The Daily Slop – 14 June 2026
Editor’s note: Each day, Hogs Haven compiles a collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, with a sprinkling of other stuff. Enjoy!
Commanders links
Articles
JP Finlay
Commanders coaches talk – what did we learn?
Special Teams Coordinator Larry Izzo made clear the kicker battle is very real. I asked if incumbent Jake Moody had a leg up (no pun intended) in the competition with rookie kicker Drew Stevens. Izzo said no. This summer is all about who makes the most kicks
and added that accuracy is more important than distance. Stevens definitely has more distance than Moody, but the rookie has to prove he’s more accurate.
Commanders running game coordinator Anthony Lynn said we won’t see the best from rookie RB Kaytron “Fatman” Allen until the pads come on and made a direct comparison to former Washington RB Chris Rodriguez. That’s the tough life in the NFL for running backs: C-Rod played well, got some good money in Jacksonville, and Washington hopes it drafted his replacement.
Lynn also said that Jacory Croskey-Merritt aka Bill wants to be back on the field but that the second-year player is dealing with a minor hammy issue. The Commanders are just being ultra careful, which is the right course of action being in June.
Sports Illustrated
The Bolshoi Ballet: How David Raih is Choreographing the Commanders New Passing Attack
Commanders Offensive Pass Game Coordinator David Raih breaks down the collaborative effort and micro-precision required to build Washington’s new offensive scheme
Raih is ready to take that next step, which means his job now isn’t just drawing up route concepts; he’s now responsible for tying those exact concepts to what they do on the field.
“It’s so fun because you’ve got the offensive line and the protections, which ties into the quarterback drop, which then his footwork ties into the primary and secondary receivers as he works through his progressions. In the end, what that is, is precision. I joke about it a lot, but it’s like the Bolshoi Ballet. It’s got to be precise. The whole thing happens in three seconds.”David Raih
What Raih is saying here is that everything is basically part of the next piece, and it all flows together, or it won’t work. I’ve heard the reference made similarly in baseball when I was younger, when I was taught that shagging in-field groundballs was “part of a progression.” Into what it was never really clear, as the only thing I remember is the bruises, but I suppose I did learn along the way.
WUSA9
Bobby Engram breaks down Terry McLaurin’s role in the new offense
Receivers coach Bobby Engram and Terry McLaurin detail how David Blough’s new offensive scheme will unlock the Washington Commanders’ playmakers
“I just felt energy [from McLaurin],” Engram told our own, John Doran. “I think he’s been great in terms of communicating. He’s been much more of a vocal leader. He’s always led by example. He’s the same Terry. He’s just more juice and more energy.”
“As a playmaker in this league, you’ve got to be excited when the coordinator says we’re going to move you around and try to get you 10 passes a game. And I think he’s working hard and he wants to let all of us know that he’s going to be up for the challenge.”
Blough first shared that 10 target goal with WUSA9 earlier this year, shortly after being hired to step up to the position after just two years in coaching. His rapid rise up the coaching ranks is a testament to his own knowledge and abilities, but also to the willingness of head coach Dan Quinn to recognize him for what he is, along with the support of veteran coaches like Engram, who are locked in, fully supporting the first-time coordinator.
“Yeah, I love it, man. Those guys are all ball. It’s a selfless group of guys, players, and coaches,” Engram shared. “The main goal is how can we get this room to be really good, one of the best in the league. …We all have a different perspective. We’ve all had very similar yet different experiences, and I think that bodes well for everybody in that room.”
Commanders Roundtable
Inside the Tight End Room That Could Define Commanders’ Offense
Chig Okonkwo — The Weapon
Washington didn’t just add a tight end in free agency. They added the piece the offense was built around for weeks before any other offensive signing happened. Okonkwo signed a three-year, $30 million deal and immediately started flashing the connection with Jayden Daniels that Washington’s front office spent all offseason hoping was there. Day one of OTAs, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington posted a clip of Daniels and Okonkwo linking up and simply wrote: “I love that.” The chemistry showed up before the pads went on.
Ben Sinnott — The Question Mark
In two-tight-end sets with Okonkwo as the primary receiving threat, Sinnott becomes the matchup problem that defensive coordinators have to account for on the other side of the formation. If he’s on a linebacker and Okonkwo is on a safety, Washington wins that exchange almost every time. Year three is when second-round tight ends typically take the step that justifies the draft capital. Everything about Blough’s system sets that step up for Sinnott.
John Bates — The Foundation
Bates doesn’t get talked about much, and that’s kind of the point. The fourth-round pick from 2021 out of Boise State has carved out four years in Washington by doing the things that don’t show up in a box score — holding his edge in the run game, winning physical matchups in-line, and never being the reason a play doesn’t work.
Pro Football Talk
Brandon Aiyuk deletes recent videos criticizing the 49ers
49ers (for now) receiver Brandon Aiyuk has apparently extended an olive branch.
