Commanders Free Agency Update & Looking forward to NFL Draft

Robert Keller: Welcome to the first episode of Burying a Gold Beat with your host Rob Keller and special guest, possible future co-host Dr. Matthew Mintz. How you doing, Matt? I'm doing really well, Rob. Glad to be here. This should be a lot of fun. It should be a lot of fun. A little background, Matt and I have season tickets to the Commanders. We're sitting on the 50 on the visitor side and we truly enjoyed the season two years ago. Magical season last year. Obviously just room for growth and just a growth year, really. And then this year, Looking at the free agents that we've signed, draft that's coming up, maybe talk a little about the stadium experience. yeah, so Matt, what do you think about the signs we've made so far this year? Well, I think the signs are good. think before we look at the signs, to me, what's really telling is what we've done with those players that were on the 2025 roster, because I think it's very telling. So I'm going to read you a list, These are. as of at least last night, Kirk, commander's free agents that are not signed yet. Yeah. Ready? Debo sannual, Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz, Austin Eckler, Noah Brown, Chris Moore, Antonio Hamilton, George fan, Lucas nine, uh, chase Edmonds, Jeff Driscoll, Preston Smith, Bob Miller, Jalen Holmes, Sheldon day and Eddie golden. Yeah. I think that's, that's a little bit telling in terms of the experience and you know the ability of some of the free against that we had that are not signed already in the team. I think the past couple years too Adam Peters has tried to fill the gaps in the drafts that we've had or we've missed really. I mean if we take a look at just when we drafted Emmanuel Forbes and then drafted Christian Gonzalez and you saw Christian Gonzalez making those plays in the Super Bowl you know you hope right? I mean I think what it is it's telling on how weak the roster You really was. again, I think Adam Peters did a good job. he came in here, he realized how horrible the roster was. And I think his approach, if you remember, they refused to call it a rebuild. They called it a recalibration. But they were rebuilt. had to. I think Ron Rivera seemed like a nice guy. was probably a pretty good coach. was a horrible GM. Because I mean, you can't whiff that many tongues. He was just a horrible GM. And in fact, I don't know if you remember. when Adeputis first had his first press conference, and one of the reporters asked him, you know, what do you think of the roster? There was like a 30 second pause. He paused because he didn't want to say what he was thinking, which was terrible. So I think his approach at the time was a good one. Let's rebuild. And what we're going to do is we're going to build through the draft. And what we're to do is we're going to take some high quality veterans that are going to rebuild the culture, that have a couple of years left in the tank, and we'll put them on short deals while we rebuild through the draft. I think that was a really good strategy. But then he shifted. Yeah. think it's time. think it's time though, right? We know what happened was he shifted during the year when all of a sudden they were much better and they were headed toward the NFC championship. He pivoted. Yeah. And I think all of us were sort of caught up in that magic. Like, oh my God. That was a great year. It was fun. It was so much fun. And so what he did is instead he said, no, no, now it's time to win. So he go ahead and he trades and gives up a lot of picks for lot more. Yeah. gives up a lot of picks for tonsil, which I don't blame. I tonsils are best trees they made. But then, you know, in the off season, they're like, we're ready to go. So we pick up Devo and we think we're ready to go. Yeah. And turns out, no, that didn't happen. And so, yes, we can chalk it up to injuries. But I think this is the fact that these guys he hasn't signed. And I think he might sign a few. go into some other. And I don't think like, so for example, who was at the Jeremy Nichols. just got resigned. He got resigned after they picked up two right backs with free agency. So it tells you that the NFL, the other owners do not want these guys. So it tells you sort of how weak that roster was. So yes. There's no next man out. When you have the question of the roster, you want to build depth through, whether it be draft or even free agency. I think like, there was no next man up when people got injured last like the depth of the roster was built off of like short-term signings. It wasn't even the depth. Some of these people that I knew, Bobby Wagner was a starter. Zachary was a starter. Austin Akner was a starter. Those guys helped change the culture though, made it impactful. I think his process was a good process. think he, like all of us got caught up too quick and he shifted focus. to a win now focus. so now we're in sort of this third phase of, ⁓ well, we have an amazing quarterback on a rookie deal. We have a horrible roster. And so we need to sort of win now, but we can't, so we're gonna spend a lot of money, but we're not just one player or two away. So this is really sort of rebuild number two. And because he gave up all those draft picks. Yeah, know, he's basically really the total draft picks were worth it. So he's he's rebuilt the roster through free agency. So this is really a rebuild. And I think he's done a really good job. Yes. The other thing, if you look at who are the people that left. So we'll come back to the outage of the second ⁓ Jacob Martin. So they obviously didn't think very much of Jacob Martin, Jonathan Jones, who was their quarterback. Remember the Hail Noah? Noah signed a deal one year with the Seahawks. John's just gone. So there's not too many teams that got picked up. The only big one was Chris Rodriguez. the two ones that we sort of lost, I would say, in the free agency