Adam Peters was at the annual coaches meeting today and stated that he still wants to build through the draft. Can they even do that at this point?
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00:00I want to start though with the news of the day and Adam Peters because the league meetings
00:04are taking place.
00:05The owner's meetings down at the breakers.
00:07We were just in West Palm.
00:08We were just there.
00:09If we extended our stay just a week or two, we could have been there for the owner's meetings
00:13because we were about 10 minutes from the breakers where we were hanging out.
00:16It was a good time.
00:18Such a beautiful place.
00:20That entire palm tree laden, sunny, like West Palm's a little bit complicated because block
00:26to block, you don't really know what you're getting into.
00:28It's a bit of a coin toss.
00:30You know what I mean?
00:31You're not really sure.
00:32It's a roll of the dice at certain blocks.
00:33Then the next thing you're on, this is immaculate.
00:37But West Palm Beach, the site of the NFL owner's meetings.
00:41We've got a lot to get into on the owner's meetings front, but I want to start with some
00:44of the Adam Peters content today.
00:46So let's begin with what Peter said about Jaden Daniels being a recruiting tool.
00:51This was Peters with Kay Adams on her show on Fandle.
00:56How big of a recruiting tool is Jaden Daniels?
00:58Because from my perspective as just a fan and someone who talks to players on television,
01:03they all love him.
01:04Yeah.
01:05They all want to play with him.
01:06Like how key is he?
01:07It's huge.
01:08It's huge.
01:09It was like last year when we hired DQ, all these players wanted to go play for him.
01:12All these coaches wanted to go coach with them.
01:14And now getting a great quarterback like Jaden, a great young quarterback, who's not just
01:17a great quarterback, but a great person that people want to be around, that people want
01:20to play with.
01:21What a slam dunk.
01:22Gosh.
01:23It's great.
01:24So, I mean, you get a guy like Debo because of that.
01:26You get a guy like LTV because of that.
01:27They want to come and play to play for us.
01:28So it makes our jobs a lot easier.
01:30So I wonder, you know, how much of those two guys being in Washington is Daniels related?
01:37Clearly they're more excited to be here because Jaden Daniels is the quarterback.
01:41But if Daniels is not the QB, they don't trade for Laramie Tunstall.
01:45Does he somehow stop that trade?
01:47I don't really believe that the Debo Samuel one's interesting because there was a market
01:51there for him where it seemed like a couple teams were curious about his availability.
01:57And specific to just Debo again, I think Samuel had some say in where he was going to end
02:03up because he was going to be an agitator and kind of dictate some terms of San Francisco.
02:07So I'm more inclined to say when he comes out and tells you, I really like Jaden Daniels
02:10because I started watching him because Brandon Iukes is best buddy.
02:14And if Brandon Iukes is boy and Brandon Iukes is my boy, then we're going to get together
02:17just fine.
02:18But the Tunstall thing I don't think has anything to do with anything.
02:21So I think that you could parse apart each individual person or signing that comes here
02:26and say, well, that's not totally Jaden Daniels.
02:28And I think people will dismiss that the kind of like the entirety for part of it.
02:33The big theme is correct.
02:34Like in other words, this is such a net positive that it's not the only reason Debo Samuels
02:39here Washington traded for him.
02:40They want them.
02:41They're going to give him some guaranteed money.
02:42You know, the converted is whatever.
02:43It's a good situation for him to thrive.
02:45It's not the only reason Laramie Tunstall is here.
02:47It's not the only reason Bobby Wagner signed here in Washington was that he likes Dan Quinn.
02:50It's not the only reason they were able to get Austin Eckler because Anthony Lin on the
02:56coaching staff.
02:57But the point is, you keep doing that enough times, you win some of those, right?
03:01You're not just the team that has to pay the loser tax anymore.
03:03You just you can go market value and it can be a tipping point.
03:06All of these things are so overwhelmingly positive that that's the big takeaway.
03:10So you're 100% right.
03:11I agree with that.
