Daily Slop – 25 May 24: Will the NFL draft be held in DC in 2027?

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

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Washington Post (paywall)

D.C. is hopeful about hosting an upcoming NFL draft

City representatives and Commanders officials are attempting to land an NFL draft for the District as soon as 2027, but the competition is intense.

D.C. representatives and Washington Commanders officials are vying for the District to host a future NFL draft and are optimistic that the nation’s capital will be chosen to stage the event as soon as 2027, according to four people familiar with the deliberations.

But while several of those connected to the D.C. effort are confident that Washington will be selected as the site of an NFL draft in the coming years, others within the league cautioned that the competition is intense as many cities with NFL franchises aspire to be picked to host the popular and increasingly lucrative event.

The Commanders were among 12 teams with representatives in Detroit at this year’s draft to conduct site surveys, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The 2027 draft is the next one available.

Last month’s draft in downtown Detroit drew a record 775,000 fans over the three-day event, according to the NFL.

The broadcasts of the opening round of this year’s draft averaged 12.1 million viewers — more than any World Series or Stanley Cup Finals game last year, and more than all but one NBA Finals game and all but one college football regular season game last year.

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ESPN

Veteran free agents helping coach Dan Quinn ‘recalibrate’ franchise in Washington

“You don’t have to look too far to watch their practice habits, how they do things, follow a process or a routine, that’s what I’m looking for from those guys,” Quinn said. “Just doing what they do also can be a multiplier.”

In other words, the more players they have who have a certain approach — and who can still produce — the more others are likely to adopt their habits.

“They’ve seen the highs and lows,” offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said. “They’ve seen the good teams, the bad teams, and so just talking through what a good team looked like, what their standards were, their practices, how guys worked, and then the teams that could have been good and weren’t, what were the pitfalls with that? They’ve all been really good as far as sharing that, being open and being leaders, which is not easy to do when you come into a new place, but they really embraced it. I think the guys have embraced them.”

Ekeler said it starts above them.

“The leadership comes from the top down as far as the culture you’re trying to set,” he said. “When you have leadership that can hold that standard and have been around the league and you bring coaches that have the same type of energy, you can really create a special culture that goes and helps win the games. It’s not necessarily the stuff that is measurable, but it’s the stuff that helps you increase the things that are.”

Among the players, a lot of it begins with Wagner, a consummate leader whose resume includes 10 All-Pro selections — six first-team — and nine Pro Bowls.

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Commanders.com

Brandon Coleman ready to compete wherever he’s needed

“I don’t really have a preference,” Coleman said after he was drafted with the No. 67 overall pick. “I’m just excited to get a chance and be able to compete at the Commanders and being in the NFL. I’m just really excited to get this chance.”

The Commanders didn’t tell Coleman about their plans for him when they called him on Day 2 of the draft. However, general manager Adam Peters said during his press conference later that night that he and the staff view Coleman as a tackle. In fact, they believe “he could be a really good tackle.”

His playing history at TCU would certainly back that up. He played 2,120 snaps in college, more than half of which were at left tackle. The 2022 season, the only season where he was exclusively at the position, was also his best, as he recorded an 80.6 grade from Pro Football Focus and allowed just two sacks.

“We certainly think he has what it takes to be a tackle in this league,” Peters said. “And he’s got the feet, he’s got the speed, he’s got the strength, and he’s got the intelligence and he’s got the right mindset.”

Coleman has some traits that make it easy to see why some analysts evaluated him as a guard in the NFL. He’s not as tall as some of the other tackles that went ahead of him, and his wide frame helps him match up against bigger defensive tackles. He also possesses strong hands that allow him to stay engaged with defenders and dig them out of running lanes up the middle.

“I’m comfortable at guard or tackle,” Coleman said. “I’ve worked at both good amounts…through my college career, so wherever I’m at, I’ll feel comfortable.”

“The only thing they [the coaching staff] told me is to come in and compete,” Coleman said. “That’s their philosophy, their motto here, and that’s what I was brought up on, too … Being able to come here and work for whatever that is, that’s just very exciting to do.”

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Pro Football Focus

Bounce-back candidates for all 32 NFL teams in 2024

Washington Commanders: Dl Daron Payne

Payne has established himself as one of the more solid interior defenders across the NFL, but his past season wasn’t his finest. He tallied 14 fewer pressures despite having 32 additional opportunities to rush the passer.

With Washington drafting Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton in the second round, new head coach Dan Quinn could turn to more of a rotation along the Commanders’ defensive line, which might reduce Payne’s pressure numbers even further. Then again, as Payne enters the second year of his $90 million extension, he’s unlikely to go anywhere. A more motivated Payne — who also happens to clean up his tackling — could return to being an amazing pass rusher in 2024.

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Podcasts & videos

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NFC East links

Big Blue View

What is the pin-pull blocking concept?

Let’s define something you hear about, but might not fully understand

The pin-pull blocking concept is a common power-gap rushing style often employed in the NFL and college football. It’s an excellent way for an offense to get one or multiple linemen pulling into space against smaller defenders.

It’s exactly how it sounds. Player A pins a defender, and Player B pulls around that block into space. The pulling offensive lineman is often “covered” by the defender, but it can also be a shaded defender that the pinner can access. Here is an illustration, courtesy of X&O Labs:

The tight end (Y) pins the 5-technique, and the play side tackle pulls around that block as the play side guard pins the nose shade to allow the center to pull up to the MIKE. Here is an example from Week 11 against Washington:

(Click on the article title above to read original article and view video)

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All a’Twitter