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Jared Dubin from CBS Sports isn't high on the help around Jayden Daniels. Should this be a concern for the Commanders' offense?
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00:00Let's talk to Jared Dubin of CBS Sports, an NFL writer who's got a couple of pieces he put out
00:05ranking different elements of rosters, and he's on our RUDE guest hotline.
00:10RUDE, the most reliable heating and air conditioning products in the DMV.
00:13Jared, thanks so much for the time. How are you?
00:16I'm doing great. How are you guys doing?
00:17Great, buddy.
00:18Doing very well.
00:18I wanted to start with the piece that you did last week on offensive infrastructure rankings.
00:24And it's basically on teams and how they've set their quarterbacks up for success.
00:28We actually talked a lot about it on the show.
00:30Washington is ranked at the very bottom of the league, 29th out of 32 teams in the way of how
00:37they're supporting and helping Jaden Daniels.
00:39So give us thoughts on how you put the ranking together first.
00:43Sure, yeah. Basically what happens is I do a first initial pass of the rankings where we rank each of
00:48the position groups
00:49and the play callers from 1 to 5 with a 1 being terrible, a 3 being average, and a 5
00:54being elite.
00:56And then I send those rankings out to all the writers and podcasters at CBS,
00:59and I incorporate feedback from them to sort of tweak the rankings a bit.
01:03And then we average out the rankings using a formula where we rate the offensive line and the play callers
01:09and the wide receivers and tight ends and then the running backs
01:12so that the most important elements are more important than, say,
01:17so that the offensive line and the pass catchers are more important than the running backs
01:20because those groups tend to have more of an effect on your offense than the individual running backs do.
01:26We actually tweaked the formula this year,
01:28and I think Washington was one of the teams that was most negatively affected
01:31because the way we used to do it was it weighted the quarterbacks most heavily,
01:36and it basically turned into a list of who are the best quarterbacks.
01:39And what we're trying to do instead is who's putting their quarterbacks in the best position to succeed.
01:44So if we had done it the way we did before, the Commanders would have been higher
01:47because Jaden Daniels is the strongest element of their offense.
01:50But because we took that out this year, it knocked them further down on the list.
01:54But I was still surprised to see them fall as far down as they did,
01:58especially compared with the year before.
01:59But some of that is just because of the lack of depth at the pass catcher spot,
02:03and then the running backs being probably the weakest area of the offense.
02:08This is so hard to say, Jared, but I don't know how to say it better than this.
02:12You know that friend or someone that you know that thinks they're incredibly handsome
02:17and in good shape, and it's like they don't own a mirror?
02:19Do you know what I mean?
02:20Do you think some of these teams are going,
02:22yep, we got a great group, and then they might read this and find out,
02:25well, maybe we don't.
02:26Are there teams that are delusional, and I wonder if Washington might be one of them?
02:31There are probably teams that are trying to talk themselves into
02:34they look much better than they do.
02:36One of the teams that's pretty far down on the list, too,
02:38I think they might have come in second to last, is the Titans.
02:41And they supposedly did a lot to upgrade,
02:44especially their pass catching core this offseason.
02:46But they still came in pretty far down the list for us.
02:49And it's got to be a tough pill to swallow.
02:51I think the thing for Washington is, though,
02:54they didn't do a lot to upgrade the offensive side of the ball this offseason.
02:57They spent almost all of their resources on defense,
03:00and that was a group last year.
03:01You know, they lose Tyler Biotish at center from last year.
03:05They lose Debo Samuel, who was their number two wide receiver last year.
03:08And they didn't do a ton to replace those guys.
03:11They're counting on internal improvement,
03:13and then they're especially, I think, at wide receiver,
03:15counting on Antonio Williams to come in and contribute right away as a third-round pick.
03:18Well, the thing that you didn't mention that I think they're really counting on
03:21is their scheme elevating guys as well,
03:23with David Blau running the Ben Johnson, Kevin O'Connell, Kyle Shanahan-esque scheme
03:29rather than the one-off college scheme that Cliff Kingsbury was running
03:33that nobody else really runs, possibly for good reason.