03:12I don't know that Laramie Tunstall would have gone like if this was, I don't know, Tampa
03:16for some reason needed the trade for him.
03:17I don't think it would have gone.
03:19No, no, I don't see it.
03:20I only go play with Jaden Daniels.
03:22Unless I'm not remembering something.
03:24I don't think he had a no trade clause.
03:25Like a team calls the Texans, the Texans say, OK, and now you're going to Washington where
03:30the Jaden Daniels element is in play.
03:33And it is a reality.
03:34Yeah.
03:35In my opinion, he is a guy that everyone's going to want to play with.
03:38And you've got one of the cool kids and he is going to be a recruiting tool.
03:41It's all true.
03:42I just think it's more in free agency when you're courting a receiver and we didn't
03:46really see them go out and sign a quality receiver this offseason.
03:51They kept Noah Brown internally.
03:53They brought in Michael Gallup externally, who didn't have much of a market I wouldn't
03:56imagine in the ties to Dan Quinn or probably a factor there.
04:00But that's where it's going to happen when two teams want an offensive tackle at right
04:05tackle to replace Andrew Wiley next offseason.
04:09And it's Washington and someone else in that tackle goes, I'll take a million less, but
04:14I'm going to play with Jaden Daniels to try to get the commanders over the top.
04:18That's when you can sell me on the Daniels.
04:21Got it done.
04:22But when you just picked up the phone and called the Texans about Laramie Tunsil, I'm
04:25not so sure.
04:26But the point is the point.
04:27And the point is true.
04:28They do have a recruiting weapon at quarterback for the first time in probably my lifetime.
04:35I mean, I guess it's possible that after the 99 season, someone wanted to play with Brad
04:40Johnson, but Dan had him benched two weeks into the next year.
04:44So I don't know what that guy was thinking.
04:45If he came over here to play with Brad, seriously, they just haven't had it, man.
04:49And they do now.
04:50Like I, you know, you, you wonder if maybe Griffin had some of that rep going, but with
04:53the injury and the way that thing ended, it didn't turn out like this.
04:55I mean, this is a, I took the, one of the worst franchises in the sport to the NFC title
04:59game in year one.
05:00That cologne smells sweet right now.
05:03Dan Quinn is also a bit of a recruiting weapon that has been proven to be the case for all
05:07of my issues with the overall philosophy of the defensive minded head coach.
05:14What they banked on and were 1000% right about was that he is so beloved around the league
05:21that he would be able to put together a great staff.
05:23And then he and that staff would then become recruiting assets.
05:28And that totally happened.
05:29Whether it's Bobby Wagner wanting to come play for his linebackers coach, Ken Norton
05:32jr.
05:33A former great player or Austin Eckler wanting to come here because Anthony Lynn had coached
05:38him in LA.
05:39And we could do 10 of those.
05:40I mean, there are examples all over the roster from last year, from this year.
05:43I just mentioned Gallup who's got ties to a bunch of the people in the building because
05:47of the Cowboys.
05:48He is now a, a cowmander so to speak.
05:50So yeah, they definitely do have some well-liked successful people and it's good to be popular.
05:56It is good to be in a place where people want to come to this building to work with you.
06:01The other thing that Adam Peters talked about today that I thought was really significant
06:07was we got an answer for him about trading draft capital to acquire veterans because
06:13the philosophy that he has discussed, he's made it very, very clear.
06:18He is a guy that wants to build through the draft as a GM.
06:23He said it over and over and over again, but the moves that they keep making over and over
06:27and over again are trades for veterans where they give up picks, which I have not had a
06:32problem with, but I know a lot of people have a hard time juxtaposing those two things.
06:37You can't tell me in one hand that you don't drink soda, then in the other hand, you're
06:42holding a cup of soda, get a case of a Coca-Cola zero from Wegmans, right?
06:47My point is you can have your cake and eat it too.
06:49Doesn't mean you're going to drink the soda.
06:52Both can be okay.
06:54Maybe I'm bringing it home for my wife.
06:55You don't know.
06:57Right.
