![Daily Slop: 12 Feb 26 – New Commanders OC David Blough: “How do we get Terry [McLaurin] 10 targets a game?“](https://glance-mob.glance-cdn.com/public/cardpress/binge-magazine-card-generation/spaces/US/en/sb-nation/images/ppid_2cf3d240-image-177091266842313096.webp)
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Commanders Free Agent Fits: Cornerback
High Profile: Nahshon Wright, Bears, 27.
It feels a bit strange to put Wright’s name in the high profile category given this time last year, most casual NFL fans wouldn’t have known who he was. He is a long, rangy cornerback, listed at 6-foot-4, 199 pounds and has nearly 33-inch arms. Prior to the draft, he compared himself to Richard Sherman, so it should be no surprise that Dan Quinn was influential in the Cowboys drafting him in the third round back in 2021. At
the time, it was seen as a huge reach and a big project, but Quinn had personally attended Wright’s pro day and appreciated his size, length and ball skills.
Interestingly, Dan Quinn isn’t the only coach on the Commanders staff that has worked with Wright. After three seasons in Dallas, the Cowboys traded Wright to the Vikings, where Wright spent a year on the practice squad under new Commanders defensive coordinator Daronte Jones. So there is plenty of familiarity with Wright on the Commanders coaching staff already. However it should be pointed out that Jones was with the Vikings when they released Wright and Dan Quinn didn’t then go and sign him. But Wright did team up with Al Harris in Chicago, who of course worked under Dan Quinn in Dallas.
Despite the connections to Quinn and Jones, Wright has produced very little in his NFL career until 2025. He was in and out of the lineup in Dallas under Quinn and as soon as Quinn left in 2024, the Cowboys traded him away. He didn’t make the Vikings final roster in 2024, instead spending the year on the practice squad. So he really had very little to shout about. However, Wright had a breakout season in 2025, registering five interceptions, which was joint second in the NFL behind only his teammate Kevin Byard. Wright also led the Bears with 11 pass break ups, so clearly he had an outstanding year with getting his hands on the ball.
NFL teams pay a premium for cornerbacks that can create turnovers, so Wright has potentially played his way into a significant contract this offseason. Salary cap website Spotrac is currently projecting him to get a three-year, $50 million contract with an average annual value of $16.7 million. That’s their highest projected contract for a cornerback in this free agent class. That feels a bit over the top given he has just one year of real production, but it speaks to the value of interceptions.
When watching Wright, it’s easy to see the upside that had Dan Quinn so enamoured when the Cowboys drafted him in 2021. The size, length and ball skills show up almost immediately. He can be physical at the line of scrimmage, using his long arms to jam receivers and disrupt their releases, but the size and length is most often seen with the ball skills.
Commanders Roundtable
Washington Commanders emphasizing Terry McLaurin’s role in 2026
“This thing’s going to be built around how do we get Terry ten targets a game and get him explosive receptions after explosive receptions to kind of flip the field,” Blough told WUSA9.
McLaurin eclipsed that mark just once in 2025 after posting seven catches for 96 yards and one touchdown on 14 targets in the Sunday night overtime loss vs. Denver, his first game back in a month. The veteran would draw more than five targets in just three other games in all of 2025, including seven targets for five catches and 63 yards in the Christmas Day loss vs. Dallas.
Of course, part of the equation for McLaurin was his delayed return to the team ahead of the season opener amid ongoing contract negotiations as he now enters year two of his renewed three-year deal, but with that now in the rear view mirror, the longtime Commander has a chance to establish consistency through the offseason before stepping back into his feature role.
McLaurin is coming off a career-low four catches on throws 20 yards or more downfield, but with a shift to an under-center offense and commitment to the run game that could set up more play action and downfield shots, the veteran can have a chance to change course after a setback 2025 season.
Riggo’s Rag
Chris Canty placed Commanders’ Jayden Daniels as the NFC’s second-best quarterback
Daniels wasn’t up to his exceptionally high standards even when healthy, which led to the inevitable criticism from sections of the media. Caleb Williams won the NFC North and made the playoffs with the Chicago Bears. Drake Maye won the AFC Conference and reached the Super Bowl. That piles more pressure on the former LSU standout, but one former pro-turned-analyst made his feelings about the true balance of power crystal clear.
Chris Canty of ESPN listed his top-five NFC quarterbacks entering the 2026 offseason. Matthew Stafford, who won the NFL MVP, was at the top. Daniels came in second, and Williams was ranked at No. 5.
This caused an inevitable stir among fans across the league on social media. Canty’s reasoning was simple; Daniels shone when the lights were brightest as a rookie, almost getting the Commanders into the Super Bowl. Being hurt for most of his second season doesn’t detract from his outstanding capabilities under center.
ESPN
NFL overhaul tiers: Rebuild time for 18 non-playoff teams
Somewhere between contention and reset
Washington Commanders
Top free agent: Deebo Samuel
Projected 2026 draft picks: 6
The hope for a quick turnaround: Washington is a year removed from competing in the NFC title game. When healthy, Jayden Daniels is a top-10 quarterback who will move the offense into a more respectable range in 2026. GM Adam Peters has cap space to replenish the roster. Injuries plagued Washington more than most teams last season.
