The Daily Slop – 8 August 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
Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)
How might Stefon Diggs fit in David Blough’s new offense?
Yesterday, I broke down what Diggs brings to Washington but today, I thought I’d look at how he might fit in David Blough’s new offense.
The Commanders have one established receiver set in stone
in Terry McLaurin. McLaurin will most likely be the X receiver in this offense, as he has been since he was drafted. That leaves the Z receiver and slot receiver roles up for grabs. Those two roles can be quite different, but there is also some overlap in there too. Diggs is very much capable of playing both roles, having done so for the Patriots last year. He spent similar numbers of snaps in the slot as he did on the outside in New England
That gives the Commanders some flexibility. They’ll be hoping that rookie receiver Antonio Williams can develop quickly enough to claim the slot receiver role and become their version of Amon-Ra St. Brown in this offense. That would then leave Diggs to the Z receiver spot on the outside. But if Williams isn’t quite ready, Diggs can easily slide inside and open up the Z spot for the likes of Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown or Luke McCaffrey to try and win.
I suspect what we’ll see from Diggs is he’ll split time in both roles and while there is some overlap, they do require different things too. So lets see how he fits in both roles.
Z Receiver
Earlier this offseason, I wrote a post looking at what the role of the Z receiver might be in David Blough’s offense and if Treylon Burks might be the receiver to win the job. We’re expecting Blough’s offense to look similar to the 2023 Detroit Lions offense under Ben Johnson, where Blough was on the practice squad in his final year as a player before transitioning to coaching. That offense focused the majority of its targets to an interior trio of slot receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. The outside receivers still had an important role, but the focus was inside and over the middle to those three.
The Z receivers in that offense were primarily used to stretch the field vertically and to attack the intermediate parts of the field on deeper crossing routes while the defense focused on that interior trio of weapons underneath. This meant that the Z receivers in that 2023 Lions offense ran a lot of deep overs, high crossers and deep dig routes. Last year with the Patriots, Diggs proved he was very much capable of doing that type of work.
The other major part of the Z receiver role in this offense is to stretch the field vertically. Diggs doesn’t have blazing speed to run by coverage at age 32, so he’s not going to be as dynamic as other options in that aspect. But he can still be a vertical threat in other ways. His use of route tempo can help lure defenders into a false sense of security before he suddenly bursts by them. He also has great ball skills, with the ability to track the ball down the field and adjust his body to however the ball is thrown to him. That means while he might not be a candidate to run by defenders down the sideline, he is an option to target with back-shoulder throws.
The Athletic (paywall)
Stefon Diggs begins new era with the Commanders: ‘I want to win’
“My numbers have always spoken for themself,” he said. “No matter who you like or what you say, the production has been there. … Numbers-wise, I mean, I’m not no mathematician, but …”
Diggs’ first practice with the Commanders was intentionally light. Quinn lauded the four-time Pro Bowler’s conditioning, but said the team would ease him in to allow him to get up to speed with the playbook. So, on Friday he was a full participant in the individual period, but did only a couple of receiver one-on-ones against defensive backs, and took only a few reps in 11-on-11.
Afterward, he stayed on the field with Jayden Daniels to catch extra passes and talk through some of the nuances of routes and timing.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
From Last Man Standig:
There were other NFL teams interested in the efficient target coming off the seventh 1,000-yard season of his career and a Super Bowl appearance. Other teams could offer comparable money or quality quarterback play. None could match the chance to return home.
The 32-year-old said he felt “little chills” when reporters reminded him of his local Pop Warner and prep past.
“I can’t write a better story at this point in my career,” said the Gaithersburg native. “What I wanna do and being able to be healthy coming off of ACL [surgery in 2024]. Having success and going to your hometown team, you wanna shine for them. I wanna put on for my city.”
For more from Ben Standig, click here
The Athletic (paywall)
The NFL thinks Jayden Daniels is the 13th-best QB. In 2026, he’ll be way better than that
It has taken only six practices to watch Jayden Daniels and come to a way-too-quick-but-still-definitive conclusion: There aren’t 12 NFL quarterbacks better than this guy.
More than that: The player who had maybe the best rookie quarterback season in NFL history is ready to put himself squarely in the top tier of QBs — en route to annually becoming one of the best.
Daniels spent the first six sessions of training camp — during which the offense has looked better and better in 11-on-11 work — placing plenty of balls exactly where they need to be. These aren’t just completed passes. They’re passes that are either dropped in the only area where a receiver can snag them or are timed so perfectly that the pass catcher doesn’t have to break stride and can gain significant yards thereafter.
[I]f Daniels plays somewhere between 15 and 17 regular-season games…then it says here he will reprove it. He’s too talented, too dedicated and too bright not to. The bet is we get to January, and Commanders fans — along with coaches and execs across the league — are saying, “There aren’t five quarterbacks I’d rather have than Jayden Daniels.”
