The Commanders have signed Will Harris to a 2-year deal.... Do we think they've improved defensively?
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00:00his seventh season, signed by the Commanders to a two-year deal for $8 million over the two years,
00:06a 59th percentile run-stopping grade among safeties from PFF this past season with the
00:13Saints. He mostly has played with the Detroit Lions and the front office is extremely familiar
00:18with him because assistant GM Lance Newmark was with him for five years in Detroit. Feels like
00:24this would be the replacement to Jeremy Chin who was lost yesterday, two-year deal for twice as
00:29much, $16 million total to go out to Vegas to play for the Raiders. We're getting your reaction,
00:35800-636-1067. We're voting super quick. It seems his most active games, at least in terms of
00:41tackling, just a quick box score hunt, were down the stretch. Started against Washington where he
00:45had nine tackles, including one for a loss. Was kind of all over the field, then closed with three
00:51games where he had eight tackles and kind of plays made in the second half of the season. Maybe they
00:55found a role, found something. So early on, he wasn't really a factor. After some injury time,
01:01came back and seemed to have his most impactful games down the stretch. Just something worth
01:04noting. It takes a little while to start forming a roster and there's no reason today to think
01:09about things in totality because there's not a football game tomorrow. It's like looking at a
01:13Polaroid right after it comes out of the camera. Nothing is finalized yet. We get that, but they'll
01:20have plenty of work to do moving forward on this defense. Because if you look at it as the moves
01:26versus what's in and what's out so far, John Allen leaves and Kinlaw replaces him at the tackle.
01:32Allen has been better throughout Kinlaw's time in the league. If you look at it at safety,
01:36what Chin gave him last year versus what you'd project from Harris, Chin is going to be hard to
01:43equal from Harris's perspective unless he elevates his game. And those are the swaps
01:49so far on the defensive side of the ball. Still need corner help and the edge is really the
01:54important one here for me. Fowler's still a free agent. Remember the last time we heard about
01:58their negotiation with him was just the tweet that he deleted. He was very angry and vulgar
02:03and had to delete the tweet and then said he'd been disrespected. So he, after 10 and a half sacks,
02:08is on the market. Meaning their starting defensive ends right now are Dorrance Armstrong
02:13and, I guess, Javante Jean-Baptiste, their seventh round pick from last season out of
02:19Notre Dame. But that obviously won't be who they're trotting out there when the season begins.
02:23Let's go to the phones, 800-636-1067. We'll start with Nate in D.C. on Grant and Danny. What's up,
02:29Nate? Hey, how's it going today? What's up, buddy? Doing well. Yeah, I just wanted to touch on that
02:37one point that was made about the seemingly lack of a sense of urgency in free agency, so to speak.
02:50A large part of it is the vision that Adam Peters and Quinn have put together.
02:59The types of players that they're looking for, the ones with the chips on their shoulders,
03:04you know that they've had teams give up on them and so forth and so on. They speak life into that
03:11and translate that into heart on the field. It's hard to really, in today's current climate where
03:20a lot of these football matters are highly related to dollars now, you have to have some
03:28kind of level of discernment just to be able to find those guys. It's not saying that the money
03:36doesn't matter, but for those guys, the football, the winning, that matters. Yeah, that's a type
03:44that they're clearly looking for. Just to clarify though, you didn't hear either of us say they have
03:48lacked urgency because they've already made the biggest trade probably that anybody's made in
03:53going and getting Laramie Tunsil. They've also signed a player for $15 million a year, which is
03:58a pretty big splash in Kinlaw, and now they've added a safety today. So we're talking about
04:02three players in 26 hours. I'm not saying that they have lacked urgency. What I'm saying is
04:08I am a little bit surprised they let the cornerback market, basically all the top guys,
04:14find homes they didn't add one of. And that's what I was referring to most specifically with
04:17urgency. It isn't to imply that they're just sitting there twiddling their thumbs and they're
04:21bored to tears not doing anything and waiting for doing like a Nationals offseason. I'm not saying
04:25the edge market is not good, but that's a problem. I think the corner market, there were five names.
04:31They could have signed one of them and I would have, I can't do a cartwheel, but I would have
04:34let you help me push me to do it. We could have done one of those like claymation cartwheel things
04:39and they all found homes and they didn't get in. That's fine. They didn't want to overpay or pay
04:43the premium dollar of the start of the market. Okay, now what is kind of my question? And maybe
04:49the answer is the trade market. Maybe we've seen this with Adam Peters, with Debo Samuel and Laramie
04:54Tunsell. Maybe they get creative and we find out that they've made a call and there's someone who
05:00is going to need an extension in a year and they're using their cap space in that way.