03:36How much of that was baked into this?
03:38Because that would be something they would tell you they think is a huge factor.
03:43Definitely.
03:44I think that they're probably counting on that a lot.
03:46One of the things we do is we give first-time offensive play callers
03:50an average rating pretty much no matter what.
03:52No matter how sought after they were during the offseason,
03:55we give them an average rating until they prove otherwise.
03:58So that probably affected the rating, too.
04:01Jared Dubin with us here on G&D.
04:03We've gone through some of these rankings,
04:05and it's a source of a lot of conversation around here.
04:08I think Washington recognizes they had a need,
04:11and they went after Alec Pierce, they went after Romeo Dobbs,
04:13didn't get those guys.
04:14You don't blame them for just wasting money.
04:17That's probably smart when you don't get those guys.
04:20But they're basically counting on a third-round rookie
04:22and a bunch of guys that were names at one point,
04:25hoping that Van Jefferson and Trelon Burks
04:28and a bunch of just guys sort of emerge in that second role.
04:31Do you think they might not need an excellent second receiver
04:35to go maybe with multiple tight end looks
04:37or just kind of sort of a different variety of offense
04:39maybe than we're expecting?
04:42Yeah, I mean, everybody's going to, I think,
04:44go with more multiple tight end looks
04:46based on the success that the Rams
04:47and a little bit of the Seahawks had last year.
04:51And obviously, they bring in Chigakonkwo.
04:52You pair him with some of the guys they have there.
04:54Obviously, they lost Zach Ertz from last season's team with the injury.
04:57But I would imagine they are going to go to more multiple tight end stuff,
05:00especially if they're bringing over that same kind of scheme
05:02like the guys that you mentioned that have been running.
05:04But I do think you still do need multiple threats on the outside
05:09to sort of open the middle of the field for those multiple tight end looks.
05:12And obviously, they've been looking into Brandon Ayuk
05:15or Brandon Ayuk has been looking into them.
05:16But he has been, let's say, a little volatile this offseason
05:20and hasn't produced in a real way, obviously,
05:23since I think it was the 2024 season was the last time he was on the field.
05:27And even at that time, he struggled a little bit compared to the year before
05:33when he had his breakout season.
05:35So it's not necessarily like even if they bring him in,
05:37we can expect him to be a high-level threat right away.
05:40And they are counting on guys, like you said, who used to be names
05:43or who were names at one point to really provide that secondary outside threat
05:47in addition to Terry McLaurin.
05:49Jared Dubin of CBS Sports, really good piece on the supporting casts
05:54offensively around quarterbacks.
05:56And I say offensively, they did not take into account defense,
05:58which we'll get to in a second.
06:01But this was just to look at the skill position group, the O-line,
06:04and kind of how an offense could help elevate AQB.
06:08What about Terry McLaurin?
06:09How do you guys view him?
06:10How did he grade out when you ask the pundits at CBS?
06:14He's had an entire career of being a top 10 to 15 kind of range guy
06:19in the league before last year's injuries after a bad offseason
06:22where he was in a contract dispute.
06:23You know, they're very high on Chigakonkwo to do more than he's done
06:26because he really wasn't used like they're going to use him getting here.
06:29And then the last guy would be Bill, their running back,
06:32who I think ranked 30th via PFF.
06:34They obviously have a different view on him than a lot of people,
06:37former seventh-round pick.
06:39Those are the core guys here, if you will.
06:41You did triplets piece on number one wide receiver, number one running back.
06:45How did those guys, before you get into the depth,
06:48fare when you start diving in on them?
06:50Yeah, I think in the triplets piece that we did,
06:53they came in lower than I expected to.
06:55And I think, honestly, a lot of that is just a hangover from the injury issues
06:58that Jaden Daniels had last year.
07:01Like, we didn't see him at his best.
07:03And for a bunch of the season, we didn't see him at all.
07:06And I think if you flip his two seasons,
07:08obviously the Commanders would rank significantly higher in those rankings.
