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the intent is for Mikey Sander still to

1:22

move back inside on the commander's defense,

1:24

and that means the team needs somebody else

1:26

to play opposite of Marshawn Lattimore, our

1:28

top seven draft candidates for that job right

1:30

now on Locked On Commanders. You

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are Locked On Commanders, your

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Washington Commanders, part of the

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your team every day. And

1:49

welcome inside today's episode of Locked on

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Commanders. I am your host, David Harrison,

1:53

here with you every Monday through Friday.

1:55

Your friend, your eyes, your ears on

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the ground covering the Washington Commanders for

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for your CBS affiliate WUSA9 .com, helping

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out with their digital coverage of

2:08

the team. I want to thank

2:10

you for coming through today. And

2:12

today we are going to continue

2:14

our big board series with the

2:16

perimeter cornerback. position. Insiders want to

2:18

talk corner. The question is, are

2:20

we talking corners through the lens

2:22

of Mikey Sander still staying outside

2:24

or moving back inside where he

2:26

started? Insiders predominantly, mostly believe that

2:28

Mikey Sander still is going to be

2:30

moving back inside. So we're looking at perimeter

2:33

corners. If you love slot corners, don't

2:35

worry. We are going to talk slot corners

2:37

again at another episode. Later on here,

2:39

before we get to the NFL draft every

2:41

day, there's those of you who come

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2:51

day. And for everybody out there, if you're

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not already, please subscribe for free on

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YouTube or wherever you are listening to today's

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episode. And if you're new to the

3:00

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America's number one sportsbook. Next up

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in our big board series is the

3:23

cornerback position. We've already done explosive running

3:25

backs. We've also done pass rushing edge

3:27

defenders. Now we're going to talk about...

3:29

corners but again the question was what

3:31

type of corner we're looking for perimeter

3:33

corners for the Washington Commanders in case

3:35

they plan on moving Mikey Sanders still

3:37

back inside of course second string or

3:39

second string second year cornerback Mikey Sanders

3:42

still drafted last year in the second

3:44

round out of the Michigan Wolverines program

3:46

was brought in to be that slot

3:48

defender that's where he started off his

3:50

NFL career but because of things transpiring

3:52

he ended up having to move inside

3:54

the Washington Commanders started last year with

3:56

Benjamin St. Juice and Emmanuel Forbes starting

3:59

outside, although Mike Davis was kind of

4:01

expected to challenge for one of those

4:03

positions. Mikey Sanders still was inside, and

4:05

then they ended up with Marshawn Lattimore

4:07

after the trade. Of course, that was

4:09

late in the season more than anything,

4:11

and Mikey Sanders still outside. Noah Igbenogany

4:13

took over inside once Mikey moved outside.

4:15

All three of those players are back.

4:18

Lattimore, Sanders, still Igbenogany. They're all back

4:20

on the team. Emmanuel Forbes is with

4:22

the Rams. Benjamin St. Juice

4:24

is with the Chargers, so they're both in Los

4:26

Angeles. The team... Last

4:29

year, overall, was one of the best

4:31

when it came to preventing explosive pass

4:33

plays to opponents. Of course, explosive pass

4:35

plays are pass plays that gain 20

4:37

yards or more. They don't have to

4:39

be air yards 20 more yards, 20

4:41

yards or more. They just have to

4:43

gain 20 yards or more. So it

4:45

could be a five -yard behind -the -line -of

4:47

-scrimmage forward pass. As long as it's

4:49

a forward pass and then it gains

4:51

20 yards, it's an explosive pass. The

4:53

Commander's defense did a really good job

4:55

of containing those against opponents last year.

4:57

They're about middle of the pack. When

4:59

it came to giving up passing touchdowns,

5:01

ranked 30th in interceptions, not good. Tied

5:03

for the most defensive pass interference penalties

5:05

in the league, which, of course, isn't

5:07

always a cornerback situation, right, to be

5:09

fair. But secondary -wise, they did rank pretty

5:11

high there. And DPIs also

5:13

gave up one of the lowest completion percentage

5:15

to opponents and were 28th in the

5:17

NFL, allowing 61 .9 % of passes to be

5:19

completed. So a little bit of kind

5:22

of like a hot and cold thing, right?