05:04And we're not seeing it where you go, who's the corner left? It makes a lot of sense that could
05:08really be a good starter and go up against Devante Smith for you in your division. Maybe that guy's
05:13on another team right now, not a free agent and they make a trade. Let's go to Jake in Connecticut
05:18listening on the Always Free Odyssey app. What's up Jake? How you guys doing? Long time fan,
05:23first time calling in. Oh, we appreciate that. It's so nice of you to make that happen.
05:32That's awesome. So I think, you know, contrary to what everyone wants to believe sometimes,
05:36I don't think Trey Hendrickson solves the problem here. I think at 29, you know,
05:40the biggest thing right now is the last scrimmage and Tyleek Williams at 30. I mean,
05:44he's projected to go 30th overall of the bills, but we can get him at 29. That'd be great.
05:48Walter Nolan, same thing, collapsing the pocket and being able to get to the quarterback,
05:53put pressure on them, takes a lot of the pressure off of Sandra Still, Lattimore,
05:57any corner we want to bring in. That's the biggest thing for me. I think last year we got
06:02beat a lot in the run. So being able to stop it first has to be priority number one.
06:07Categorically, talked a lot about this yesterday. It was kind of one of my
06:12surprises with the Kinlaw move is that he's been knocked for his run defense over the years
06:16and it's tantamount that they get better in that area after finishing 28th in yards per play
06:22against the run last season. I would have not only no problem taking an edge at 29,
06:27I think it's the betting likeliness, the favorite, so to speak, right now is that they take an edge.
06:33The only concern with that is because they only picked twice in the first 126 picks of the draft,
06:42I now think moving back at 29 is going to be the goal. If the right edge is there
06:49and they feel like a 10 sack guy who can also help against the run fell into their lap,
06:55then respectfully you just have to take that player and get a lot better at that position
06:59and then move back at 61 and try to get two or three guys in the fourth round who can make your
07:04team. But my guess is as much as they'd like to get an edge at 29 if things don't go their way
07:09moving forward, and right now whether it's the kid out of Boston College or anybody else,
07:15I think he had 16 and a half sacks and 80 tackles in college. Pretty prolific, yeah.
07:20Because you have three picks in the top 206, three picks for five and a half rounds,
07:28it feels like you almost need to trade back now. To a degree, but there's also the other side of
07:33the coin to me is you took some pressure off by getting tonsil. In other words, I'm looking at
07:38the draft, because I'm looking at the left tackle market first, I go, there's nobody here. There's
07:42no way to upgrade a tackle without drafting one. And in order to draft one that's worth a damn,
07:46you probably have to go high. Well, but you would have just kept Brandon Coleman,
07:49which was kind of my plan anyway. Yeah. If you wanted to upgrade a tackle,
07:53I hope Brandon Coleman keeps growing, or they clearly saw it as more of a priority and they
07:57want to improve the offensive line. So you almost either have to go, because they're premium spots,
08:01you have to go either tackle, defensive end, corner, maybe wide out if you don't make the
08:07Debo Samuel trade. But you do, which gives you some flexibility. So now let's say for the sake
08:11of argument, they love Mike green out of Marshall who dominated the senior bowl and he's there 29.
08:16Maybe they just make that selection. If they don't, now you can move back and end up with
08:20maybe someone else that you like. Maybe James Pierce from Tennessee falls in the second round,
08:24but because you've got something solidified and an anchor at one of these premium spots,
08:28you're not like, I have to stay put. Now I have to get one of these two or three players at one
08:33of these impact positions. You've, you've solved that. You knock one off the board.
08:37I recently wrote an elevator with him, by the way. Who's that? Mike green.
08:41Is that right? Yeah. The defenseman from the Capitol. He's Aaron night.
08:44Yeah. You tell my little league teammate, Mike green or a different guy. I think it's
08:47the hockey player, Mike green, who lives in Arlington G's in Arlington. Speaking of which,
08:53what's up, buddy. How are you? Hey, how you doing, man? Um, the intangibles for me.
08:59Um, I haven't watched the thing for a long time. I honestly believe that coaches coach,
09:06uh, defensive schemes for running, uh, against the run, uh, what's going to be in place. Um,
09:13I don't know if Allen had that dog in him the last few years,
09:18get lost coming from the jets coming to play off perennial team. It just may spark them. And I know
09:25dad Quinn is, uh, one of those motivating type coaches, um, as far as will, uh, the safety,
09:34I believe. Um, yeah, I don't know. I, we just have to wait and see these guys are coming from
09:42change, man. The way is they really weren't going anywhere. Sometimes man, motivation is a key
09:48factor, but there are plenty of players in the draft. We got some draft picks coming in. Um,
09:56but yes, there will be some draft players added that there's no doubt. Um, I do like the point
10:01he made about, and this is funny to say about the commanders, cause we haven't been able to
10:05for years and years and years, but the caps is an example who had a great culture benefited from
10:09this. And the nationals, when they were really good and won a world series benefited from this,
10:13which is occasionally you go get a guy from a team that doesn't win and you bring them into
10:18your building and they get better. We've seen it countless times for every Brett Connolly.