07:12And I think if we saw him healthy last year,
07:14they would rank higher in those rankings too.
07:16And just because he would have been better, Terry McLaurin would have been better.
07:20And I think that for the most part,
07:22I can't speak for all the other voters in the poll,
07:25but for me specifically,
07:26I rate the quarterback the highest out of those three positions
07:30when we do the rankings.
07:31I factor in the quarterback the most,
07:33then the wide receiver, then the running back.
07:35And those are the two strongest parts of the triplets for the Commanders.
07:38So I was one of the higher ones on their triplets
07:41when we did our rankings of those.
07:43So, Jared, to that point, that's what I was going to ask,
07:45is if McLaurin had a McLaurin season where he was healthy
07:49and did his 80 catches, just over 1,000 yards,
07:52six touchdowns, like his career averages were kind of back in line.
07:55How high would they be in your view?
07:57Yeah, I think they could have climbed certainly up from where they are
08:00in the rankings that we have them,
08:02where basically what we do is we ask all of the writers and podcasters
08:06at CBS to rate the triplets from 1 to 32
08:08and then just average the rankings.
08:11And they came out in 24th.
08:12I certainly think they would have been four, five, six spots higher at least.
08:16But obviously, if we're talking about McLaurin having his normal season,
08:21then that means Jaden Daniels probably would have had a much better season.
08:24And it's hard to disentangle those things
08:27because we didn't see Daniels for a bunch of last year
08:29and he wasn't himself for a bunch of last year.
08:32So it's hard to say where they would have ranked
08:34just because so much would have been different
08:36if McLaurin was having his best season too.
08:38Jared Dubin of CBS Sports.
08:40So I wanted to get into the defensive element of this
08:42because I think most people in town agree with this thinking
08:46on the offensive skill group.
08:48We've talked as a show a lot about the fact that
08:51they really didn't do nearly as much as we anticipated
08:54to surround Jaden Daniels with talent.
08:56But the argument I keep making is
08:58they might have done more to help their defense than any other team.
09:00Starting with Durante Jones as a defensive coordinator
09:04and the upgrade they're in.
09:05Then talking about 10 of their 13 key free agents coming in here
09:08are playing on the defensive side of the ball.
09:10The pass rush should be a lot better.
09:12And it seems to me like their logic was
09:14this is how we're going to help Daniels.
09:16This is part of supporting a young quarterback
09:19in a complementary sport.
09:21Obviously, that was not the piece you did, including defense.
09:24But what do you think?
09:25I mean, could they be right about that?
09:27Yeah, I mean, a good defense obviously helps your quarterback.
09:30You're not going to be playing from behind as often.
09:34And I think that's especially key for this team
09:36because they're not going to be built to play from behind
09:38and come back from deficits.
09:39I think they were last in the league in yards allowed last year,
09:42if I'm remembering correctly, and like 27th or 28th in points allowed.
09:46And they went and attacked those weaknesses with, like you said,
09:49like 10 of their 13 big free agents.
09:52And obviously, the guy was one of the best players in the draft
09:54with Sonny Stiles.
09:55Like, they're going to need that defense to really step it up
09:58in a big way because of the relative weaknesses
10:01that they have on offense.
10:02And I think, especially if the pass rush improves
10:05as much as they want it to, that would be a big help.
10:08So how good does the defense have to be for that to work?
10:11In other words, that to me, I call that the Denver formula
10:13where you've got maybe the best defense in the sport
10:15or one that's up there, and Bo Nix is just checking it down.
10:19Like, how good does that defense have to be
10:21to have this desired effect for Jaden Daniels and company?
10:25Well, I guess it depends on where you're looking to get to.
10:29Like, if you're looking to improve from 5 and 12,
10:31you've got to get to at least average.
10:33If you're looking to really compete in the NFC,
10:36you've got to get to the top 10 range.
10:39Jared Dubin of CBS Sports on GND.
10:43All right, I want to get into some of the top teams
10:45outside of Washington in this ecosystems conversation.