5:24

Like not a lot of passes being

5:26

completed. Not a lot of touchdowns relative to

5:28

the rest of the league, but a

5:30

whole lot of penalties. Not a lot of

5:32

deep balls, but also not a lot

5:34

of takeaways. And that all led to the

5:36

passer rating that the commander's defense allowed

5:38

being kind of middle of the road. I

5:40

think what that really stems from is

5:43

the lack of takeaways specifically. So when we're

5:45

building a commander's outside cornerback big board,

5:47

I think you're going to give boost to

5:49

guys that have ball production, right? Ball

5:51

skills. At least you want some interceptions. But

5:54

even if you can get some force incompletions,

5:56

those are incompletions that, you know, again, some

5:58

of them are batted balls, tip balls, things

6:00

like that. But it's just something that Pro

6:02

Football Focus, whose stats we're going to be

6:04

using or measurements and analytics we're going to

6:06

be using for this, just kind of give

6:08

credit to that cornerback for being the reason

6:10

the pass fell incomplete. But what are we

6:12

looking at overall? Every single episode in this

6:14

series, this big board series, we're going to

6:17

have a minimum qualifier for the cornerback, especially

6:19

the perimeter cornerback. our minimum qualifier, they need

6:21

to be at least six feet tall. And

6:23

that's actually just a little bit conservative. Like

6:25

you go back to the Dan Quinn defenses,

6:27

specifically in Dallas, you know, more than more

6:29

anything because it's just most recent. And a

6:31

lot of his corners, especially on the outside

6:33

are six, two, somewhere six, three. He kind

6:35

of likes the taller, longer type of corner.

6:37

And that's where a lot of the people

6:40

in the league are going to. So, and

6:42

that's why a lot of insiders believe that

6:44

five foot eight, Mikey Zander still probably not

6:46

going to stay outside by design. You

6:48

know what I mean? Now, if it

6:50

happens again because it's necessary, then so

6:52

be it. But if the team has

6:54

kind of their preference and their ability

6:57

to fulfill their own preference, Mikey Sanders

6:59

is probably moving inside. So

7:01

six foot tall. That's what we're

7:03

kind of looking at. And then we've got to do this

7:05

again because I think it communicated some things more clearly on

7:07

our pass rusher episode. Didn't do this in

7:09

our running back episodes. I want to do it

7:11

here. Travis Hunter. Colorado star wide

7:13

receiver slash corner. He says he wants

7:15

to play both sides, not getting anywhere near

7:17

29, right? Again, unless something incredibly dramatic

7:19

happens from now to next weekend, he's not

7:22

getting anywhere near 29. If Adam Peters

7:24

trades up to the range to get Travis

7:26

Hunter in order to get Travis Hunter,

7:28

like in order to target a corner, it's

7:30

going to be obvious that Travis Hunter

7:32

throw out the big board. The big board

7:34

is Travis Hunter, right? If, I mean,

7:36

the big board, if he trades up to

7:38

say pick number three, which is about

7:40

where you need to get to, The big

7:42

board is Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter, and

7:45

that's it. Like, which one of those two

7:47

guys are you trading up to get,

7:49

right? So it's a

7:51

one -man big board there for the cornerback position,

7:53

so he's not even going to be here. He's

7:55

6 '1", clearly meets the criteria, but he's not

7:57

going to be on this big board. Guys

7:59

like Jaday Barron out of Texas, who's 5 '11",

8:01

also not going to be here, most likely going

8:03

to be playing in the slot in the

8:05

National Football League. He does have outside corner experience.

8:08

If you want to say to me, but

8:10

he could be an outside corner, you're 100 %

8:12

correct. But he's also projected to be going

8:14

about 10 picks or so before the commanders

8:16

get on the clock as well. So we're

8:18

going to leave Jaday Barron off here as

8:20

well. So who does make our watch list?

8:22

Well, there's one player that some of you

8:24

might hear what I just said and say,

8:26

but why is he on the list? That's

8:29

Will Johnson out of Michigan. I'm going to

8:31

tell you right now, the reason that Will

8:33

Johnson is going to be on our list

8:35

of available corners is because there is some

8:37

talk, some concern that some teams. Might be

8:39

worried about, one, his injury history, expensive time

8:41

last year due to injuries, but also his

8:43

speed. Not known for having the long speed,

8:45

right? If he loses early, he just kind

8:47

of loses. You need top coverage there, and

8:49

a lot of teams like to play single

8:51

high coverage sometimes, and the commanders specifically like

8:53

to do that. So there is a possibility

8:55

that Will Johnson might be available. 29, I

8:57

think, is a stretch, but there was a

8:59

recent Sports Illustrated column about kind of like

9:01

dream scenarios for teams and basically Will Johnson

9:03

being within range. for Adam Peters to move

9:05

up and go get. And I know a

9:07

lot of people here would flinch at the

9:09

thought of Adam Peters moving up because that

9:11

means obviously you're giving up more draft capital

9:13

than you've already given up. But, you know,

9:16

if he loves Will Johnson and he makes

9:18

it to, I don't know, say 22, maybe

9:20

you can see Adam Peters pull a move

9:22

off and go get, you know, back -to -back

9:24

years, go get a Michigan cornerback. You know

9:26

what I mean? So Will Johnson is going

9:28

to be on the list. So 17 players

9:30

total is what we studied. Again, three games

9:32

minimum for each of them watched on tape.

9:34

I watched more tape on some of these

9:36

guys. Just if I had questions, there's one

9:38

guy with the first round projection that I

9:40

already know. Some of you are not going

9:42

to appreciate where I put him on the

9:44

big board and I'm sorry, but I watched,

9:46

I think I watched five or six games

9:48

of his tape. So we'll get to that.