were Chris Rodriguez and Tyler Biotage. Steve Ryan was interesting. because he was a good back. thought he did a really good job. I thought that they would resign him. actually, because if you think about it from like last year, like if you look at what our room was, we had Eckler, we had Rodriguez, we had, you know, of course, Bill was on there and Eckler before he got injured, we had pretty strong running backs. But they even let Chris Rodriguez go. And he signed two years, 12 million with the Jags. So we could have easily kept him. So I talked to a bunch of people throughout the year about the commanders and what everybody was saying is they need playmakers. ⁓ So these running backs, I think, provide really good depth and they provide really good skill, but they're not like a playmaker, right? They're not going to break off a 50 yard run every few games or they're not going to really make three people miss a tackle and they really wow you. I think it's like they're really good players. And feel like Adam Peters did a good job with filling the roster out with high quality. agents like you said that built culture but at a certain point like you're competing against teams that have been building through the draft you know for years and doing a good job like you know there's definitely some good organizations out there that we're competing against and I think that you know the signs we've made just to kind of talk about a little about the signs we've made so far this offseason I mean I think these guys are just these guys are incredible athletes I mean like you look at their statistics, their metrics, physical metrics, they're gonna fly around the ball next year in defense. And looking at Chig, the tight end that we signed from Tennessee, ⁓ I mean, he was basically, I think, faster than Joann Jennings, and he is probably gonna make less money, and he can still get split out to ⁓ the wide, the wide out, so even in the slot. So I think, like, really, that was a great signing, too, for the offense, and they still have a lot of room, I think, a lot of cap room left. to make moves, but I think like all their players, mean, they're, the age is good, but their speed and their metrics is incredible. And like all in the upswing, hopefully. Yeah, let's stick with Schick for a second, because I think that's a really good point, is that this is not a replacement for Zach Ertz. I mean, Zach's not coming back. You know, this is a different kind of tight end. Schick's the kind of guy where he shines his yards after the catch. Agreed, Zach Ertz was the reliable target for Jaden, who... random routes. He's the route guy. He's a professional. He's the guy's been, you he's an expert at that. Now, unfortunately, besides his injury, he made a lot of drops, I thought last year. So I was, mean, but overall, I thought he did pretty well. This is a completely different type of tight end. This is a guy who he's gonna, if you can get that ball to him and he's gonna break a tackler too probably. gonna break a tackler. He's a big guy. gonna break a tackler. He's, he's the guy that he's, know, I heard on, I think what podcast it was, you know, he might be the best tight end we had since Jordan Leigh. Yeah. So I mean, that's possibility. There's a high ceiling. And they're all up, so they all can grow. So like I said, all of these are playmakers. They're young, they're fast. So I guess going back to what I was saying about Rodriguez and even Tyler is a little bit different. It's not that Chris was bad. It's like he wants a playmaker. Exactly. He's like, it's not good enough. So this also shows you sort of what his philosophy is, is this is a real change. He's not only rebuilt the roster, but he's getting it with, you know, He's getting with people that he thinks are gonna be playmakers and make a difference. This is a make or break year, I think. And to me, it's very exciting. if you think about just every one of the chigs on the offense, if you think about our offense, despite Jayden not playing half the time and all these other injuries, I don't know the stats, but our offense was not bad. It was sort of middle of the road, playing half the season with a backup quarterback playing against some of the best defenses in the NFL. I we did not do too badly. You know, offensively last year was the defense that was horrible. ⁓ and now, you know, hopefully assuming everyone's healthy, you've made some significant upgrades. mean, there's still more work to be done. ⁓ but, know, but, but, but signing our left tackle, ⁓ you know, getting, ⁓ and getting someone like Shig, think is, is, is really going to help you. Yeah. Looking up the stats, it looks like we were really strong in rushing. were the first, fourth best rushing team averaging about 134 yards a game and passing. were about. middle or 20th ranks with 200 yards a game, that can be, I mean, we didn't have our quarterback. We didn't have some more receivers. It was tough. Yeah. So you would think with that kind of running game, why not, why not keep Rodriguez? Yeah. But Adam Peters is saying, no, no, no, that's not the way we're going to play this year. We're going to be fast. We want receiving tight ends because Rodriguez is great, but he's not your receiving tight And we have John Bates too. running backs. Wasn't. And so we can talk a little bit about some of the running backs we picked up, but these are all receiving. These are people that are going to, you know, Again another target potentially for Jayden. Yeah great. think ⁓ you know Rashad White was excellent signing I think he's gonna be a good fit look at his stats He's a pretty fast runner pretty strong, but you know he just fits the profile of just doing the being the dual threat Rb I don't think he's gonna really break a lot of you know long runs or anything like that either But I think he's a really good replacement He's an upgrade from Chris Rodriguez Chris Rodriguez was