10:48So you had the Rams 1, the Bears 2,
10:51which makes me envy the way they're helping Caleb Williams
10:54in Chicago a little bit, the Lions 3, and then the Cowboys 4.
10:58My first thought is Matt Stafford just won the MVP,
11:01and one of the arguments I was making against him last year is
11:04he's got it pretty good.
11:05But there's a little bit of a Jalen Hurts feel there
11:06where it's like Sean McVay calling plays
11:08and weapons all around him,
11:10and we're naming him the most viable player in the league, but okay.
11:12When you look at those teams, what have they done so well?
11:16Yeah, I mean, just having Sean McVay and Ben Johnson
11:19is obviously the biggest thing for those two teams.
11:23We rated them as fives in the play caller department
11:27just because of, like, elite play callers,
11:29and that's how high level they've been.
11:31Then you have Puka Nakua and Devontae Adams for the Rams,
11:35so they rated really high in the pass catcher department.
11:38And then the Bears just have really good depth at pass catcher
11:40with guys that they brought in and spent really high draft picks on.
11:45We weighted their depth a little bit more than some other teams
11:49as opposed to having the super high level pass catchers.
11:52The running backs for Chicago were really good last year.
11:54They spent a ton of money on their offensive line.
11:56The Rams' offensive line could have some question marks,
11:59especially with the question marks around Alaric Jackson this offseason,
12:03but between the play callers and the pass catchers,
12:06I think was the big thing of those two teams rating highly.
12:10We've seen, obviously, in Detroit the offensive ecosystem
12:13that that team has, even though the offensive line
12:16has sort of degraded a little bit over the years.
12:18They're hoping that the tackle they drafted in the first round
12:20can come in and solidify the right tackle spot
12:22with Panay Sewell moving across to the left side of the offensive line.
12:25They have a really good pass catching group.
12:27They have one of the best running backs in the league in Jameer Gibbs.
12:31And then for the Cowboys, it's just the offensive line is pretty good.
12:34They have arguably one of the best wide receiver duos in the league
12:38in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
12:40They've got some pretty good depth there as well.
12:42Ryan from Illinois played well for them last year.
12:43Jake Ferguson has played well in a couple of different seasons.
12:46Obviously, last year wasn't his best year.
12:48And then Javante Williams played a lot better for them
12:50than he had in Denver the year before.
12:53Jared, this is not your fault.
12:55This is a Danny issue.
12:57My name is Danny.
12:57This is my issue.
12:59Why does everybody fall all over themselves
13:02when talking about the Green Bay Packers?
13:05Like, Josh Jacobs is a pedestrian-plotting,
13:08four-yard-to-carry guy that went for 900 yards last year.
13:11Christian Watson was on barely a thousand-yard pace.
13:13And when Jordan Love throws for 25 touchdowns and 11 picks,
13:16people are acting like they just saw a Rembrandt.
13:18Like, I do not understand the fawning over them
13:22and why they're ranked above, say, Seattle or, you know, Minnesota
13:27or, you know, the Atlanta weaponry.
13:29I know I understand Tua's going to knock those rankings out.
13:31But a lot of bona fides with way more pelts on the wall offensively
13:34than that group.
13:35What is up with the fawning over Green Bay?
13:38And again, not your issue.
13:39It's mine.
13:40Yeah, I think that people see the explosive highs
13:43that the Packers can reach
13:45and sort of hang on to those
13:46when there are also some pretty low lows that we've seen.
13:49Like, when Jordan Love throws interceptions,
13:52they are some of the worst interceptions that you'll ever see.
13:54But when he throws touchdowns
13:56and they're really moving the ball explosively down the field,
13:58it looks as pretty as you'll ever see an offense look.
14:02And Matt LaFleur, I think people give him a lot of credit,
14:04especially for what he has been able to do
14:06when Love hasn't been on the field.
14:07Like, you look at the way that offense operated
14:10with Malik Willis under center
14:11and how well they were able to play
14:13despite not having their starting quarterback.
14:15I think that that makes the ecosystem look a lot better.