His two recent videos criticizing the 49ers have been deleted. It could be part of an effort to lay the foundation to get the 49ers to finally release him.
In the first video, posted on Sunday, June 7, Aiyuk accused the 49ers of being afraid to let him sign with a new team.
Two days later, Aiyuk added another video message.
The specific reason for Aiyuk deleting the videos isn’t known. It’s not crazy to think that Aiyuk decided to do it based on possible discussions between his agent and the team, given that Aiyuk and 49ers G.M. John Lynch have a connection through their independent relationships with [Aiyuk’s] agent.
Riggo’s Rag
5 winners (and 3 losers) from Washington Commanders 2026 OTAs
Loser No. 3
Chris Paul – Commanders OL
Chris Paul took advantage of what was probably his last chance to cement his importance to the Commanders last season. He came into the starting left guard position and performed well. While it was not perfect by any stretch, it represented the best production of his professional career by a considerable margin.
This also came at the best possible time.
Paul entered free agency, and he was expected to generate interest. That didn’t arrive, and the Commanders managed to get him back on a one-year, prove-it deal when most thought he would take his chances elsewhere.
It was a pleasant surprise. However, the signs emanating from OTAs indicate Paul must prove himself all over again to affirm his place in the lineup.
The Tulsa product is in a legitimate competition for Brandon Coleman, who has also featured heavily with the first-string offensive line at left guard. Paul is well in contention, but it’s not going to be easy over the summer.
Podcasts & videos
NFC East links
The Landry Hat
Dak Prescott going into an impossible situation heading into 2026 season
“It’s easy for fans to wonder whether he’ll ever attain the postseason success they expect, especially if the Cowboys again struggle to even contend for the postseason. But if we assume the defense is improved and that Prescott stays healthy, the Cowboys should be in good position to return to the playoffs. It might not be totally fair to posit a question that can’t be answered until January at the earliest, but Prescott is one of the most established, entrenched starters in the league. There aren’t many more questions for him to answer. Except the big one.”
Prescott is in a very unique situation for a starting quarterback in the NFL. What he does in the regular season almost doesn’t matter in any way. He’s had huge statistical seasons. He’s led the NFL in passing touchdowns. They’ve won double-digit games four different times in his career. And yet, none of it really matters for Prescott in 2026.
All that matters is that Prescott gets the Cowboys back to the postseason and wins several playoff games. There aren’t many quarterbacks in the league where the regular season is essentially irrelevant to their national perception, but Prescott, along with Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen (to name a few), all need postseason success and not gaudy regular-season numbers to improve their legacy among NFL fans.
NFL league links
Articles
Pro Football Focus
6 NFL coaches on the hot seat entering 2026
Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles
Even though Sirianni owns a staggering 59-26 record with two Super Bowl berths and a title in his first five years with the Eagles, the energy around him has always felt erratic. That crescendoed during the 2025 campaign, where Philadelphia fell in the wild-card round during a season in which its offense tumbled to 21st in success rate and experienced disconnect among its superstars.
The Eagles have remained among the sport’s most talented rosters during Sirianni’s tenure, but those units have struggled to reach their potentials without elite coordinators — especially offensive ones. In light of last year’s woes, Sirianni swapped out Kevin Patullo for first-time coordinator Sean Mannion in hopes of reinvigorating a unit that traded away A.J. Brown.
With a boatload of both expensive and young talent dotting every level of the team, the Eagles figure to be competitive once again in 2026. But if Philadelphia has an encore performance of a year in which it placed only eighth in overall PFF grade, that very well might not cut it for the uber aggressive Howie Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie. After all, Sirianni was reportedly almost fired after both 2023 and in 2024, and his status doesn’t appear overly protected.
Discussion topics
Pro Football Focus
Washington Commanders All-PFF Team: The best players of the past 20 years
Offense
- QB: Kirk Cousins (2012-2017)
- HB: Alfred Morris (2012-2015)
- WR: Terry McLaurin (2019-2025)
- WR: Pierre Garcon (2012-2016)
- Slot WR: Santana Moss (2006-2014)
- TE: Jordan Reed (2013-2018)
- TE: Chris Cooley (2006-2012)
- LT: Trent Williams (2010-2018)
- LG: Kory Lichtensteiger (2010-2016)
- C: Chase Roullier (2017-2022)
- RG: Brandon Scherff (2015-2021)
- RT: Morgan Moses (2014-2020)
Defense
- DI: Jonathan Allen (2017-2024)
- DI: Chris Baker (2012-2016)
- NT: Daron Payne (2019-2015)
- ED: Ryan Kerrigan (2011-2020)
- ED: Montez Sweat (2019-2023)
- LB: London Fletcher (2007-2013)
- LB: Bobby Wagner (2024-2025)
- CB: DeAngelo Hall (2008-2017)
- CB: Quinton Dunbar (2015-2019)
- Slot CB: Kendall Fuller (2020-2023)
- S: LaRon Landry (2007-2011)
- S: Kam Curl (2020-2023)