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Sports Illustrated
The Good and Not So Good From Commanders’ Seventh Training Camp Practice
Amos participated in team work, while Armstrong’s workload was heavier on individual drills because Washington plans to ease him back more gradually. Way resumed his holding duties on every field-goal attempt Friday, an important step after the pectoral injury kept him out during the opening week of camp. It truly is ironic that all three players entered training camp with injury issues, and all three became available on the same morning.
After today’s practice, Stevens sits firmly in the driver’s seat after going perfect in practice once again, with his longest being 56 yards, while Moody missed his two longest attempts on the day from 53 and 56. The kicking competition now has Stevens at 28-for-30, and Moody at 24-for-29. With Moody now having five misses to Stevens’ two, the pressure to answer is something Moody will feel now.
Marcus Mariota throwing two interceptions really set the stage for failure on the day. One interception could be credited heavily to a defender making a good read, but two in the same practice give Mariota and the second-team offense film that needs correcting.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
ESPN
Friday, Aug. 7
Armstrong tore his ACL in Week 7; he posted 5.5 sacks in his first six games. He will participate in individual drills and slowly work his way back into full-team work. He’ll play outside linebacker in their base defense and can rush as an end in nickel situations.
During a one-on-one drill, receiver Terry McLaurin showed his footwork and hands against corner Rasul Douglas. The play also highlighted Jayden Daniels’ accuracy and their chemistry. McLaurin appeared to be running a fade, but Daniels read the coverage and threw a back-shoulder — McLaurin quickly adjusted his body and made the catch. However, there would have been strong debate about whether he got both feet in bounds. There might have been a centimeter.
Diggs dropped the one pass thrown his way in full-team work, a slant route. Diggs has been credited with two drops in his last 166 targets.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Photos
Commanders.com
PHOTOS | Day 2 in pads
The Washington Commanders had the pads back on for the second time in three days. Check out the top photos from Wednesday’s practice.
Podcasts & videos
Sonny Styles on Commanders Training Camp & Ohio State Career with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
NFC East links
Blogging the Boys
Luke Schoonmaker currently finds himself on the Cowboys roster bubble
Luke Schoonmaker’s time may finally be running out for the Dallas Cowboys. The second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft never really challenged Jake Ferguson for the starting tight end job as was hoped, nor has he shown much improvement thus far in his career. As a result, his time in Dallas may expire before his rookie contract does.
Schoonmaker is entering a contract year this season and currently finds himself on the roster bubble nearly two weeks into training camp. No. 86 has enjoyed the relative safety a player of his draft status generally gets throughout his first three seasons with the Cowboys, but that security seems to be running out. He may have to fight tooth and nail to even make the roster.
Although Schoonmaker was technically Dallas’ TE2 based on the number of offensive snaps he played last season (391), many would agree Brevyn Spann-Ford ended up surpassing him on the depth chart despite playing 91 less snaps (300). Spann-Ford has shown continued development after going undrafted in 2024 and is now considered by many the primary backup.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
ESPN
Ranking 10 most interesting recent NFL contract extensions
8. Jalen Carter, DT, Philadelphia Eagles
Extension: Four years, $152 million
Here are players with the five most expensive contracts for a defensive tackle since 2015 in terms of APY adjusted for salary cap inflation:
- 1. Aaron Donald, 2022 ($45.8 million)
- 2. Ndamukong Suh, 2015 ($40.1 million)
- 3. Donald, 2018 ($38.2 million)
- 4. Carter, 2026 ($38 million)
- 5. Chris Jones, 2024 ($37.4 million)
Are we sure Carter belongs on this list?
On one hand, he has stretches where he takes over games and delivers impact plays. And he ranked third among defensive tackles in Fowler’s survey of coaches and executives. But Fowler also called him “one of the toughest evaluations among the top 10” and reiterated that with criticism from an NFL coordinator.
The numbers don’t back Carter up as elite … yet. After registering a 90th percentile pass rush win rate along with six sacks as a rookie in 2023, his down-to-down metrics have fallen off. He dropped to the 52nd percentile (with 4.5 sacks) in 2024 and rebounded a bit to the 66th percentile (and three sacks) last season, though six pass breakups in each of those campaigns help his cause. Similarly, his run stop win rate was elite as a rookie and then just above average in each of the following two seasons.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
The Athletic (paywall)
Is Odell Beckham Jr. doing enough to earn spot on Giants’ wide receiver depth chart?
The No. 6 wide receiver doesn’t necessarily have to play special teams, but Beckham will need to produce more this summer to justify carrying him as a depth receiver. Beckham looks like he still has juice, and that showed up Wednesday in his best practice of camp. The delay in signing Beckham in the spring involved both sides discussing the possibility his comeback bid falls short. Beckham will need to raise his play and maintain it to avoid that fate.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
NFL league links
Articles
ESPN
Cousins, Crosby scuffle during Raiders practice on Friday
Defensive end Maxx Crosby hit quarterback Kirk Cousins twice during the team period. And when Crosby hit Cousins’ arm a second time, the 15-year veteran had had enough. Cousins got into Crosby’s face, grabbing the All-Pro’s jersey, while both exchanged words before it was broken up.
Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said it’s a part of camp, but he wants his players to be smart when those situations occur.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