a good player and looking at some of the other signs we made mostly on defense. mean, I like the always signing and be overpaid maybe a little bit, but he runs a 43640 as at 260 pounds to 65. You know, he is a physical beast and he really did well last year toward the of the year. And looking at Leo Chanel, I think that guy is going to be possibly the best signing we had something like, you know, Louvoo, you know, sign that we had before because he is just a physical Like I think he was probably one of the top ranked physical, like physical metrics of a linebacker for of like several years to pass. Like he's incredible and he's on the upswing hopefully too. So he's going be good with the new defensive coordinators scheme. So I'm excited about that. And he made some really good other signs as well. Like Nick Cross is a really fast, pre-range-y safety. And then, you know, obviously Tim Settle's coming back. I think that's going be a good signing for being able to maybe do a three, four, maybe putting him in the nose tackle position. And we can go to, you know, all these other. science they made as well, which I think really fit some depth and some really good positions. think they're gonna bring some skill. But one of the themes as you're rolling through these people, the things that pop out that I'm hearing you say, young, physical beast, fast. They're athletes. They're gonna be... So going back to our big sign-in, you're right, I think we did overpay a little bit. But the other thing, some fans will be... upset like why didn't you go for like Trey Henderson or something like that. You can't see we're not at the point where we're one or two people away where you can see you know where you can pay that kind of money to get you over the edge. We had so many how many how many edges are on that list Rob I see three I know I see away and we still have I can't say his last name but ⁓ many of you how do you say we got we got three potential edges yeah And we have Armstrong too. So you can't, know, so, you know, one of things you were, if you were, if you were following along during this time, you would always hear, you know, the commanders were in the mix. They were in the mix. were in discussion. So they were aggressive about it and they were trying to get some of these players, but they weren't going to ridiculously overpay for a lot of these players because they had so many needs. I with O way, think, you know, yes, the market was hot. You had to get a high level signing specifically at edge. And I think I think he's a good sign. Is he a slam dunk? don't think anyone we have is a slam I don't think anybody afraid she was really a slam dunk either. I think like they picked somebody who they think could do well in the system. He's like a strong, big, fast, like extremely fast edge that can get to the quarterback. that's what we need. I think this year we're actually going to have the defensive edge is going to be one of our strengths, honestly. I think it's gonna be great. I think, I don't know what the situation is with Ron Payne, what we're gonna do there, if he's gonna stay for another year, I think it'd be great if he did just show up. Like, you this is a year for him to prove it as well. So contract years are really good years to have people play at their best usually. So it's gonna be a really exciting year ⁓ for sure. Is there any other free agents you wanna discuss before? Let's start with, since they're the defense, I haven't really followed the lines that well. Let me know what your thoughts are on Amique because to me, one of our biggest issues was the secondary. Just coverage in general. Latimore thing just really screwed us up. That's what I'm to it was tough. was tough. So that was our weakest spot. Is Amique Robertson, certainly he's got the speed. There's no question. ⁓ But this is a guy that's probably going to be your slot guy, not your outside guy. Which then leaves, I think, Sander still for the outside, which I think he did pretty well at. I'm not, this is the one area where I think. I'm not 100 % comfortable with the secondary that we have. But I think the signing is a good, it's two years, 16 million, it's not a ton. Yeah, so what I know about Amique Robinson is that he's basically, he can play on the outside, he's like Mike Santreau. He can play on the outside, the slot as well. So he can actually do, so it's interesting what ⁓ the defense coordinator wants to do because he plays. you know, different coverages and he kind disguises coverages. So I don't know if he can even do a stunt in the coverage, but really these players like Amiko Robinson can cover the outside and the inside. And so can Mike Stansfield and you have Trey Amos who can, you know, cover the outside as well and hopefully get maybe the number two receiver number one. And we still have some time. I really wish they signed Rick Woolen. I thought that was a, that was missed opportunity. Signed with Philly. think he was a really just, you know, six, four, four, five, four, two, four, three, 40, you know. he can match up with those big receivers out there. Number ones, we missed that, I think, opportunity there. ⁓ But still, I mean, we have other opportunities in the future, whether it be through the draft or free agency, we still have the time where they're gonna, you know, after a draft, they're gonna cut down the roster and there might be some people available, some veterans available too, that we have to think about. having some ⁓ salary cap left available for that was good, pretty good as well. Who can you pull up? Who is still available as a free agent that's a quarterback? that's out there that's high. that's out there that's I think the next one is Trayvon Diggs. Yeah. He's not bad. mean like he- Trayvon Diggs is not bad at all. He has a little bit of injury history. has some upside there. So I mean like that would be a good idea. have, ⁓ you know, possibly they