06:58This is what Adam Peters had to say about draft capital being given up in mass this
07:02off season.
07:03You take each opportunity as they come, right?
07:06And so understanding where, you know, we were able to get really good players at really
07:11good and like important positions.
07:14There's give and take to that, right?
07:16And so we did pick nine players last year.
07:18I think they all made the team, right?
07:20And then we had two rookie free agents make the team as well.
07:23We have five players, five picks this year.
07:25We could have more, you know, depending on what happens.
07:28So we do.
07:29It's almost a full compliment.
07:31Both years, obviously you do want to build through the draft.
07:33I feel that all the time.
07:35But understanding when you can get a premier corner, a premier receiver, a premier left
07:39tackle, those are things you have to really look into.
07:43And we just felt that was the best move for us.
07:46So that's a really interesting way to think about this that I have not considered.
07:50We'll get back to the, just the idea of pitting the two against one another, building through
07:54the draft and all the trades they're making where they give up picks.
07:58But the math that he just used, if you notice, that was kind of a subtle thing.
08:01He goes, we had a full allotment of picks.
08:03They all made the team, right?
08:04Everyone goes, yeah.
08:05So that's nine guys.
08:06We had two free agents that we didn't draft make the team, right?
08:10Yeah.
08:11Okay.
08:12That's 11 guys.
08:13And then he didn't spell it out this way, but I think this is what he was suggesting.
08:15We're going to make another six picks, maybe more.
08:17But as of right now, another six picks, five picks this draft.
08:20So let's say it's 15, 16 picks.
08:22If they don't trade back, how many picks do you get to start a draft every year?
08:27Seven.
08:28Okay.
08:29Before you start doing times too.
08:30How many, if you have two full draft classes, how many players do you add over two years?
08:3514.
08:36He's saying we'll have 15 or 16, even if we don't trade back basically is what he's suggesting.
08:39So he said, we'll have two drafts worth of players.
08:42Now.
08:43I don't think that's apples to apples because respectfully, that's some colorful accounting.
08:47Yeah.
08:48When you are going with two undrafted free agents last year, and then of your five picks
08:53this year, you know, two are going to be effectively seventh round picks.
08:57Having six seventh rounders is not the same as having a pick in every single round one
09:01through six.
09:02So the, the accounting that he's doing doesn't work that well.
09:05Yeah.
09:06And even, you know, let's make it up a name.
09:08One of the undrafted free agents, you know, I don't know, name your guy, whoever it is.
09:14He guaranteed to make it year over year.
09:15You're probably trying to do better than that guy with, with a roster that you're inheriting
09:18that was devoid of talent.
09:19It's a good point.
09:20I mean, so there's all, there's no guarantee that the seventh rounder that cracked the
09:23squad last year is still there.
09:24I mean, you know, obviously on an individual basis, you feel for that guy, but that's life
09:28at the fringe part of the league.
09:29So I understand what he's doing.
09:32He's offering a different perspective and there is some merit to that.
09:34I mean, to me, the thing that you could say, and he's smarter than me, he knows what he's
09:38doing is we all have the same amount of allotment capital and all we're doing is pulling different
09:43levers to make the football team better.
09:44So I know they, they had this desperation to hold on to the, we're building through
09:49the draft.
09:50I promise.
09:51That's what we're doing.
09:52You could, you could, you could totally say we saw great opportunities to make the football
09:54team better.
09:55And he did that to a degree.
09:56I think that's what he said, but like sometimes it's salary caps.
09:59Sometimes we use a draft pick to, to, you know, not just in the conventional way, which
10:02is the draft of 21 year old.
10:04Sometimes we have a more proven commodity and he can't say out loud.
10:08There is no young talent on this team that we inherited and that's it.
10:11We don't have players developing that will become household names or stars.
10:17And because those guys said, we really have to do that right now to do it quickly anyway.
10:26So you could do it in free agency, but now you're just picking through who's available
10:30is to trade.
