Final Thoughts on Washington Commanders' Training Camp: Standouts and Letdowns

as we wrap up Washington commanders training camp there's one word we use to describe what we've seen these last five weeks it's competition but that's only the top of what we've learned here in Washington commanders training camp that more coming up on today's episode of Locked on [Music] commanders you are locked on commanders your daily podcast on the Washington commanders part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday and welcome in everybody to today's episode of Locked on commanders part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day I'm your host David Harrison credential member of the media covering the Washington commanders for Sports Illustrated commander game day.com of course I'm here with you every Monday through Friday greatly appreciate you coming through today every dayers greatly appreciate you coming through every day for your daily podcast covering the Wasington commanders if you haven't already please subscribe for free on YouTube or wherever you are listening to today's episode where you're going to hear from Washington Commander linebacker Bobby Wagner we're going to talk about Daniels and other players not playing in the preseason finale against the New England Patriots we're going to start off by wrapping up the last five weeks of Washington commanders training camp if you want to discuss any of that or anything else going on with the Washington commanders all you got to do is reach out and send me a text message and you can do that by going to join sub text.com lockon commanders today become an Insider you can text me and I'm going to text you all kinds of information updates exclusive content we've got an an Insider exclusive Zoom meeting coming on Saturday afternoon so if you want to get in on that and come hang out with a bunch of us then do that join sub tex.com lockon commanders to sign up today this episode is brought to you by FanDuel now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV visit fanduel.com lockon to get started on that so Friday out here in Ashburn wrapping up Wasington Comm training camp five weeks of practices evaluations releases signings trades all kinds of stuff going on and over all no matter what was happening no matter what the next opponent was no matter what the next day was pads or no pads the theme of the entire training camp has been competition and what's really refreshing about that is in years past when we go to the end of training camp and we try to identify the theme typically that theme doesn't necessarily marry up all the time with what the coaching staff has been preaching leading into the preseason leading into training camp all through the offseason but really from day one from the moment Josh Harris made the decision to replace a large portion of the office and the coaching staff he's been talking about wanting to bring in a competitive organization or build a competitive organization as you say and bring in the people they're going to help return Washington football into a competitive brand on the NFL field and that started with the hiring of Adam Peters and through the hiring of head coach Dan Quinn and the coaching staff and the front office changes all through it the message has been consistent coming into rookie Camp mini camp uh uh the OTA period and then training camp it's really not a surprise but unfortunately it also is kind of a surprise Ur to go through this process and see on the field what you're hearing at the microphone and then talking to the assistant coaches and the coordinators and kind of hearing this Comon thread but then again going to the field and seeing all these things happen and it goes beyond just what's happening on the practice field and obviously on the NFL field as well even in the trades and the roster moves that this team has has conducted or has executed during this period you see them all kind of going towards one common threat and that is building and maintaining and creating ultimately because this this roster that I think you're GNA all kind of get to know over the the main portion of Dan Quinn and Adam Peters time here in Washington is not even close like I think in 2026 most of the players on this roster even today are probably not going to be here but the theme through all of them has been competition right whether it's going through to your fourth kicker on the roster and granted the first kicker release for non-competitive reasons but again you're going to uphold a standard of conduct a standard of what being a commander means and a standard of what this organization is going to stand for you have to make the decision they made there you bring in other kickers in that name of competition people prove that they're not part of the organization they're not part of this theme they're trying to build so you go ahead and you move him out and you bring in another guy now whether or not Kade York is going to be uh the fourth times the charm guy and prove that he is the kicker for this organization that's still uh to be seen obviously they've got to field somebody so something's happening but even today on Friday talking to Dan Quinn he even talked about that position as being a competition there's only one guy on the roster but there's still a compet comptition we'll get into that here a little bit as well as we go through it but then you look at the trade for Johan Dodson right Johan is a guy that we've talked about extensively on this program throughout training camp and he's just a guy that outside of really one practice it was a very well-timed practice because it was also the day he came up the hill and to the media tent and did his media session with us his official uh media session with us but outside of that one day of practice really has not been a consistent presence for his quarterback whether it be Jaden Marcus whoever he was catching passes from then you guys have seen it in the preseason game as well getting