Why it might take longer than hoped: Washington was the hardest team of the bunch to evaluate, so it gets its own category. The Commanders were close in 2024. The roster is problematic in spots, though. Defensive impact players are older. Pass rush is a major need. And some recent high draft picks have been slow to develop. Peters has just two draft picks in the first four rounds this year because of previous trades. Adding a skill player at tight end or running back would be useful.
The Athletic (paywall)
Why Dan Quinn and the Commanders are taking a gamble with 2 first-time play callers
Quinn is taking a rare step. He’s putting his faith — and possibly his head-coaching career — in the hands of not one but two first-year NFL coordinators and play callers, David Blough and Daronte Jones, when the recent track record of teams with two first-time play callers isn’t great.
The 2024 New England Patriots, with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington, went 4-13 — the same record as the 2023 Arizona Cardinals and 2021 New York Jets, who also had two first-time play callers. The 2020 Panthers fared a hair better, going 5-11 in Joe Brady’s first year as a play caller alongside defensive coordinator Phil Snow.
It’s a gamble for Quinn, who isn’t doing this in his first season with the Commanders; he’s doing it in Year 3, after a dreadful 2025 season that undoubtedly warmed his seat.
In short, he is trying to recapture a bit of the old while seeking something brand new.
Quinn has repeatedly used two descriptions when asked over the last couple of months what he wants from his coordinators. The first is collaboration. He wants his coaches to use the resources of the collective, since many of Washington’s assistants come from different systems, have different ideas and use different methods of coaching. And the second is teaching. Since arriving in Washington, Quinn has stressed the development of his players and coaches.
He’s sought coaches who have a history of adapting to their players and who teach in ways that help players learn.
On defense, Quinn stressed that the system will be Jones’ and not his own.
“Ultimately, we’re putting in a new system, and it’s going to start with his vision, with his terminology, the wording that we use, the communication,” Quinn said. “And that’s how it has to be. I think it’s difficult for someone else to come in and think like someone else.”
And Quinn said he doesn’t want to retain many of the things that failed last season during the Commanders’ 5-12 campaign. Which is partly why he is willing to bet on these two new voices, even if they both will be coordinators for the first time.
“I want to recapture that energy of that swagger of how we want to play, the style, the attitude of it,” he said. “And I’m certain we can do that.”
Commanders.com
5 takeaways from David Blough’s press conference
- His experience as a quarterback will be vital.
Blough has no experience calling plays at any level, let alone for an NFL team, but that doesn’t mean he’s entering his new role completely unarmed.
Blough — an undrafted free agent out of Purdue — had a journeyman’s career during his short stint in the NFL with just seven starts. However, it was a beneficial time for him, as he got to work with offensive gurus like Kevin O’Connell and Ben Johnson. Though he has no experience calling plays in those systems, he does know how to run them and what to expect when they are executed properly.
“You get to be in the room where all those conversations take place and you hear how the coordinator thinks, so while you’re not maybe calling the play in the huddle as a backup like I was for the majority of my career, you get let in the chess match of what a play caller is thinking, being on the headset, hearing the play call come in, the dialect, all the little things that go into making a well-oiled machine kind of run.”
Commanders.com
Logan Paulsen’s top WR prospects of 2026
9. Malachi Fields
One thing: “I think when you watch a highlight reel of Malachi Fields, you’re gonna be like, ‘Dude, this guy’s a stud.’ And he is a stud. I think he’s got a great catch radius. I think he tracks the ball well. He’s got long arms. He tracks football well, looks great in the helmet from Notre Dame. I think does a great job in one-on-ones can win on a slant. I think he blocks well. I think he’s tough. I think he’s urgent.”
8. Chris Bell
One thing: this was a pleasant surprise, bro. I got strong, strong AJ Brown vibes when I saw him play. Just the way he caught the football, the way he was after the catch. He has this great catch and run versus JMU where he catches a slant, breaks a tackle, and then walks off on the defense. Now it’s JMU, but like the after the catch, the strength, the hands like this, this was a X receiver all day, every day and twice on Sunday. Like, I just was blown away by him.
7. Germie Bernard
One thing: “I just fell in love with him, man. I just think he’s a football player in the truest sense of the word. I think he runs excellent routes. I think he’s got a great feel. They line him up all over the formation. He lines him in the backfield to run choice routes. They use him in motion. He puts his face on people. I think he’s tremendously physical. There is a little bit of hot cold to him, but when he’s on, he is on, man.”
ESPN
‘Selling Sunset’ star pays $470K for HOF-er John Riggins’ Super Bowl jersey
As a kid in Northern California, Jason Oppenheim wanted one item more than any other: a John Riggins jersey. When he was around 8 or 9 years old, he finally received one as a gift. It paired well with the poster of the Washington Hall of Fame fullback on his bedroom wall.
As an adult, the “Selling Sunset” star wanted the Riggins jersey. This time, price didn’t matter — he paid $470,000 to get one.
“I would have gone higher,” he said, “a decent amount higher.”