could do it through the draft. I don't think they want to do it with seventh pick. ⁓ I think like just to go through the free agents that they signed, OA, White, Chanel, Robertson. Chase on Jason I think is an excellent pick too as well for sure or pick up Okinawa Okinawa I'm just going to call him chick chick yeah we talked about here and then cross only you and then settle forward and they resigned tonsil which was a great resigning I think I was just amazing and they Mariotta I think is underrated resigning as well backup quarterback right now in the NFL. Yeah, I think he's like just the mentorship that he provides. ⁓ I think we got lucky to keep him. mean, in other years, if you remember when we signed ⁓ Carson, remember when we signed Carson Wentz? Yeah. mean, part of the reason we signed him is he was highly coveted because teams in need of a quarterback, there weren't any options. You got people out there, got cousins out there, you got Aaron Rodgers out there. Yeah, I think Mariotta could sign up for a team and start in some teams in the league for sure. there was no team that, there was too many good available quarterback, because that's, he would have left for another team. don't know, I think he's happy. I think at a certain point in your career, you kind of like realize like, what do you want to do? And he's making like 10, 11 million. I think he's bad. But again, he's a quarterback he wants to start. So if there was a team that was, if it was a meaty team, there were just too many other options. So we got really lucky. And I think another sign to your sign that I think is going to fly into the radar a little bit is Traylon Burks. really like Traylon Burks. he's like a, he's a, he's a solid player. He has to like the amount of targets he gets to the amount of catches he makes, I think is a little bit disproportionate to his ability. I think he needs to work on, I don't know what he needs to work on. I'm not a wide receiver specialist there, but I feel he has the ability to really be an impactful player really as a wide receiver three, four. But he has the opportunity even to be a number two receiver in the, in the future. I think that they're the signing of him is. really underrated they work with him and really get him on track i think that you could be a really powerful press press i'd be so so yeah i i think we're were what i think you know we're we're we're that's a receiver is still another area of me you know in addition to quarterback quarterback uh... but overall i think you know the the signings now you know we've got pretty you know i you know the the biggest issue with the defense i think the effects of the other is really really really most part of the little concerned about you know the secondary but I like the pickups. think the offense, less work needed to be done. I think it's really interesting that they got rid of Rodriguez and picked up two running backs. To me that shows that they want to go in a different direction. think the tight end pickup, which we already talked about, is a real addition. It's like basically another receiver. He's basically a second receiver on the team. Because you're thinking Terry McLorin is going to get more targets this year, probably 10, 12. Game and then you're looking at Luke McCaffrey forgot how good he did He was too incredible when he was an injury really made some plays and then we have been Jefferson down me Brown those those players are good You know number three number four receivers that can make play here and there and just be open and if you think of like You know how Jane Dayles can extend plays I he might play under the center more which I agree with doing you know play action and open up some opportunities so we have that the receivers rooms we've got some depth now, but who's your number two? The number two I think is Chig. I think you have Chig's number two, you have Luke's number Chig's your tight end, who's your second, who's your wide receiver? I think that's the thing, I think we don't have a second wide receiver that's very strong. Agreed, but I think like Chig can line up, so that's where I mentioned before, like he has metrics that are better than Jwan Jennings, and he's one of the top receivers in the market left. think like, you when you look at it, you might need three, four receivers, you know, really to make a difference. And you have like, Luke McCaffer, which I really think he's going to improve and grow. You have some veterans that are going to come in. Do I think we need another receiver? Yes. Now, now switching over a little bit, maybe to the draft. When you talk about the draft, I mean, I'm looking at the draft. I look at the seventh pick and I really love love. I want to be able to, I really want to be able to say like, look, love score touchdown. Say this, word love more often. Honestly, I like it. And he's basically what I see on the metrics of him. He is an incredible dual threat. So he would bring a receiving option and maybe the number three receiving option on the team, you know by doing that and just adding a level to the Running back position as well being a playmaker. He's a three down back Like he is able to you know, make defenses think about what how they're gonna cover them It's gonna open up opportunities for other players in the league or other players than a team And I you know, if they don't sign, you know, if they don't get maybe, you know, Caleb downs or Jeremiah love, I think they should trade down. think there's not enough, you know, I haven't heard anybody say trade down, but you know, they have Sonny Stiles, I think the most recent mock draft of Mel Kuyper. I mean, he's a good player. could be a solid linebacker, but is he really like that much of a playmaker not to trade down and get a little more depth in the team that we need? I mean, can we get, you know, a later first round draft pick and, know, maybe, maybe two first round