10:32So I think it is true that he could both be draft first free agency and trade second,
10:39and also have been way more aggressive on the trade market early as a general manager
10:43than maybe in a perfect world he'd like to, because his number one goal is to win football
10:48games.
10:49His number two goal is probably to be true to his cultural philosophy.
10:52And maybe someone would argue with that.
10:53Like I read the book that Bill Walsh wrote, the score will take care of itself.
10:57And I guarantee you, he would argue with that.
10:59He would say, no, no, no, no.
11:00The number one thing you do is lay out your, basically your morals as a coach, your foundational
11:07philosophies in your paradigm.
11:09You stick to those and everything else will eventually happen.
11:13Winning does not supersede that.
11:14You cannot bend to win.
11:16But I think Peters has shown he will bend a bit here on this philosophy or that he's
11:21writing it in pencil, not pen.
11:23And if you want to scream it into a megaphone for everyone to hear, because it's a nice
11:26thing to say, we're going to build through the draft.
11:28We're going to go get the kids in the draft.
11:31Then you could do some funny accounting, which I think is what he's kind of doing.
11:33Right.
11:34I'm giving you two draft classes over two years.
11:35We're going to have 16, 17 players.
11:38He also hinted at the possibility.
11:39They could absolutely trade back, which I think is almost a lock at this point.
11:42I think it's offer dependent, but yeah, I think that's the plan going in.
11:44Right.
11:45Imagine if they move back twice and now you've got a few third round picks and a couple of
11:49fourth round picks.
11:50They're going to have a sizable draft class to add to this.
11:53Maybe it's the void of the star in the next year or two, unless you hit a real home run
11:57that nobody sees coming.
11:59But I think the quantity is what he's talking about more than the quality.
12:03Like, look at all these players.
12:04We only have 53 spots.
12:05We're going to have 16 or 17 of them that we've brought in, in two draft classes, basically,
12:09which I understand that thinking.
12:11I wouldn't even try to explain it away, though.
12:14I don't think you have to waste your time with that.
12:15I know there's a fan somewhere that needs to hear it because they just want to know
12:18that you care about the draft so much.
12:20And I'm probably the opposite where I'm wearing the bleep them picture.
12:24But I think all you have to say is it is really hard in this league to get a top five left
12:29tackle.
12:30And I got one for you this offseason.
12:31Jade will benefit from it.
12:33It's really hard in this league to have a great cornerback.
12:36And while I'm not so sure that they have one, at this point, they think they do.
12:43The cornerback that they need to be great.
12:45They had to trade some picks.
12:46Yeah, because you end up having to sort of knock the free agent market and the guys that
12:49are in it.
12:50But the between the lines reading is, guys, just look at who's in free agency.
12:54Now, cornerback was different this year.
12:56There was actually some players that I thought were difference makers.
12:59I'm as expert as anybody else that reads the articles that you guys can read.
13:02But you know what I mean?
13:03Like, there were some names where you go, hey, at a pretty decent cost, DJ Reed could
13:07help you.
13:08And you can kind of go down your list, Carlton Davis from Detroit and a few others.
13:13There were no premium pass rushers.
13:14There were no premium left tackles like last year.
13:16Their best left tackle was Tyron Smith, who was 38 years old, who took up a few million
13:21bucks to go try to win one more time.
13:24Premium position players at the most important spots.
13:27are simply not available via conventional means.
13:30And now if you want one, you're probably gonna have to draft in the top half of the first
13:33round to get a guy that, you know, again, guys emerge all the time, whether it's a second
13:37rounder or somebody in the mid rounds, it turns out to be a star left tackle, whatever.
13:41But the point is, through conventional means, these guys are not available.
13:44We have to do unconventional.
13:45You end up running down the free agent market.
13:47He doesn't want to do that.
13:48He's too nice of a guy trying to treat people well.
13:50But that's the between the lines subtext here is, there isn't anybody good via normal means.
13:57My job is to protect Jaden Daniels, people.
14:00I went and got Laramie Tunsil to do that.
14:02You're gonna have to be okay with that.