Now, he’ll pair that jersey with something more than a poster: He also bought Riggins’ Super Bowl ring for another $105,750. Oppenheim bought them Saturday at the 18th Super Bowl Live Auction conducted by Hunt Auctions.
The jersey just so happened to be one that Riggins wore in Super Bowl XVII to earn that ring as well as Super Bowl MVP honors. That’s when he broke a fourth-and-1 tackle attempt by corner Don McNeal en route to a 43-yard touchdown with just over 10 minutes remaining to give Washington a 20-17 lead. It was the key play in the franchise’s first of three Super Bowl victories.
That also happened to be the shot on the poster Oppenheim once owned.
He’s told Riggins that if he ever needed to wear the ring for an event, he would loan it to him. And Oppenheim said he has talked to the team about finding a way to display the jersey so more fans can see it.
“I wanted to make sure these items were not controlled by someone who would hoard them, keep them from the fan base and have it as some type of investment opportunity,” he said. “I don’t feel I own these things; I feel they’re owned by the fans. To be a custodian is an honor.
Podcasts & videos
Exclusive sit-down interview with Commanders new Defensive Coordinator Daronte Jones | Next Man Up
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Kevin Patullo is leaving the Eagles
Nick Sirianni’s right-hand man finds a landing spot
Bleeding Green Nation
Nick Sirianni originally announced that he was making an OC change back on January 13, two days after the Eagles’ playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. At the time, it was reported that Patullo might stay on staff in a different role.
But while Patullo was not technically fired, he effectively was. It never seemed like a great idea to bring him back in a lesser role, for either his sake or the Eagles’ sake. That would’ve been an awkward dynamic.
The Eagles hired former Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion to be their new play-calling offensive coordinator. The team also hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard to be their new pass game coordinator, which is the role Patullo held in Philly before being promoted to OC after the 2024 season.
Sirianni is obviously very tight with Patullo, so, this is a big loss for the Eagles’ head coach. But his buddy ultimately landed a new job not too far away from where he attended high school and college in Florida.
The Ringer
The Eagles are on the precipice of a reset
There’s no prior connection between him and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, which means there’s a real chance that Philadelphia is adopting a brand-new scheme built around pre-snap motion, under-center runs, and play-action passes, three things we haven’t seen much of in the Sirianni era.
This kind of change will push quarterback Jalen Hurts to add new layers to his game as a passer. He’ll have to throw between the numbers more often than he ever has in his career, which hasn’t been his preference. Since he became the starter in 2021, Philadelphia’s offense has just 903 throws between the numbers. Not only does that rank last in the NFL (and more than 100 fewer than the next-lowest team), but it’s woefully below the league average of 1,258.
But he and Sirianni aren’t the only ones getting out of their comfort zones and facing change. Philadelphia offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland resigned last week, leaving the team without one of the league’s best-ever position coaches. ESPN’s Tim McManus reported that Stoutland was miffed by offensive changes last year that he wasn’t consulted on, and that lack of communication led to his decision. And if Sirianni was willing to go around someone as tenured and proven as Stoutland to protect former coordinator (and close friend) Kevin Patullo, one has to wonder what he’d be willing to do to an unproven and unfamiliar play caller like Mannion if the offense struggles and Sirianni thinks his job is on the line.
Just over a year removed from winning a title, Philadelphia is shaping up to take a step back on both sides of the ball.
Even the most optimistic Eagles fans would have to acknowledge the danger that could come from undergoing this major metamorphosis without a trustworthy head coach or superstar quarterback. If things go off the rails in 2026, a larger organizational reset is a real possibility.
ESPN
NFL overhaul tiers: Rebuild time for 18 non-playoff teams
A few moves away
Dallas Cowboys
Top free agent: George Pickens
Projected 2026 draft picks: 8
The hope for a quick turnaround: The offense was humming in 2025, and the core players will return, with the team expected to franchise-tag receiver Pickens. Quarterback Dak Prescott is squarely in his prime under coach Brian Schottenheimer. The defensive line is stocked with talent, and Dallas has two first-round picks with which to address its defense because of the Micah Parsons trade.
Why it might take longer than hoped: Last season’s defensive back seven underperformed, forcing a look in the mirror this offseason. The addition of defensive coordinator Christian Parker will help, but reinforcements are sorely needed. Bringing back Pickens and running back Javonte Williams would be prudent.
Sneaky good trajectory
New York Giants
Top free agent: Wan’Dale Robinson
Projected 2026 draft picks: 7
The hope for a quick turnaround: Several head coaches experienced fast success in 2025, and John Harbaugh will try to do the same with a Year 1 turnaround in 2026. The Giants’ roster is reaching respectable levels of talent after a few down years. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is a selling point. The defensive line is among the league’s most talented. And receiver Malik Nabers will return from ACL and meniscus tears.
Why it might take longer than hoped: The Giants must shake their losing culture. New York hasn’t won more than six games once in the past nine seasons. The shift might not happen overnight. The supporting casts on both sides of the ball haven’t been good enough in recent years. That has to change.
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Bucky Brooks’ top five 2026 NFL Draft prospects by position 1.0