9:51

But we're going to make our top seven,

9:53

just like we do every other position group

9:55

in this series, just like we will every

9:57

other position group. So in that group of

9:59

17 players, what are we looking for? We

10:01

got some measurables that I can share with

10:04

you data wise that help kind of represent.

10:06

What I saw on the tape, we're talking

10:08

40 times. We're talking verticals at Pro Days

10:10

or at NFL Scouting Combine. Then we're looking

10:12

at some statistics to quantify what you get

10:14

in this player. TDs allowed, interceptions, reception percentage

10:16

when targeted, and forced interception or forced and

10:18

completion percentage are the things that we're going

10:21

to kind of look at. We're going to

10:23

give people a plus, a little bit of

10:25

a bump for guys that played a good

10:27

amount of man coverage. And we're talking 30 %

10:29

or more man coverage because the Washington Canary

10:31

has played a lot of man. Noah Igbenogany,

10:33

Benjamin St. Juice, Mikey Sander still. all finished

10:36

top 22 in the NFL in man coverage

10:38

percentage among the 100 top cornerbacks in coverage

10:40

snaps, okay? Marshawn Lattimore finished 46th.

10:42

He only played 12 games. The highest

10:44

Saints cornerback was ranked 35th. So 12 games,

10:46

ranked 46th, a lot of man coverage

10:48

playing for the commanders. We're also going to

10:50

give a bump to guys who did

10:52

the bench and did well in the bench.

10:54

14 or more reps is considered pretty

10:56

good for a cornerback in the bench game.

10:58

Not a huge bump. Well, we are

11:00

going to give them a little bit of

11:02

a bump because if you have that

11:04

physical upper body strength and ability, you know,

11:06

even if you're not necessarily known as

11:08

a press corner coming out of college, good

11:10

coaching, good strength in your upper body,

11:12

you should be able to become a good

11:14

press corner with the right type of

11:16

instruction. So that's the criteria here. What we're

11:18

looking for in this cornerback bid board.

11:20

Let's get down to the dirty details of

11:22

it. Crafting our top seven outside cornerbacks

11:24

for the Washington Commanders in this year's NFL

11:26

draft. Coming up next on today's episode

11:28

of Locked On Commanders. Part of the Lockdown

11:30

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now with our episode, today's episode

13:22

of Locked On Commanders. Thanks for coming

13:24

through. Here are our top seven

13:26

cornerbacks. And we're going to talk

13:28

about, there's a couple of ways we went

13:30

about this, right? So listen, we've talked

13:32

about this before every day as you've heard

13:34

this. Anybody that talks about the draft

13:36

extensively is going to tell you tape, tape,

13:38

tape, tape, tape, tape does everything. So

13:40

this group was very interesting because in the

13:42

other groups, in the explosive running back

13:44

group, in the past rushing edge group, the

13:46

data kind of clearly identified who the

13:49

best quote unquote NFL prospects were on tape

13:51

as well. But cornerback is a little

13:53

bit more of a dependent position, right? Because

13:55

if your only target, let's say you

13:57

have a really good cornerback out there. So

13:59

the quarterbacks that face him only throw

14:01

screen passes towards him. Well, technically he's being

14:03

targeted. That's this guy you're being targeted.

14:05

So the completion percentage against you might be

14:07

a little bit higher or you don't

14:09

get thrown out very much. Your interception totals

14:11

might get higher. I'm not telling you

14:14

guys anything that most you don't already know.

14:16

If a cornerback doesn't see a lot

14:18

of action, they can't produce a lot of

14:20

stats, right? I know there were some

14:22

commanders fans who came out of the new

14:24

Orleans saints game last year, specifically disappointed

14:26

with Marshawn Lattimore said, I didn't hear his

14:28

name. He didn't do anything, expected more.

14:30

Truth of the matter is the Saints not

14:32

only never threw at him, they never

14:34

ran at him. They just didn't go towards

14:36

Marshawn Lattimore, so much they respected him,

14:39

knowing him from being on their team. They

14:41

just straight up didn't challenge him. Now,

14:43

of course, later on in the season, the

14:45

Eagles challenged him, et cetera, et cetera,

14:47

and certainly there was some disappointment associated with

14:49

his performance anyway, but against the Saints

14:51

specifically, it's kind of hard to fault a

14:53

guy for no tackles, no PBUs, no

14:55

interceptions, none of that stuff, no splash plays,

14:57

no highlights. when the opposing

14:59

offense literally is just staying

15:01

away from them at all costs.

15:03

So based on quantifiable data

15:06

and measurables of our 17 corners

15:08

that we evaluated, here are

15:10

the top seven. Darian Porter, Iowa

15:12

state came in number one

15:14

in this category. He was second

15:16

in the 40 time of

15:18

the tested group, ran a four,

15:20

three great 40 time tied

15:22

for third in the vertical, which

15:24

is great. 36 .5 inches. First

15:27

in touchdowns allowed last year because didn't allow

15:29

any. There were a few corners on here

15:31

who didn't allow any touchdowns last year. Tied

15:33

for fifth in interceptions with three of them.