draft picks with a third team involved or two, you know, a couple seconds or a second or two with a first, you know, that would make a big difference with our. with our team and I think like there's only a few players that I really look at the you know, top players I think could be impactful enough to not trade down and get more depth. Yeah, I think a couple things. One, the fact that Adam Peters has really filled out the roster and added all these free agents allows him to truly pick best player available. Agreed, agreed. We don't, you I would say maybe with the exception of wide receiver. ⁓ You know, there's we've really covered most of the bases Yeah, and so to me that's good because you can truly make the best player Yeah, the other thing too is that you want the key is because you could argue who's better who's not But what you want is someone that's gonna impact I want someone who's gonna start on day one and it's gonna be a game changer So, you know a lot of the people are picking, you know that when by the time it gets to seven the commanders are gonna get one of those edges You know, and they may be really good and they may be worth a seven round pick, but is that going to be a game changer from day one? I don't think so. So I'm thinking again, I'm going to trust that they pick them right one, that if they think that the cornerback or, or, or even the safety, you know, or even the right receiver is going to be that game changer. The problem is with the receiver is that it usually takes two to three years for a receiver to develop. I mean, if we get Cardinal Tate, that's two, three years by the time he really develops into, I mean, if you see some receivers come out, they come out just, you know, blazing and they're doing a great job. But I think it usually takes about two years to three years for a receiver really to reach their skill set. By that time, mean, a running back you can put, plug in and like they can have a rookie year that really sets it apart. I think like the edges, I think we've addressed a lot of the linebackers, the edges. I don't think we need those. And when I look at the draft list, I mean, I don't think we should pick up Ruben Bain. I think he's a good player. I think it's kind like the intangibles of his plays, what you're banking on, but that's kind like the manual Forbes side. I don't think that's a really good idea. So then I look at the list. I'm like, well, if I had to get Jeremiah Love or Caleb Downs, who's probably one of the best safeties, then who am I going to pick? Like who's the next pick down that I can't just get like Mancer Delaney, the quarterback from LSU, great player, or like even Kenyon Sadiq would be an interesting pick. If you're able to trade down, get Kenyon Sadiq and match him up with Chig, that'd be a two-tight end set. And you have John Bates too as well. You'd be playing, you know, really you have options there in lining them up on the outside as well. I mean, that's a really big team. I agree with you. I don't think they're going to take a tight end. They like Ben Sennett. They also like, what's his name, Colson Yankov. I don't know if they like Ben Sennett as much as they want because they have not shown him, given him opportunities even the past couple of years. Maybe they will more this year. I they're going to use a high eye pick on it unless they think Sadiq is Well, if they trade down, if they down and they two, mean, that's basically another receiver. And I think a tight end position is better at like the rookie position than a receiver. The problem is I don't think they're going to have I wouldn't be mad if they trade down. If you look at, this is not one of these draft classes where your top three quarterbacks are gonna be off the board in the top 10. So that's the problem. People trade up. It's usually a quarterback and since there's not one, I think they're gonna have to use that pick. And so to your point, I agree. I think you need someone that's gonna be a game changer. they think that Downs is there, And if they think that that's going to be a game changer in their secondary, he would be, I think, definitely go with downs. But I agree with you. I'm, all in on love. I think this is the CEO. Generally he fits so well with conventional ways of this. don't take a running back that high, but. You know, we've seen, you know, there are certain players that that are gained that are literally dominate the game. mean, just take a second and imagine Jeremiah love and Jean Daniels in the backfield and trying to match up with both of them. mean, like how would you do that? And then you have Jeremiah Love in play action. He'll just run through the line and just do a, you know, he just keeps running and then Jaden Daniels will throw him a long ball. know, it's just, it'd be amazing. I'd love to see that. So I'm with you. And if I look at draft projections, which I've done, the highest I see Love going is four. Yeah, dude. I see some people going after seven. Yeah. So I mean, the real question is who's going to be there. Exactly. But if, if, if, you know, if again, I'm, I'm assuming that Adam Piers has done his due diligence. Of course. Yeah. But if they, but if they, if love is as good as everyone says he is and he's there. I take. So I would too, but I think there's only a few players I'd really take. I think we've addressed our edge. I think someone might trade up for edge. And I think if we, you're obviously not going to go for a quarterback. And I think, and I think Caleb Downs is the best safety or best, one of the best defensive players available. And then after that, I really do like Sadiq. I mean, he really has some physical, like tangible metrics that I thought would do really well. If you can pick them up around 10 or 12 and get an extra draft pick. mean, I really, I understand you have like, Chick but there's been teams in the past that have to hide tight ends that would work