as many reps as as really as as feasibly possible for a guy that you're hoping is going to be a contributor to your team and still just not able to find that ability uh to produce meanwhile guys like Alam zius and and and Luke mcaffrey and dami brown are out there competing and they're producing and that's exactly uh the thread that this team is following so when you look at it through that lens really not a surprise that that kind of a move was made here towards the end of training camp so that's the theme right everything that kind of has happened through these training camp five weeks you can draw all the way back to competition uh no matter what they're what they're doing so I think that's it's again it's it's it's encouraging because now the people who are making the decisions and and choosing the pathways that this team is going to follow are consistent in their messaging consistent in their branding and should be encouraging for you guys because it kind of gives you an idea of what to expect bottom line is you see a guy out there throughout the season who's not competing he's not being a competitive member of the organization he's not being that aggressive type of player that fast football player that Joe Wi junr wants on defense and that explosive player that Kingsbury wants on offense then when you go in the offseason you kind of get a picture kind of get an image of what's probably going to happen coming up that's a long time from now let's let's stick to training camp here uh we got standouts here my three my top three standouts and it's really kind of hard because there's really been a lot of impressive guys out here like Johnny Newton I mean only a couple days of practice right and that's unfortunate obviously but those couple days of practice do look really good Brandon Coleman has kind of missed a little bit of time but he looked really solid when when he was healthy and was able to go out there and be a full participant and then even guys like Dante Fowler you can see that edge presence and that speed coming out of there so it's kind of hard to narrow it down to just three but I do want to stick to three and I want to stick to kind of the training camp practices uh as well so Jaden Daniels obviously is gonna be standout number one coming in as a rookie you know again we've talked about him extensively throughout this process and just being the the ultimate you know kind of mature professional for a young NFL player and certainly a little bit older than some NFL rookies are so he's got that going for him and the experiences of going from Arizona State to LSU and being on the national stage winning the Heisman trophy I think certainly serving him well but then also the lack of pressure on him to come in and be the hero of the Washington commanders organization I think that plays a big part into his ability to impress everybody with his conduct and his uh preparation so Jaden Daniels clearly a standout here from the training camp portion so you got to name him but another one Bryson Chaine wide receiver Bryson Chaine one of the taller guys on the roster would certainly like to see this team kind of have that diversity on the roster you got some kind of average height guys 61 62 who have the ability to get up field but also operate in the near uh short interum part of the field and then you've got your speedsters out there guys like Jameson Crowder but then you're you're lacking a little bit in the height department and the ability to kind of go up and get the ball maybe in the red zone or in the corner I think that that's where Bryson Chaine could potentially come in now I stick to Bryson as a training camp standout because unfortunately hasn't really shown up in the preseason games and that's uh that's a concern right because you definitely I think you weigh the game tape over you do the practice tape so you would like to see Bry and termaine take advantage of this last preseason game go out there and show a little bit of what he's been showing in practice because right now even on Friday wasn't exactly most competitive practice grain of salt R Ryon train made another nice grab on Friday as well and finally safety Tyler Owens undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech he's a guy we've talked about a lot on the show as well U my my 53 man roster projection is going to drop on Monday uh so so I'm gonna be working on that so keep an eye out for that we'll do our post game Sunday night Monday morning whenever the game is over live from the from the surface of Commander field but then my 53 man Ross projection will drop Monday later on in the morning or the afternoon ahead of Tuesday's cut down day and then we'll come back and react to all of the uh the moves that were made Tyler Owens is a guy that you know I think he could make this roster I think he's got a fighting chance to make this roster and on Sunday uh you know has been battling a little bit of health issues so depending on how much he can go and how much he does go I think you know he has the ability to kind of show this team once and for all like I'm a guy you need to keep on this roster of course we got standouts we got to have letdowns I don't want to harp too much on these let downs but we do have to identify them I think Johan Dawson clearly is a let down from this training camp that's what leads to his departure to Philadelphia so I don't think we need to talk too much more about that if you missed that whole conversation go back to our last episode it was all about the Jan dots and trade so you can catch all that over there but tight end Cole Turner has been another person who's kind of let down I was talking to somebody uh today at practice on Friday and the thing with Cole Turner I've really kind of noticed is from his rookie season right rookie mini camp the year he comes in the NFL really stands out really impressive the problem with Co Turner is since then to now really hasn't Advanced really hasn't improved in any ER hasn't gotten better