15:36

First in reception percentage against only 29 .4 %

15:38

of passes thrown his way were completed. And

15:40

he was second in forced interception percentages with

15:42

24%. So those are all great numbers. Darian

15:44

Porter, however, not our number one corner when

15:46

we get to the final part of the

15:48

big board because that's where the data looks

15:50

really good. You don't get me wrong. We're

15:52

to use that data. And that data certainly

15:54

does show up on tape when you watch

15:57

Darian Porter play. Like, you see 24 % of

15:59

the passes thrown his way get broken up

16:01

by him. The incompletion happens because of something

16:03

he does. The reception amount, less than 30%.

16:05

You see that happen, of course, on tape.

16:07

But it's why it happens on tape. That's

16:09

what we'll talk about here as we get

16:11

through this. So, Darian Porter, number one, when

16:13

you just go by kind of the scoring,

16:15

right? He hits 11 stars. I've got a

16:17

star system that I use that we're not

16:19

going to break down completely here on this

16:21

show. But he ranks number one. on there

16:23

in that star system however there are other

16:25

guys like say will johnson for example who

16:28

finishes on this list 13th and he's certainly

16:30

clearly not the 13th cornerback on this list

16:32

when you talk about a big board but

16:34

didn't work out the scouting combine didn't work

16:36

out as pro day um and then when

16:38

you look at stats right he didn't allow

16:40

any touchdowns only at two interceptions but the

16:42

other numbers not all that great he only

16:44

played until october then he suffered a turf

16:46

toe injury who ended up missing the rest

16:48

of the season so a lot of his

16:50

other numbers not all that great doesn't give

16:52

him a lot of points, doesn't move him

16:54

up there. In fact, only finished with three

16:56

points with the same amount of Kobe Bryant

16:59

out of Kansas, also Mellow Dotson out of

17:01

Kansas, two guys that are not

17:03

first -round projected picks in this year's NFL

17:05

draft. So those types of things kind

17:07

of skew them, but we still have some

17:09

impressive numbers. And, you know, I know

17:11

some of these guys don't get a lot

17:13

of press, so I do want to

17:15

kind of talk about them. So Darian Porter

17:17

out of Iowa State we already talked

17:19

about. Lazar Frazier, another guy out of UTSA,

17:21

University of Texas San Antonio, not a

17:23

major program. but he finished third in the

17:25

40, ran a 4 -3 -6 -40, 36 .5 -inch

17:28

vert, really good, only gave up one

17:30

touchdown all last season, had six interceptions. Meanwhile,

17:32

last season did allow a 47 .4 %

17:34

completion rate, which is sixth best in this

17:36

group, so not terrible but not great

17:38

either, and was third in fourth in completion,

17:40

so he does make a lot of

17:42

plays on the ball. And then there's a

17:44

guy like Maxwell Hairston out of Kentucky. 4

17:47

-2 -8 -40, lightning fast. You

17:49

love the 40. 39 .5

17:51

-inch vert. You love the elevation.

17:53

No touchdowns allowed. You love that.

17:55

Seventh in interceptions. Had

17:58

one interception last year. You'd love to see

18:00

more ball production. Did have 18 %

18:02

of the passes thrown his way, broken

18:04

up by him. So you love that type

18:06

of thing. But I'm telling you

18:08

right now, Maxwell Harrison is that guy.

18:10

He has that first -round projection. He's gotten

18:12

a first, second -round projection. Some people

18:14

have him going day two. But he's guy I'm

18:16

talking about. He's not very high on our board, even

18:18

though he comes in third. On this list, he's

18:20

not very high on the board. I'll get into the

18:22

reasons why, because I know a lot of people,

18:24

or at least a good amount of Commanders fans. There

18:26

are a good amount of you who like him

18:28

and want him on the team. I'm going to tell

18:30

you why I disagree. Trey

18:32

Amos out of Ole Miss comes in

18:34

fourth, tied with Noel Williams and also

18:36

Zia Alexander of LSU. So those guys

18:38

are kind of all matched very, very similarly

18:41

when you talk about the physical attributes

18:43

and you talk about the production, right?

18:45

443, 40 for Trey Amos. Very

18:47

good. But then you have Noel Williams

18:49

who comes in. with a 33 .5 -inch

18:51

vert, seven interceptions. You love that production.