14:05Because whoever I was drafting at 29 and beyond was not going to be Laramie Tunsil early on.
14:10And I'm trying to make sure that Jaden Daniels play 17 games.
14:13Because if that happens, you got a chance to win 12 of them every single year, probably.
14:17And I think that's where his thinking is right now.
14:21He did, as I mentioned, at least hinted the possibility of trading back when he talked
14:26about adding more picks.
14:28This was Adam Peter's meeting today at the owner's meetings with the local media on the
14:32potential of draft day trades.
14:35You know, that's certainly something that we'll consider.
14:37We'll consider everything.
14:39Trading up, trading down.
14:40We always do.
14:41You know, with trading down, you have to have somebody who wants to trade up, you know.
14:45And so I always say, like, I'd love to trade down all the time, but it has to be somebody
14:48else that wants to trade up.
14:49And it has to be the right deal.
14:51And do you want to, how far do you want to go back?
14:53And all those different things, you take into account who's there on the board, right?
14:56Is there just one player on the board that you want?
14:59And if that's the case, then maybe think twice about trading back.
15:02Because, you know, but if you have five players on the board that you really like, you can
15:05trade back a few picks and then you can just pick one of those.
15:07And I think, you know, with what we did in free agency and with through the trades, we
15:12have the optionality to really do anything at 29, which we feel really good about.
15:17Until he said 29, Darris could have been playing a clip from one year earlier.
15:22Yeah.
15:23I think the beauty of Adam Peters is great as a GM.
15:25He says very little and he gives you almost nothing.
15:29He kind of talks in a bigger picture way.
15:32You guys think this year you could be a candidate to trade back and he'll tell you, we'd always
15:36like to trade back, but it takes this.
15:38I like that he gives very little.
15:39They operate in the shadows.
15:41No one really ever knows what they're doing.
15:43The Laramie Tunsil deal happens and not a single person has linked them to Houston or
15:48Tunsil at any point.
15:49I like how he operates in that regard.
15:51But I would bet on them trading back because I think at 29, you're deep enough in the first
15:55round, just a couple of picks from the end of that round where someone's willing to come
15:59up to get that extra year of whatever player they draft.
16:02It's an edge.
16:03If it's a tackle, if it's a receiver, I doubt it's a quarterback, but I guess it could be
16:07think Lamar Jackson.
16:08It was the last pick of the first round by Baltimore.
16:10The Ravens went up.
16:11They weren't sold on him.
16:12Nobody knew he was about to be a multi-time MVP at all.
16:15But the Ravens said, well, if we're taking a QB, let's make sure we get them in round
16:19one rather than a handful of picks from now because we get the fifth-year option and we
16:22extend the window of him being cheap, basically.
16:25You can do that at every single position.
16:27So that's why I think at 29, it is actually a pretty good range to possibly try to move
16:31back a few slots.
16:32I think it is, too.
16:33And the scenario that I could see just sort of playing that out is if there's one of these
16:38premium spots where they still have a pretty glaring hole, thinking about a defensive end,
16:43whether it's Mike Green from Marshall or you could pick your guy, James Pierce from Tennessee,
16:48that they love and doesn't go where they think he's going to go.
16:52Like they got him pegged.
16:53He's going to, I'm making this up.
16:54He's going to, if they think he's going 14th overall, he's going to Miami at 17.
16:57I don't even know if that's their pick, but like he's going there and it doesn't happen.
17:01You go, actually, we don't really need to trade back.
17:03We'll just do this.
17:04But I think probably if it plays out the way that they think it's going to, they'll go,
17:08we're probably better off instead of just picking the next defensive end on the list.
17:11If there's a drop off in our minds, we'll go back and, you know, it'd be in the, in
17:15the mid second round, probably maybe pick up a third rounder this year or, or the like,
17:19we're not going to get a King's ransom for 29, but we'll get a nice hall.
17:23And that nice hall is worth more to us and on a roster that just needs positive bodies
17:27at this point, uh, than, than, than where they are.