as a receiver better as a catcher he certainly hasn't gotten better as a blocker and in fact now towards the end of training camp into the preseason he's actually starting to drop some passes and that's incredibly disturbing or or discouraging because I think what you're seeing is maybe a young guy who's kind of getting into his head a little bit and it's starting to impact even what he's supposed to be strong in and if you're a guy a tight end who's not known as a blocker but known as a pass catcher you got to be able to catch those passes and then the cornerbacks that's that's an area that I think a lot of us are concerned about going into the season how are the perimeter Corners going to stack up against legit NFL competition I do expect Benjamin St juice Emanuel Forbes Michael Davis to all get reps in this final preseason game um and I hope they get a good amount of them because they need as much work as they can get we'll see uh what what they do ahead ahead of the regular season because regular season week one it just starts hot and heavy Mike Evans Chris Godwin Jaylen McMillan Trey Palmer and Baker Mayfield The Ultimate Gambler out there so they're definitely going to have some shots taken against them so those are my three kind of let Downs people that were're looking for position group group that we're looking for as well but there are preseason battles that need to wrap up and we've got some players that are already identified not playing Sunday night against New England Patriots that's all coming up next on today's episode of lock on commanders part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day and today's episode is brought to you by betterhelp this show is sponsored by better help what are your self-care non-negotiables maybe you go to the gym every day and you never skip that leg day maybe wake up every morning and meditate or go to bed every night and medit before then maybe you do yoga every day or maybe it's therapy day or it should be therapy day because bottom line is when your schedule is hectic maybe it's packed with kids activities work projects got you going or your friends and family are pulling you each and every which way your priorities can often times suffer honestly we kind of feel guilty from time to time don't we when we do things that only make us happy you start to feel a little bit selfish well if you talk to somebody who can see your life from a third party view you might find out that it's actually very important to do those things that might even only be for you and if you're thinking of starting therapy give better help a try it's entirely online designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule so never skip therapy day as part of your selfcare maintenance program with betterhelp visit betterhelp.com lockon today to get 10% off your first month that's betterhelp.com lockon Dan Quinn revealed on Friday after practice that Jaden Daniels the starting quarterback of the Washington commanders will not play in Sunday night's contest against the New England Patriots but he is not alone thank you for making locked on commanders your first listen today and every day for your second listen check out the locked on fantasy football podcast get your daily insight into the best fantasy draft strategies so that you can win your League this season part of the lock on podcast Network your team every day so Jaden Daniel's not playing in the preseason finale not a complete surprise honestly kind of coming into the week I've done a couple of radio hits where I was asked if I thought Jane DS was going to play and specifically I just kind of said no I don't think so I think he's he's done enough he's proven enough the team is satisfied enough with where he's at to enter the regular season there's really not much to gain by putting him back out there for a third preseason game compared to what you risk losing if you know disaster were to strike during that preseason game so not really surprising then he's got a lot of reps in these final training camp practices as well so again that kind of leaned into uh you know the opinion that he's probably not going to play so coach coach Quinn uh verifying that on Friday but also verifying that defensive tackle donon Payne defensive end Cleveland Ferell defensive end Dante Fowler Jr also not going to play now Dante Fowler Jr is interesting because he hasn't really been practicing or playing at all for the last two or three weeks really uh with what they've said is a soft tissue issue not sure exactly which part of the body that soft tissue is in because they don't have to tell us this time of year but Dan Quinn did say that both he and Cleland frell should be good to ramp up for the regular season after the preseason concludes and that time comes so that's good news you're going to have those guys in the Dorris Armstrong out there as well but there's also some guys you can just kind of assume aren't playing right Don Payne's not playing Jonathan Allen not going to play he hasn't played in the preseason at all either line backer Bobby Wagner hasn't you know played in the preseason at all anymore so if Jaden Daniels isn't playing you also assume Terry mclen isn't going to be out there tight end Zack hers has yet to play a preseason snap so you assume that's going to stay the trend but then also I think you look at running backs Brian Robinson and Austin Eckler again Jaden's not out there not much of a reason to put those two guys out there and I think that there's a big reason to keep them out especially so you can find out who you have in these other backs as you go to decide that third running back spot do you keep a fourth running back on the active roster and if you keep three or four regardless who do you aim to uh to put on the practice squad as guys like Michael Wy have certainly done some work to put themselves in that conversation uh dorrence Armstrong Jr don't think that he's probably gonna play either and then Frankie L Frankie has actually been