18:53

Zia Alexander, only two interceptions, but he

18:55

also was responsible for breaking up 33

18:57

% of the passes that were thrown

18:59

his way, while a guy like Trey

19:01

Amos broke up 35 .5 % of the

19:03

passes thrown his way. So there's a

19:05

lot of good talent. I think that's

19:07

really kind of the end of the

19:09

day, the end picture here. The reason

19:11

we went through 17 cornerbacks is because

19:13

there's a lot of good ones. Azaria

19:15

Thomas out of Florida State. Didn't really

19:17

rank very high on the list from

19:19

numbers and a production standpoint, right? So

19:21

the tape is going to tell a

19:23

lot of his story as well. Finished

19:25

eighth here. Benjamin Morrison is a guy

19:27

that I know has a lot of

19:29

fans out there. He finishes ninth on

19:31

here and honestly doesn't get climbed up

19:33

the board all that much from the

19:35

tape study. So let's get into the

19:37

details of how we created this top

19:39

seven list and why a guy like

19:41

Hairston out of Kentucky doesn't. ranked very

19:43

highly on the top seven list, even

19:45

though he ranks very highly on the

19:47

measurements and the production. And a guy

19:49

like Will Johnson, who you really don't

19:51

have any production and any measurements from

19:53

2024 specifically, ranks highly, even though you

19:55

don't have any of that data. That's

19:58

coming up next on today's episode of

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Hiring Indeed is all you need. Wrapping

22:04

up today's episode of Locked On Commanders,

22:06

we're stacking and racking seven, top seven.

22:09

perimeter cornerback options for the Washington Commanders. Mike

22:11

Usainer still, if he's going to move back

22:14

inside, or if the intention is for him

22:16

to move back inside, the Washington Commanders certainly

22:18

brought in some free agents. They brought in

22:20

some guys. You know I mean? Noah Igbenogany

22:22

has experience outside all those things, but there's

22:24

not a guy opposite of Marshall and Lattimore

22:26

that you just look at and say, this

22:28

dude's your starter. This is your outside guy,

22:30

no matter what. And we know the Commanders

22:32

love competition anyway. So we talked about some

22:34

of the stats that ended up ranking these

22:36

guys one through seven. And again,

22:38

we'll kind of go through just the names

22:40

one more time. Darian Porter out of

22:42

Iowa State was number one, followed by UTSA,

22:44

Zah Frazier, Maxwell Harrison out of Kentucky. Third,

22:47

Trey Amos out of Ole Miss and Noel

22:49

Williams out of Cal. All tying for fourth

22:51

with Zah Alexander out of LSU. And then

22:53

tying for seventh, we had Dorian Strong, Virginia

22:55

Tech, and Jason Marshall out of Florida. That

22:57

was your top seven. It actually ends up

22:59

being more than seven players. I think it's

23:01

eight players because we have ties. But that

23:03

is not what our final seven. Big board,

23:05

it looks like. Because, of course, tape does

23:07

matter. When you look at a guy like

23:09

Will Johnson out of Michigan, who's not in

23:11

that top seven, when you look at the

23:13

numbers, didn't work out the combine, didn't work

23:15

out his pro day because he's dealing with

23:17

a hamstring injury. There's two sides

23:19

of that coin. One, are you going to draft a

23:21

guy in the first round who hasn't been healthy

23:23

in almost a year? I mean, almost a year is

23:25

a little bit extreme. October is when he suffered

23:27

the injury. So you drafted him in April, but you're

23:29

not going to see him on the field in

23:31

May. If he can't work out with pro day, is

23:33

he to be able to work out with your

23:35

rookie minicamp? Is he to be ready for training camp?

23:37

There's all these questions. And certainly plenty of medical

23:39

people have looked at him. Or

23:42

are you going to draft a guy in

23:44

the first round who doesn't need to be an

23:46

immediate competitor? Like the Washington Commanders, we've heard

23:48

them talk about bringing in people to compete right

23:50

now. But also, this team is trying to

23:52

build this team for the long future. So are

23:54

you willing to roll the dice on a

23:56

guy like Will Johnson? who may not

23:59

be able to participate in camp right away, kind

24:01

of like Johnny Newton, may not even be able

24:03

to participate in training camp right away. Hamstrings are

24:05

a very, very sensitive thing, and I've been told

24:07

by other people in the business that, like, really

24:09

you need, like, three months off to really get

24:11

a hamstring healed. Like, guys miss two weeks and

24:13

then come back with a hamstring. That hamstring's not

24:15

healed. They're just to the point where they think

24:17

they can manage it enough that dude can play.

24:19

You know what I mean? So, Will Johnson, depending

24:22

on where he is in this hamstring recovery and

24:24

all that stuff, he may need to miss minicamp

24:26

OTAs. You know what I mean? Some of that

24:28

stuff will be on hand, but he may not

24:30

be able to do reps. Right. So these are

24:32

all questions that you have to ask yourself if

24:34

you're the Washington commanders. And I think that when

24:36

you look at Will Johnson, the little bit you

24:38

see in 2024, especially what you see in 2023, you

24:41

know, winning the national championship with Mike

24:43

Sanderson, those guys. He's

24:45

worth it, man. Like a number 29. We

24:47

may not have all the data and the quantifiable

24:49

numbers for me to spit at you. And

24:51

it sounds really impressive and all that. So when

24:53

you turn on the tape. And you watch

24:55

Will Johnson. And because we're watching old tape, I

24:57

watched multiple. I didn't just watch three. I

24:59

watched at least a handful of games on him.