really well if you come out of the play action with two tight ends that can restrict the field I mean that that adds a whole new dynamics. Do they have total? think they have around five or so. It's not really that many few in the top. So I think they're next I think have a third rounder trade partner. I wouldn't be mad at that. Yeah, I think it's gonna happen. Yeah Yeah, yeah, so let's talk about like maybe some free agents that are still available, you know that we could maybe sign I'm looking at these, I'm thinking like, you know. Before you do free agents, what are your thoughts about Ayuk? Do you think that's going to happen or not? And do you want it to happen? I think if you do a one-year prove it deal with Ayuk to see what he has available, I think they're going to do due diligence for him and basically see like, you know, kick the tires and see if he still has the physical ability to play, you know, at a high level. And if he does, then I think like, you know, however he left 49ers, I think he really wants to play with Daniels. I think Rashad White want to play with Daniels. I think he's just one of those players that attracts. you know, talent, is like really immensely important for a team. mean, really, when you have a quarterback like that, can draw talent to you, I mean, to your team, I think it's incredible. So do I think we should sign him? I think why not? think like even if they go through camp, they, you know, see how he does. I think it's worth it. Do I think that he's the answer for the number two wide receiver? No, I don't. Do I think that Jeremiah Love or Sadiq could be the answer for the number two receiver? I think he could. I don't know that Juan Jennings, mean, he's a strong physical, know, ride receiver, but do I think he's worth the money that he might get paid? You know, I don't know. That's the thing. You have to value it, not just based on the availability, but also what the wide receiver twos are getting paid and they're getting paid an incredible amount of money. mean, Alec Pierce, we went for him and I thought that would be a great signing. Can you picture, you know, throwing to a six foot plus, you know, six foot four, something like that to a guy who can jump 40 plus inches. and wins mostly 50-50 balls because I think it's because his volleyball background. mean, that would have been amazing, you know, just running down the field. But I mean, now we have to think about it. Like who would be the second receiver? I Stefan Diggs is definitely going to get paid. You know, do we want to pay them the amount of money? mean, Debo Sama wouldn't be a bad, I think. I think it'd be a good option if we bought him back on like, you know, maybe a $10 million contract, you know, something like that one year. You know, I don't think he's worth the 20, but I mean, he was definitely ⁓ a valuable asset last year when there was no... Terry McLaurin opposite him, right? He did a good job. so I think one of the things that makes me feel good about our you is that not only do you have Jaden Daniels who knows him, but you also I mean, Peters, I think was the one who drafted him, right? So you have some familiarity. So on the one hand, you know, there's a lot of unknowns about him. But if anyone is going to know about him, it's going to be those two. So if they feel comfortable with him, I think it's a really good addition. I think he could be that number two. And then also you're not gonna pay you're gonna put them on a one-year Friendly deal so that you're not going to have to pay him a lot of money or have any Any dead cap room if you have to cut them I think I think that's what appears did so all the past couple years and allowed us to have the cap room we have now to sign these players because You really signed short-term deals and he was even saying he want to sign some of these guys to longer deals They didn't want to they were happy to do the one-year deal. So it really interesting What happened and I think like I think we're in a good place. I think right now just looking at we were at free agency, think Adam Peters and got a lot of little bit more. I didn't really see it too much. I was just reading the data, but I heard Adam Peters was, we missed out on a few top free agents, but sometimes that's a really, that's a good thing. Sometimes we can see in the future, there's gonna be some openings up and we also, we don't know who's gonna be cut after draft, right? There's gonna be some really good players. People are gonna be all over the cab. Like we're trying to retool the roster. I mean, we have the ability to really hopefully get some of the top free agents that happen. that come available to ⁓ us. so I think that if we can't make the youth thing work, then I think we do have to spend some money on a wide receiver. to me, even if we get love, and I hear what you're saying about him being the second, you got to have someone. Because some of it's a coverage issue. Is that one of the reasons that Terry's so good, but he's always being double covered. So. and we have a phone call for Dr. Matthew Mintz and we're just gonna take a little second to enjoy the fact that we're wanted as a doctor, as a concierge doctor to help the... But yeah, no, so the... Okay, so we touched on like Ayuk, I think that's a good option there too. And then when we go to... you what's who's available I think Debo Samuel might be good but I'm a big believer in like two tight ends can do just as good like ⁓ Nujuko I think with the Browns or used to be a Browns player I think he has a chance to really be a good red zone threat and also ⁓ he's a really physical player as well do I think we need to pay top money for like Juan Jennings or Stefan Diggs I don't maybe one year contract they really show that they're you know ready to play but even then I think like I don't think you addressed it through the draft. don't think Colonel Tate's ready because they're going