14:19Jared, the last one I've got for you on this triplets piece
14:22where the Commanders did come in 24th,
14:25Bengals over Rams.
14:26So this is quarterback, running back, receiver.
14:28You mentioned that you weighed it correctly, I think.
14:31Quarterback and receiver, right?
14:33But you have the Burrow-Brown-Chase trio
14:37over Stafford-Williams-Nakua.
14:39How tough was that?
14:41And was anybody else right there,
14:43whether that's Detroit or Baltimore or the rest of the crew?
14:46Yeah, so that's, again, an average
14:49of all of the various writers and podcasters at CBS
14:52that decided to contribute.
14:54And actually, the Rams' lowest ranking among the group
14:59came in at No. 3, and the Bengals' lowest ranking
15:02came in at No. 4.
15:03But because the Bengals got more votes
15:05in the No. 1 spot, they actually wound up ahead.
15:07And I personally rate the quarterback the most
15:11and then the wide receiver and then the running back,
15:12but I can't speak for the other voters in the poll
15:14who might view it a little bit more evenly.
15:17And I think that people might like Chase Brown
15:18a little bit better than Kyron Williams.
15:20But, I mean, for me, you're splitting hairs
15:22between those two groups.
15:24Jared, this is great, man.
15:25Really appreciate the time.
15:26Good piece.
15:27Thanks for having me.
15:28I appreciate it.
15:28You guys have a good day.
15:29Go check out his work, cbssports.com.
15:32It's Jared Dubin on Grant and Danny.
15:34So the commanders for the triplet story,
15:36so that's Daniels, Bill, and Terry McLaurin
15:40came in 24th on the list behind the New Orleans Saints
15:44of Tyler Shuck, Travis Etienne, and Chris Alave.
15:47I'd like to be ahead of New Orleans, please.
15:50I mean, that's tough for me.
15:53Alave's a beast.
15:54I can make the case he is better than Terry McLaurin.
15:58I think it's close.
15:59Etienne is a running back over Bill.
16:01Sure, I get that.
16:02But I'd like to be able to hope that Daniels has such a gap over Shuck
16:07that it can make up for those other two, no?
16:09That'd be the theory.
16:09Especially if you're waiting, you're voting, so to speak.
16:12It's not like one point for quarterback, one point for the...
16:16It's quarterbacks weighted.
16:17Yeah, 33% three ways.
16:19Okay, maybe.
16:20But this is like probably 50% quarterback, 30% receiver, 20% running back.
16:25Something like that.
16:26Even after as disastrous as last year was,
16:28I would take Jaden Daniels over, Tyler Shuck, Jackson Dart, Daniel Jones,
16:32you know, a bunch of the guys that are on teams that are ranked more highly here
16:36than Washington is.
16:37It's not a quarterback ranking.
16:38But it's not just a quarterback ranking.
16:40Well, but the Giants, here's my problem, and maybe I'm just not a Cam Scadaboo guy.
16:43I know I'm not.
16:44You want to talk about plotters who run into people
16:46and are just 3.8 yards per carry and waiting?
16:49But Jackson Dart, Cam Scadaboo, and Malik Neighbors,
16:52who right now can't run and cut because he's got a knee injury,
16:56being ahead of McLaurin and Daniels and Bill, that one's also tough for me.
17:01So you're telling me then that Washington is dead last in the division among triplets?
17:07I don't know about that.
17:08I mean, they got big problems if that's the case.
17:11If Daniels, Bill, and McLaurin have the worst year of all of the triplets in the division,
17:16that would be a real issue.
17:18But like the Colts, Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor, Alec Pierce.
17:22Pierce has led the league in yards per catch the last two years.
17:25A little bit of a one-trick pony.
17:26Jonathan Taylor makes up for a lot.
17:27That's a bad dude.
17:28Daniel Jones?
17:29Okay, I guess.
17:31But I would love to have seen Washington instead of 24 in the high teens,
17:35but it is what it is.
17:37The Nationals have made some news today.
17:40They're calling up one of their top prospects.
17:41They also just made a trade.
17:43We'll get you the details next on Grant and Danny.
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