25:01

It's there. Now, there is also concern about

25:04

his deep speed, right? And I think that's fair.

25:06

That's another reason why there's some people who

25:08

think he might slide a little bit. Now, is

25:10

that slide going to be to 25? Is

25:12

that slide going to be to 19, right? Like,

25:14

there's projections all over the board for Will

25:16

right now. I think you do need

25:18

to include him because there are some concerns

25:20

out there about him. Teams didn't get to see

25:22

him work out. So if they're a little

25:24

iffy on him, if they're a little bit, if

25:26

they're just fixated on, we got to be

25:28

able to see you, then he might fall off

25:30

their board a little bit too. So if

25:32

he gets to 29, Will Johnson is there. I

25:34

think Will Johnson is clearly the number one

25:37

receiver cornerback on your list. Number two is going

25:39

to be Trey Amos out of Ole Miss.

25:41

Number three is to be Darian Porter out of

25:43

Iowa State. This is where Darian Porter, our

25:45

number one guy when it came to the stats

25:47

and measurables, he's going to fall down a

25:49

little bit to number three overall. Number four is

25:51

going to be Azariah Thomas out of Florida

25:53

State. Number five, Siobhan Revell out of East Carolina.

25:55

Number six, Noel Williams out of Cal. Number

25:58

seven, Za Frazier out of UTSA. So number one,

26:00

Will Johnson, six foot two, 194 pound cornerback

26:02

out of Michigan. First round projection. Again, no workout

26:04

at the combine, no workout at pro day

26:06

because of a hamstring injury. Missed a lot of

26:08

2024 with injuries as well. Didn't allow any

26:10

touchdowns last year. Didn't play a lot last year

26:12

and had two interceptions, was injured in October.

26:14

So the ball production, like if you extrapolate that

26:16

data, which is a little bit unfair because

26:18

you can't do that as well with corners as

26:21

you can with some other positions. Either way,

26:23

you're looking at about he's on pace for about

26:25

five or six interceptions. Upside, football

26:27

IQ shows up on tape. Good feet

26:29

in press and off coverage. Very comfortable in

26:31

either one. His minus, long speed. We

26:33

just talked about it a little bit, and

26:35

then injuries, of course. What do the

26:37

medicals say? If you get them in for

26:40

a top 30, what do your doctors

26:42

say? Things like that. Second guy on our

26:44

list, Trey Amos out of Ole Miss,

26:46

everydayers. I've already told you this is one

26:48

of my favorite cornerbacks in this year's

26:50

class, and he's just one of those dudes

26:52

that kind of looks like a commander,

26:54

right? Six foot one, 195 pounds. Second round

26:56

projection right now. 4 -4 -3 -40, not lightning

26:59

fast, but certainly not slow. Only allowed

27:01

two touchdowns in coverage last year. Had three

27:03

interceptions. Broke up 35 .5 % of the

27:05

passes sent in his way. You love those

27:07

ball skills between the interceptions and enforcing

27:09

those incompletions. You love all of that. Plus

27:11

sides are upside to him. Experience. He's

27:13

played for multiple teams. He's a very physical

27:15

cornerback. Hesitates sometimes in zone. And

27:18

the bottom line is, even for teams that

27:20

play a lot of man, It's relative. It's, you

27:22

know I mean? It's not above 50%. Like

27:24

no defenses in man more than 50 % of

27:26

the time in the NFL. So he's

27:28

going to have to play zone 70 %

27:31

of the time or so, right? Maybe 65 %

27:33

of the time. So that is something he's

27:35

to have to work on. Not great in

27:37

run support either. So again, how heavily that's

27:39

weighed inside the commander's war room will certainly

27:41

impact the way that they go about things.

27:43

Me, I'm more interested in my corner just

27:45

being able to funnel plays back inside than

27:48

specifically making the play. You love him to

27:50

make the play. But if you at least

27:52

have the intelligence to funnel back inside, which

27:54

he does show on tape. Our third guy,

27:56

Darian Porter, Iowa State. He was our first

27:58

guy when it came to just the measurables

28:00

and the stats, but falls down to third

28:02

when it comes to tape study, 6 '3",

28:05

195 pounds, third round projection, second

28:07

in the 40, ran a 4 '3",

28:09

40. You'll love that height, that

28:11

height -speed combination along with his

28:13

wingspan. He's got a big wingspan. mean,

28:16

you love all those things, right? You just

28:18

love all those things. Definitely worth third -round

28:20

pick if he makes it there. Third in

28:22

the vert, 36 .5 -inch vert, no touchdowns allowed,

28:24

three interceptions last year. Also has special teams

28:26

ability for the NFL, so you're getting a

28:28

third -round corner who needs a little bit of

28:30

time to develop before you can really put

28:33

him on the field consistently. You're at least

28:35

going to get special teams contributions at him.

