G&D spent a lot of Thursday’s show reacting – to Jayden Daniels’ agent’s Tweets, to thoughts on the Top 30 group Topgolf outing, to Nic Dowd talking Caps playoffs and both Ryan Wilson and Jordan Reid giving their thoughts on the Maye vs. Daniels debate.
But in the latter’s segment, Grant thought “there was one particular answer that sounded a siren for me as potential intel and information you'll want come next week,” and here it is:
“I think this is the worst kept secret in the draft right now, is the Commanders trading up from 36 or 40 to get an offensive tackle. It just makes so much sense for them to trade up and take advantage of this deep offensive line class. I just don't see Adam Peters having so many picks and just waiting till 36 or 40 for one of those guys to fall to him. I could see them trading up to the mid-to-late twenties, something like that, to get one of these guys that potentially is falling.”
We know GP is all about that, as he took the over of 1.5 picks in the first round, thinking the Commanders will be back in the back half of Round 1. Danny Rouhier?
“I think it's a coin toss, not because they don't want that to happen – I think they're willing to, if their read is that there’s gonna be a run and we're gonna be left with kind of the leftovers at 36 or 40, to make a move,” Danny said. “But if what happens at every single draft, where guys ‘fall through the cracks’ or there's a run on a different position, happens and the numbers game works out for them, then I bet you they stay put. So to me it's a coin toss as to if that'll happen. I think they are poised and ready to do that very thing, to trade back into the first round and maybe somewhere in the early twenties, content depending, to snag one of these tackles.”
“I just don't think you can stay pat and get a starter on the left side at 36; if you do, then everything fell perfectly, but you can't risk that,” Grant replied. “Let’s say you see how 32 picks go, which is gonna be excruciating sitting waiting and hoping that tackles are falling and still available for you when Round 2 starts on Friday, but now let's fast forward to Friday – I think you got to go up to the start of the second round. If they only make the one pick and they still have 36 and 40, then I don't think you can wait, not only for the teams actually on the clock in front of you, but the teams that could trade up knowing you're gonna go tackle because it's not a secret. Everybody knows they don't have a left tackle on the depth chart, so I don't think you can risk somebody jumping you. And, why not move up and get an extra fifth year? You're talking about the difference of four or five picks, taking someone at 30 versus 34 or something like that, and you get a fifth year on the cheap, so to speak in the rookie deal.”
The big question will be how the tackle board shakes out after the few studs go early; once that middle tier starts to go, though, how long can Washington wait, hoping that, say, Jordan Morgan, who is heavily mocked to DC at 36, actually survives Day 1 still on the board?
“The case you're making is 100 percent right, and I agree with it because it's the only position where they don't have flexibility,” Danny said. “One of the things they said in the press conference is that what free agency allowed them to do is to not feel any pressure in the draft. But that's the only spot they feel pressure, because as you said, they don't have a left tackle right now. It's Cornelius Lucas or Braeden Daniels…no thank you, right? Everybody knows they're going to draft the tackle at some point, or they're going to go to the second round of free agency, but their starting left tackle is not on their roster. So they're going to get one, it’s just a matter of when, I think, and how.”