playing in the preseason while Bobby Wagner has been sitting out but I do I do expect Frankie louu to be one of the players sitting out Sunday night so those are the ones I'm pretty sure on the guys I'm kind of like 5050 on the starting offensive line look you can make a case for the starting offensive line starting quarterback's not in there sit the starting offensive line however you could also make the case that every rep you can get together is going be incredibly valuable I don't think that Brandon Coleman would be ready to go yet for the pre-season game so you're talking about four fifths of the starting offensive line getting out there along with Cornel Cornelius Lucas uh ideally being the left tackle but you could make a case for you know even if it's just one series getting out there a little bit so I'm not 100% certain that that starting o line won't be out there to be honest with you running back Jeremy McNichols we've talked extensively on this show about that third running back job behind Brian Robinson and Austin Eckler in the beginning it was Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez battling for it I think at this point Jeremy McNichols has far you know extended himself beyond what Chris Rodriguez has been able to show in fact I think now the competition goes into if there's a fourth running back is it Chris Rodriguez or is it Michael Wy right um so that's kind of how far this competition is gone so if the team feel Feels Like You know Jeremy McNichols is our third running back they may just decide to sit him and let Chris Rodriguez and Michael Wy and other guys get some of those reps back there as well so I'm kind of 50-50 on him Alam zakus dami Brown same boat you know you could justify getting in them reps even if it's only for a series or two before sitting them down I could also justify them not getting any reps at all Jeremy chin is also a guy now what's interesting there is like Quan Martin is still a young safety first full pre-season training camp being that free safety so I think you want to give him uh some reps and if he's back there you do want to put his crime his partner in crime Jeremy chin back there with him again you can make that case you can also make the case that he doesn't need him back there to get the work that he's in I mean I guess ju Martin for that matter too you can see them sit him because these safeties the safety decisions are going to be interesting to watch as well and that's one of the battles that we're going to watch in this final preseason game because there's still even without all those starters out there there's definitely still reasons to watch this game and I think reason number one kicker Kade York I mean we all know how kickers work right we don't really pay attention to the kickers unless they're super great like Justin Tucker and Baltimore or they're super bad like three kickers that you know this team has had this uh this preseason for various reasons K yor is that fourth maybe fourth time is the charm other kickers are still competing that's what Dan Quinn say that that's still an open competition the way they're competing it's simple they're still kicking field goals for other teams the young kid in Tennessee Austin cyber in New York they're still kicking for other teams and they're still putting stats out there uh these are guys who are going to become available after cut down day so Kade York goes out there if he Nails all of his kicks maybe he gives himself that Advantage from being inous they've got to know him a little bit and he gives himself The Edge there but if he goes out there and botches this then I think he potentially see a cut down day waiver claim put in and Kade York potentially on the outside looking in also going to keep an eye on the safeties and linebackers on defense sure you want to look at some of those depth players like Michael Walker the linebacker Anthony Pitman also Percy Butler Derrik Forest but I think you also need to pay attention to special teams especially kickoff coverage and kickoff return which of these guys is really being impactful which of them is being consistent in these Avenues because I asked Dan Quinn on Friday in the press conference you know it it used to be that linebackers large tight ends mostly linebackers but also large tight ends kind of have an advantage at the bottom of the roster because you need those guys for special teams coverage teams and return teams but now with the new shift in the kickoff rule you're actually seeing more and more teams and I gotta give a shout out to the Miami Dolphins be because honestly I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to this until we went to Miami and they were paying a lot of attention to it kind of Drew my attention to it so I got to give a hat tip to them but a lot more defensive backs safey specifically are being used in these kickoff coverage and return teams than linebackers were previously and I asked Dan Quin about that he said yeah in fact I mean he gave a longer answer but I'm going to wrap it up by saying that in fact that shift and Advantage at the bottom of the roster has really kind of shifted towards more your defensive backs your Jeremy Reeves type of guys than it has the linebacker so that's an interesting uh uh relationship to kind of watch and when you're if you're if you're one of those football nerds like like me that who puts together your own 53 man roster projection keep that in mind you know where teams would keep like four or five linebackers at times just because they need those special teams guys now you may be keeping five safeties instead of five linebackers uh because of what you need to do uh with special teams and then of course that third running back position if Jeremy McNichols does play then to me that signifies that that third job is still kind of open again I think Jeremy McNichols would have to do really bad to lose it anyway but if he plays then that does mean that that job is potentially open but if it's not