28:37

Some downside to him, only a one -year

28:39

starter in college, very zone -heavy scheme that he

28:41

played in as well, so a little bit

28:43

of projection there in the man. playing more

28:45

man than usual. Fourth guy, Azaria

28:47

Thomas out of Florida State. 6 '1

28:49

1⁄2", 197 pounds, second -round projection. There is

28:51

some late first round. There's been some

28:53

projections of the commanders taking him at

28:56

number 29. Zero touchdowns allowed, only one

28:58

interception, though. You don't love the ball

29:00

skills. Does allow some separation at the

29:02

top of routes. Got a really good

29:04

wingspan, very disruptive early on in routes.

29:06

But again, If the receiver is allowed

29:08

to have time to get into his

29:10

stem, get into his break, Azaria

29:13

does give up some separation, which is

29:15

why he falls down a little bit

29:17

in this board. Siobhan Revell is fifth

29:19

on our board. East Carolina, 6 '2",

29:21

194 pounds. First or second round, depending

29:23

on who you're looking at, the mock

29:25

drafts, no workouts. Again, he's another guy

29:27

who had an injury, tore his ACL,

29:29

should be ready for camp and all

29:31

those things. But in his college camp

29:33

before he suffered the injury, he did

29:35

run a 4 -4 that was reported. You

29:38

know I mean? So take that with a grain of salt. We

29:40

didn't count it for the quote -unquote point charts and all that

29:42

stuff. Allowed one touchdown, had

29:44

two interceptions before he went down with

29:46

the injury, and only allowed 38 %

29:48

of the passes targeted towards him

29:50

to be completed. Very physical dude. Got

29:52

length. He's got speed. Early break

29:54

separation. Quick routes tend to get him,

29:56

you know, tend to work against

29:58

him a little bit better. A ball skill

30:01

is not super great. You do see the

30:03

two interceptions in there. That's good. But his

30:05

ball skills could certainly be. a little bit

30:07

better. Our sixth guy, Noel Williams at a

30:09

cow six foot tall, 199 pounds right now

30:11

about a third or fourth round projection. Uh,

30:13

six in our vertical 33 .5 vert seven

30:15

interceptions. Love

30:17

the ball skills. Uh, set

30:20

15 % for center completions, 44 .9 %

30:22

of his snaps last year came

30:24

in man coverage. So he's a man

30:26

cover guy, six foot tall. So

30:29

he meets that requirement, right? Uh, 19

30:31

reps on the bench. So here's the thing.

30:33

Not a lot of punch in his press,

30:35

which I kind of have like PTSD from

30:37

watching Manuel Forbes and Benjamin St. Jude play

30:39

in press without a punch. So I hate

30:41

seeing no punch in press, right? But

30:43

he did 19 reps on the bench.

30:46

I told you guys we're going to give

30:48

a little bit of a bump to

30:50

guys who do the bench and do well.

30:52

That's really well for a cornerback to

30:54

do 19 reps. So he's at the upper

30:56

body strength. Now we just need to

30:58

teach him if you're the Washington commander. So

31:00

you like that combination there. Ball skills,

31:03

again, seven INTs, man. You can't fight that.

31:05

That's great stuff. Za Frazier out of

31:07

UTSA, 6 '3", 186 pounds. Fifth round projection

31:09

right now. Third in the 40, 4 -3 -6.

31:11

This dude, 6 '3", running a 4 -3 -6.

31:13

He's got a wingspan like a bird.

31:15

Great ball skills. Six interceptions last year. 21

31:18

% of the passes thrown his way were

31:20

forcing completions by Za. I mean,

31:22

Za, honestly, like, the big thing about him

31:24

is he's very zone heavy. uh doesn't have

31:26

a lot of experience that's why he's down

31:28

here on the board because i'll tell you

31:30

right now if he had more experience and

31:32

he played a little bit more man and

31:34

if he wasn't playing at utsa and had

31:36

like maybe some better competition i mean like

31:38

if i'm just ranking how much i like

31:40

these dudes zafraser's like fifth okay i like

31:42

zafraser a lot uh eighth on our list

31:44

our big board is going to be dorian

31:46

strong uh virginia tech i'm going to go

31:49

a little bit deeper here because we do

31:51

need to talk about maxwell hairston who finishes

31:53

ninth on my big board and this is

31:55

where I can already see a comment.

31:57

Can't believe you get paid for this. Me neither, bro.

31:59

Can't believe I get paid to do this job either.

32:01

Maxwell Harrison, first round projection. I

32:03

see a lot of mocks where he's going second

32:05

round, whatever, early second round, late first round, day

32:07

one, day two projection, right? 5 '11 at the combine.

32:09

So remember I told you like the prerequisite to

32:11

be on this list of six feet tall. Depends

32:15

on who you talk to on whether he's six feet

32:17

or 5 '11, right? So he's on the threshold there. 183

32:19

pounds, not a big

32:21

frame. First round pick

32:24

projection. Look, dude ran a 4 -2 -8

32:26

-40, the fastest 40 of this group.