10:22And even TJ Oshie was a good young star PLD. I mean, it's a million times over with the capitals.
10:27Look at all the guys they brought in like this season, you come to a place where they went every
10:33year and the culture's really good. And the leadership's awesome. And that might be Washington.
10:37Now there's something to that where maybe, uh, Javon Kinlaw needed a place like this. Now he
10:43didn't do it in San Francisco where they were going pretty good to the NFC title game every
10:46single year, but maybe this is the right fit in the right building. I do like that. They know the
10:51players they bring in though. I know you said this with Debo, Samuel and Adam Peters, right?
10:56Um, Laramie Tunsell, there's not like a direct tie per se, but in this case, your assistant
11:01general manager, who's got a pretty loud voice in that room with Peters and Lance Neumar, uh,
11:05was with this guy for five years in Detroit. Go to JT and hand over on Grant and Danny.
11:12Good afternoon guys. Um, great show as always. Listen, I wanted to ask you guys what you were
11:18thinking, how you guys feel about this. So let's just assume that the money, uh, for, you know,
11:25a guy like, let's say, um, uh, Javon Holland, who, who ended up signing in, in, in, uh, the Giants
11:33or a DK Metcalf or whatever. Let's say the money is, is in terms of the contract is pretty even.
11:40Um, if you guys remember right around the, um, the break, right around the break, around week 13
11:48or 14, uh, the commanders by week, there was this report, uh, from Shepter. And matter of fact,
11:54he made the report twice about the key, about the players wanting to come to Washington,
11:59the players telling their agents, Hey, get me to Washington. I'm looking at the first two days,
12:05and I know it's still early, but I'm looking at some of these three agents where again,
12:10if the money or the contract was, was fairly similar, I'm seeing a lot of guys who
12:15the commanders may have had interest in are signing elsewhere. And so I'm just wondering
12:23what, what, what you got the opinion of, of in terms of how people are still viewing, uh,
12:28this organization, even though we've turned it around 180 degrees for the better. Um, it just
12:34seems like, um, when given an opportunity to choose, I'm seeing a lot of guys going elsewhere.
12:41It's a good question. It's a fair one. I appreciate it. I remember that report,
12:44sorry, we're up against it. Here's the thing is there, there are the answers. I don't know.
12:48And that's not a cop-out. I have no idea of Trayvon Moorig has family in Carolina.
12:53And that's why he signed there. I have no idea if Washington was interested
12:56because they're so tight-lipped. It's not like they're not advertising. Hey,
12:59we came in second on Javon Holland. We offered the same money, but he turned us down.
13:02They could have offered nothing. They could have offered more. We have no clue
13:06individually why someone chooses to sign somewhere or what agitates to go a certain place.
13:10It could be a billion reasons. Again, it could be family. It could be, uh, the nearby school
13:14system is great. It could be, they offer you a dollar more. It could be, uh, your arch rival
13:18signed with, uh, the, the, the team that you're going to play twice a year. It could be a team
13:22that wronged you a team that was kind to you in the draft a couple of years ago. And you always
13:26wanted to play there. I have no clue. The point is that we were making necessarily when that report
13:30came out, I remember. And then kind of this off season is if there's a tie hypothetically,
13:34if there is such a thing, Washington's now the cool place. So like, I bet you people are now
13:38excited to get that. Hey, your agent is reporting you Washington's interested. Whereas before it's
13:44a, you know, um, nothing else comes up. Washington's interested. I think that's the
13:47difference. Well, you don't have to overpay. Number one, you don't have to play the loser's
13:51tax. That's true. And number two, I think it can be the, like the veteran one year.
13:57I want a shot to compete guy, your Wagner situation. Exactly. Hertz maybe doesn't come
14:01back if they're five and 12 last year, Wagner's not interested if they're six and 11 last year,
14:06but make no mistake about it. When you're in the prime of your career,
14:09most of these guys that are getting these big contracts, they could dress it up however they
14:14want to. And this is not me. Uh, it's not a pejorative. I'm not being nefarious or like
14:18trying to act like this is, um, a bad thing. They're going to the team that pays them the
14:22most money. You get a couple of cracks at a contract for huge money in this league.
14:27And it's not even guaranteed to you, by the way, you're looking for the biggest guaranteed number
14:31ever is the monopoly figure that we hear over X number of years. You're probably never going to
14:35see. And so if Washington offers the most money for the most part, they'll get the player. If
14:40they offer less money, they have a chance now to get the player. They probably didn't before
14:44not that much more complicated for me than that.