need to shoot a good percentage regardless of the amount of ammo that you have.
14:02So in general, the philosophy that I've always been under is if you're trying to improve,
14:06the more bites at the app or the more darts you can throw at the board, the better.
14:10You should always be in the business of acquiring picks if you're bad.
14:13Well, I don't have a great philosophy for what to do when you're good and you're trying
14:16to get better.
14:17Like, to me now, whatever lever you can pull, you pull it.
14:20You can use a draft pick as currency.
14:21You can use salary cap money as currency.
14:23Whatever you want to do to get your football team better for your window that's right now,
14:26go ahead and do that.
14:27But it limits the opportunities you've got in the draft.
14:29By the way, write down that topic idea, Darius, because I want to do that.
14:34I think that would be a great topic in the future.
14:37What he brought up, what is harder?
14:40Going from the bottom of the NFL like they did to a good playoff team or going from where
14:47they are now, which is a good playoff team, to winning it all.
14:51Because I actually agree with him.
14:52I'll bet you were in the minority though, but I think what they just did, the leap they
14:56made is easier to make, especially one time.
14:59Not that I don't think this is sustainable, but I think going from stinking up the joint
15:04to being really good in the playoffs, we've made it look really, really hard here.
15:08People can't believe they won as many games as they did because they never did because
15:11of Dan Snyder running a terrible operation.
15:13But teams do that all the time.
15:15The league is designed on it, by the way.
15:16Maybe you don't get all the way to the NFC title game.
15:18Maybe you lose one game earlier.
15:19Maybe Detroit beats you in Detroit or whatever.
15:21But I think that jump is easier than the next one now they've got to make as they climb
15:26this mountain, when they're jumping across a six-foot gap and have to land the dismount
15:32by, you know, there's two inches of rock they're grabbing onto and their foot has to be in that
15:35one position so they don't fall to try to win the Super Bowl now.