to be ready to play out the gate. And I think you really have to figure out other options. So if you get a Jerma I love, and then you get a Nujuku, or you get Diwo Samuel, or you get Kenyan Sadiq, and then you get another second-rounder who might be a good running back, another one. I think there's only really one good running back in the draft, as we're told. This is why I think you could sort of, if they believe in him, I think it's option for It's a good option. Yeah, I'll play then to me, that just leaves... I still am not comfortable with, I would like another cornerback. I think we need one too. I don't think there's really any cornerbacks available that are really that interesting except for Trevon Diggs. Even Trevon Diggs, I think we're really going to hope to have some options after draft. We'll definitely do another episode and talk about the availability. Talking about just a brief moment, we've covered... you know, the free ends that we've signed, we've covered the drafts, you know, some of the free ends available, how we're feeling about, you know, the depth of the squad, which is pretty solid, you know, just the signings filled out a lot of holes, maybe draft the best player available. And now, I mean, if we want to talk about, I like talking about a little bit with you about the stadium experience. We have, you know, tickets on the 50 on the visitor side, literally on the line and, you know, 20 plus rows up and. I think I had, I had tickets two years ago for that magical season. mean, really in the 200 level and it was amazing and on the visitor side as well. the first, like compared to the time I went to last season, the previous owner was here when it was just like, really it was, it was just the dirt, the dirt of energy. was just, there's just no energy in the stadium. You couldn't hear the crowd. It was just not the best experience. mean, I literally. bought a ticket and they sold my ticket to somebody else. But then this new ownership comes in and they really do a good job. mean, just the fan experience you walk in, sometimes they're seamless. You just put a credit card down, you walk in and pick what you want and automatically can tell what you want to get and you can walk out. I think there's, you know, the experience with the sound is improved. I think the experience with, you know, the people, I mean, we've worked with Claire, I think was been a great job with us before. One of the reps who works within the suites now actually for the commanders. So if you need a ⁓ you know, think about getting season tickets to contact us and I'll give you the reps information. ⁓ but it was just really a great experience. And then they're, improving it through just all kinds of things they're doing in the stadium that are really interesting. And I just want to kind of see what your experience was and kind of what you're thinking about how it, how it's improved. mean, we've gone to the, we've gone to games every season for probably the past five seasons. I guess. Yeah. There's no question it's improved. mean, just it looks are better. Yeah. The food choices are certain much better. Love the brisket. is a little bit better. know, to your point, think that, you know, because it's better ownership, because the team had been doing better, it's just a better overall experience. Yeah. So I think that's good. ⁓ To me, the biggest issue is still the getting there and getting out of it. ⁓ my gosh. I don't know how much you can fix that. can't really. It's a physical issue that, you know, I'm assuming the industry. So that's why I'm looking forward to the new stadium. Oh my gosh. Did you see the new stadium? How it was like designed? I hope it's, I hope it's created like that Monument stadium and I want to get tickets exactly where we're sitting there and I want to have like a great time. think the PSL is the C license is going to be interesting. How much they're going to cost. I think you're going do it maybe over a 10 year period. can buy it. At least what I got sent from the season ticket. They're asking what options you have and it's going be like, you know, a lot, decent amount of money, but I think it's gonna be worth it. think the space we have, the seats we have, and the experience we have is amazing. I didn't go all the games last year. I went to all the games the year before, pretty much, except for when I was in Brazil. And then the season last year was a growth year, for sure. was just like a year that we tried to get little better, work on our individual skills, try to grow as a unit. But yeah, I really think the experience, the experience... fan experience is great. And I do think like, they used to have like Metro buses. I don't think they still do. I don't think they stop that. Dan paid for that for a few years. Yeah. So I mean, that might help if they did that. But even then that was still a process. You had to get on the bus, you had to wait in line. I can't wait to take the Metro. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Love it. you know, cats fan or but I mean that's a fun experience. It's It's just easy. to the cats game and they have some things around. the fans on the metro. Yeah. Even that's part of the experience. That's what I want to do. I want to load up on the red line. Exactly. Where I live. I'll start singing some And ride down with all my fellow commanders fans. I And pregame. Yeah. That would be great. I mean you mentioned the PS audio. My one my my concern is what packages they're going to offer. Yeah. In looking at that there's obviously location you know the better the location, the more expensive your seats are going to be. There's also some very interesting sort of mini suite type of options that they've added to their credits and really cool stuff like having TVs by your seat. So they've got a lot of options. My concern is all those high options are associated with the good seats. ⁓ For me, I want to