32:28

39 .5 -inch vert, biggest vert of this

32:30

group. No touchdowns allowed. Did have

32:32

an interception. 18 % of the pass

32:34

is thrown his way. There's

32:37

a lot there that's hard to argue

32:39

with, right? Looks comfortable and man zone

32:41

on tape. He does. He looks comfortable.

32:43

Had three pick sixes in the last

32:45

dozen or so, dozen plus games. He's

32:48

slender, you know what I mean? And

32:50

he's short, like relative to some of

32:52

these other cornerbacks. I just don't feel

32:54

like when I watch him, I just

32:56

don't feel it. I just don't feel

32:59

the commander vibe to be quite honest

33:01

with you. Look, if they draft him,

33:03

obviously just like, it reminds me a

33:05

little bit of Emmanuel Forbes. Not that

33:07

like their dimensions are the same or

33:09

anything like that, but the, the, the,

33:11

the, the production is what people would

33:13

be drafting versus. Just the

33:15

type of player, like players who were built like

33:17

this typically don't have long or successful NFL

33:19

careers, especially in the modern national football league. Like

33:22

the biggest concern about him from some evaluators

33:24

is how is he going to step up against

33:26

some of the more physical receivers? I mean,

33:28

you're in the NFC East with AJ Brown, with

33:30

CD lamb. I mean, the New York giants

33:32

already have Malik neighbors. They might be going out

33:34

and getting Travis Hunter. You know what I

33:36

mean? Like, so Matt, when I look at Maxwell

33:38

Harrison going up against these dudes, I'm just

33:40

like, I don't see how it works out. I

33:42

said the same thing about Emmanuel Forbes. Unfortunately,

33:45

I was right. If they

33:47

draft him, I'll do the same idea

33:49

with Emmanuel. I'll go hunting why they

33:51

drafted him. And, again, there's some good

33:53

stuff here. The 42840 you love, 39 .5

33:55

-inch vert you love, things like that.

33:57

But, again, just being honest with you

33:59

guys, it's just not going to sit

34:01

well with me. Benjamin Morrison out of

34:03

Notre Dame comes in 10th. Zia Alexander,

34:05

11th. Jason Marshall, 12th. Quincy Riley, 13th.

34:07

Denzel Burke out of Ohio State, 14th.

34:10

Kobe Bryant and Mello Dotson. Our two

34:12

Kansas Jayhawks are 15th and 16th, and

34:14

O'Donnell Fortune, South Carolina, comes

34:16

in 17th. And that wraps up our perimeter

34:18

corner big board for the Washington Commanders. Our

34:20

next episode, it is going to be Wednesday.

34:22

It is mailbag day here on Locked On

34:24

Commanders. So questions and comments are already coming

34:26

in from insiders. If you have a question

34:28

or a topic that you want discussed, just

34:30

become a Locked On Commanders insider. You can

34:32

text me your thought, your question. Go to

34:34

joinsubtext .com. slash Locked On Commanders. For your

34:36

next listen, check out the Locked On NFL

34:38

Draft podcast. Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez gets

34:40

you ready for the NFL draft even more

34:42

on YouTube or wherever you're listening to this

34:44

podcast. Before we go, this is not an

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little special thank you to New Era. New

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Era, if you're on YouTube, you can see

34:52

this. If not, I will just describe it.

34:54

They got some cool fringe designs on the

34:56

bill here. They sent me one of the

34:58

new draft caps for the Washington Commanders this

35:00

year. I've got commanders on there, got the

35:02

W logo, Washington, D .C. under it, and they

35:04

sent me a pin that I presume is

35:06

supposed to go on the hat. I don't

35:08

know if you can see that. But it's

35:10

in the shape of a hog. And if

35:12

you are watching or listening to this show,

35:14

I'm going to assume you know why. It's

35:16

a hog. And I think it's really cool.

35:18

I have not put it on the hat

35:20

because I'm actually going to give this hat

35:22

to one of my insiders at some point

35:24

in the near future. Uh, maybe training camp

35:26

actually, not the total near future, but near

35:28

enough. And I'm going to let, I want

35:30

to let them put the pin wherever they

35:32

want to put it, whether it's on the

35:34

hat or somewhere else. Um, so I'm not

35:36

going to put this pin on the hat,

35:38

but really cool. A new era decided to

35:40

send me that. And so I just want

35:42

to give them thanks and show it to

35:44

any of you who may not have seen

35:46

it yet. Again, not an advertisement, not telling

35:48

you to go buy it, but I wanted

35:50

to share it with you because they shared

35:52

it with me as always. Thank you for

35:55

making Locked On Commanders your first listen of

35:57

the day, every day, every day. Thanks for

35:59

coming through on a consistent basis like you

36:01

do until we speak again. If you're out

36:03

and about, please be safe, be kind, so

36:05

I can see you right back here next

36:07

time for another episode of Locked On Commanders,

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