Our guy Shawne Merriman is keeping busy these days, now just launching a multi-sport streaming service called “Lights Out Sports TV” in addition to all his other ventures.
“Now my Lights Out Extreme Fighting fights will be live exclusively on the app, and we'll also be having poker and kickboxing and chess, motorsports, outdoor sports,” Shawne told JP Finlay Monday. “If you love sports, this is the place to be and it's 100% free. A lot of niche sports don't get the opportunity to be seen; it's very fragmented, so I wanted to create an all-sports, locker room-type of vibe of all sports on one platform. We have some of the best content partners out there, so it's your go-to for sports and lifestyle sports TV.”
What Merriman really joined JP to talk about though was the Commanders’ draft, and how the team has turned over nearly HALF its roster from 2023 – something Shawne has NEVER been a part of.
“Nah, but you know it's coming; it was just too much talk, and let's start from the ownership, right? Everyone knew that Dan Snyder was gonna be out of there at some point, so once the new ownership happened, you knew that you were gonna see a lot of different faces,” Merriman said. “I played for Ron Rivera, I think the world of him and think he's a great coach and an even greater person, but we all knew that he was gonna be gone. And as far as the players, once Sweat and Chase were gone, I knew that was the starting point of them cleaning house. Typically you would get rid of one of the guys, not both, so when I saw that happen, I knew there was gonna be changes throughout this whole entire process – and it was time, man, because at the end of the day, that'll always be home, and they're not gonna accept being mediocre in that division, especially when they got an opportunity to win now.”
That starts in September with new QB Jayden Daniels, who Merriman thinks is the best option of this year’s class to be ready to roll right away.
“I think that Jayden Daniels is probably the most pro ready of the group; Caleb Williams is exciting because he has the hype and the attributes and the big wild things of what he can do with his legs and arm, but as far as NFL ready, I think Daniels was the guy,” Merriman said. “The closer you got to the draft, the more people started talking about things that don't matter – but this guy that got plenty of film has been immaculate in college, tested out extremely well in his pro day and combine, and everything else. It’s one of thise things where someone’s trying to get him to slip, and that happens a lot, but he's gonna come in there and make changes and put them in a better position the first day he gets under center, because he's that talented.”
As a ‘guy that used to hit quarterbacks for a living,’ Merriman knows Daniels has taken some big hits in college that are harped on, but thinks he’ll find a way to make it all come together in the NFL.
“I was always trying to break everybody, but in this day and age, it's hard for you to try to break anybody because you can't hit him! But I think his arm strength is next level, and with his legs and a combination of that, it’s gonna be very important he’s not be afraid to use his legs to get that first down to get that touchdown or whatever, especially when you're coming in trying to learn the playbook,” Merriman said. “Go make a play first, right? Because if you get told over and over again you're not a pocket passer, you can't do this, you can't do that, you would do things to try to beat the word that's out there, right? No, go out there and make plays; if that just so happens to be with your legs first until you understand the speed of the game coverages and can really get up to par with NFL standards, go out there and make plays, and he's capable of doing that. So I hope that Dan Quinn and those guys, when they talk to him, say, look, if you got the opportunity to take off and run and get us that big first down or get us in a better position, go ahead and do that until the game slows down for you.”
And it’s a good thing the Commanders got their guy, too, because when JP asked Merriman if he was surprised not a single defensive player went until No. 15, his answer was simple.
“That was just the way this year went; it was very skill position-heavy because we’re starting to see now that these organizations are recognizing you cannot win in this league without a franchise quarterback,” Shawne said. “This isn’t the 2000 Ravens where they averaged 11 or 12 points and went to the Super Bowl; those days are done. If you don't have a franchise quarterback, you're not competing anywhere, so that's why you're seeing these teams jump up and make crazy moves to get their guy. If you get your guy, you're gonna be set for the next five or 10 years to put yourself in a position to win. Some defensive guys slipped a little bit because of that, some organizations missed out on some really, really good defenders, but we're seeing now that these franchises are not playing around getting their guy under no circumstances; they will move up and find that quarterback, because there’s no other way to win these days.”