pay for the seats. I don't need those extra options. I'm hoping that there's going to be... Something in the middle ground. What I want is I want a replication of what our seats are now. Exactly. don't mind. I pay a I pay a significant amount of money for it. But when I looked at their sort of proposed options, they were limited. So yeah. we'll we'll figure out how to finance that. I'm looking forward to that. Yeah. That you say that's one of the reasons I bought the seats with you is because I'm playing the long game. Yeah, exactly. I really think that those seats are going to be worth something because that's stating that, you know, I guess the experience just feel go there. mean, there's only one seat like that, you know, a couple of seats. We have six seats in a row. I tend to not go to the later, later season games. I don't want to sit out in the snow. Wait till they have that glass ceiling and you're going to be having that sunshine on you. You're to at seven degrees. Exactly. I want to go to a playoff game. Yeah. Oh my gosh. And not have to worry about the weather. Yeah. That'd be amazing. That would be amazing. I think everybody's excited about this new stadium. I'm really, really excited about it. So yeah, I so I think we covered a lot of stuff today. I think we covered the free agency, the draft, how we feel about a few options for filling out the team as well. Why don't we end this? Tell me what's your, I don't want to say predictions, but your overall thoughts about where do you think we're going to go for, what do you think next season is going to look like based on where we are now? Obviously there's still a long way to go. We still have the draft. There's still more people that... How you feeling about, you know? I think we have a chance, right? So I think like, I think when it ever comes down to it, you know, I talked to some of the team reps and they're like, you know, this might be the year. You don't want to jinx strength like that. But I say that basically like any sport in her life, like if you have a team like this, I think you have a chance, right? I think any team has a chance right in the league, no matter what team you are, whether or not you're ranked 30th, the beginning of the year, you know, first. But I really think our skill and our, our team. the growth we've had, the culture we've built, the coaches we have. I I even talked to the people who are at the concession stands and I asked them, is everything better? Like, how do you guys enjoy the experience? like, yeah, it is better. It's just more experience. And I really do believe that it comes down to like the whole team, know, pulling the rope to win the game or win the championship. I think they have like, you know, they built it up over a couple of years. think that first year was obviously magical. was not expected. But I think now we're at a point where we have some depth. We built a little bit through the draft. have some people that are next man up if we get some injuries. Hopefully not, you know, obviously not who would. But, you know, I really think that, you know, even for example, players we have on the team that we didn't play as well last year, maybe because of the opportunities they had. I mean, Louvoo, I mean, remember Louvoo two years ago? I if you unleash him and Chanel, you know, on the team with like Ken Law and Paine and Settle in the front, you know, that's obviously all the people we signed. I think we have a really good opportunity on defense of improving. And think our squad is like, you know, it's a, it's a chance, right? It's just the, it's it's just like the every play they have a chance to play every play. think it's the best they can. think if they do, we have a real chance of winning the Super Bowl. I agree. And I think, I think it's even more than just a chance. think if you have Jane, assuming he stays healthy and that's the big if when you have him, it gives you even more than a chance. And I think part of the, you know, I think there's no question that the 12 and five season was magical, but it was also fool's gold and if you look back at it, you know, there's the hail Noah, there was the doing, you know, that we were not a 12 and five team. I think this year too, you know, I mean we're a 12 and five team, but it's just, know, we got all, we got every, we got every bounce. got every bounce. safe with this year. think, yeah, this was a horrible season, but I don't think this, the 2025 squad was a five and 12 squad because of so many injuries. You know, in reality, it was probably somewhere halfway in between. I think it's a a definite eight-win team, a definite nine-win team. And I think now with some of these upgrades, mean, Alan Peters has really upgraded the roster. For sure. So to me, you you are, this should, know, my guess is that if you, you know, before the season, Vegas is, the Vegas odds, you can write this down, see if I'm right. I think the Vegas odds for the commanders are going to be eight and half. Yes, not bad. I'm going to take the over on that. Yeah. Because I think we are a definite, you know, again, Assuming Jaden stays healthy, that's the thing to If Jaden stays healthy. And I think he will because I think they'll play him more in center this year. Exactly. think they're gonna get him. He has to get used to it maybe more. But I think him playing in the center and just getting those linebackers, just one step. To me, we're more than a chance. We should definitely be a 10-win team in the playoffs. How far you go is a whole other thing. Agreed. So because of that, I think this is gonna be a much better season. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm very excited. I'm excited as well. ⁓ Thank you listeners. ⁓ This has been Burgundy and Gold Beat with your host Rob Keller, special guest, hopefully future, possibly future co-host, Dr. Matthew Mintz. And thank you very much and looking forward to the season.