that fourth running back spot again if there's a fourth running back on the active roster or even who's your priority to go on the practice squad because those spots are limited as well Chris Rodriguez and Michael Wy going to be battling out for that on the receiver group six receiver so I think on this roster I'm pretty confident in saying Terry McClaren dami Brown alom zakus Luke mcaffrey James and Crowder are gonna make the active roster that's five guys now the question is do you keep six or seven uh the commanders are not they're not only GNA keep five you're gonna get at least six you might get seven if you're getting six or seven who's next right you got guys like Bryson Tain Martavis Bryant Byron Pringle Davon Davis you know I've kind of got my favorites you know what I mean but I think this is a game where if you're a guy like Bryson Chaine or like Martavis Bryan or like Byron Pringle who thinks you have kind of a claimed stake for this final roster spot this is your opportunity to go out there put it on tape put it in front of the coaches and tell them that you're the guy for the job and then finally that fourth tight end job Cole Turner look I think Cole Turner for as much as he's disappointed uh this training camp I think he still is that fourth tight end so has he I don't say he's regressed but has he had struggles enough that this team says we're not going to keep a fourth tight end we'll use that roster Spot somewhere else or is he solidified as that fourth tight end I think this game's going to tell a lot if he goes out there and drops a lot of lot of passes draws Flags in the blocking game can't secure a block I think he's gonna he has the opportunity and potential to open up a conversation inside the building of whether or not you keep three or four tight ends because I think they really want to keep for but again if if it's a guy that you know we just saw with Johan doson if you're a guy who can't just do what this team needs you to do be successful they're not going to justify keeping you around so I think Cole Turner is certainly someone to watch heading into this final preseason game love the kid so I'm fully pulling for him hope that he blows it out the water uh and just completely kills this conversation but right now it's definitely there speaking of conversations linebacker Bobby Wagner met with media uh briefly following practice on Friday so we'll get you a tape of that scrum coming up next on today's episode of Locked on commanders part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn and when you're hiring for your small business you're going to want to find quality professionals that are right for your role and and that's why you need to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find 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episode of Locked on commanders here in Ashburn Virginia today wrapping up training camp out here 2024 training camp in the books and we're going to wrap it all up by talking with linebacker Bobby Wagner emotional day though because the team won't look like this again oh you said emotional day I was like what going to be different come Tuesday this is my 13th one of those so um I just try to get encouragement and [Music] understand this is not the only team out there so even if this doesn't work out here there's other opportunities and then of course Sunday you know looking at that game a great opportunity for a lot of those guys that are fighting the first spot again how do you kind of approach that for them and offer them that advice same thing just be supportive um you know provide whatever knowledge I have to help them but really just let them play free cuz it's you know a lot of pressure a lot of thinking you just want them to be as free as possible Bobby what have you learned most about this team during training camp um just how special we can be um you know just being able to learn learn the guys understand how they play you know I think um the energy of this team and organization has changed and I feel like it's up to us to kind of uh display that once we got there on the field youve we've seen you talking with J after reps and things like that am I talking or is it him is it him talking I like he starts no like he's learning from you I think has he what's been that relationship like you mentioned St like that um it's been great he's been uh he's been really cool um just to be able to to talk talk with him you know you said having somebody from where you from understand the pathway to get to everything but it's been fun he talks about trash um he says he's good at basketball I se um something somebody posted something but he not good at basketball he can't beat as a response for his shot I think you call you Kyrie said you think you're Kyrie Uncle Drew what I said all right guys that's going to wrap it up for today's episode coming up next the next time you hear from me will be Sunday live after the preseason finale again we'll do our 15 minute or so live hit on the field after the game so make sure you're coming through for that have those notifications turn on is going to be late so if you're still up or if you're getting up uh with me by all means come through for that of course if you're not it'll be available on recording because that's the great thing about technology and then we'll be dropping our 53 man roster projection on Monday day if you want to take part in The Insider exclusive Zoom meeting happening Saturday afternoon all you got to do is go to join sub.com lockon commanders and you will be part of that group as well next up make locked on fantasy football podcast your next listen of the day and as always thank you for making locked on commanders your first listen of the day every day every day things for coming through like you do and so we speak again if you're out about please be safe be kind and I will see you next time for another episode of Locked on commanders part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day [Music]