The Daily Slop
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
Commanders Roundtable
Why Dyami Brown is important to the Commanders in 2026
Monumental Sports Network’s Mitchell Tischler watched every rep this spring and landed here: “Dyami Brown is probably your number two receiver at this point.” Dan Quinn noticed something, calling Brown out specifically after day one of minicamp
and noting he had a “good intensity about him” from the moment he walked back through the doors at Commanders Park. In the surprisingly deepest receiver room Washington has assembled since Jayden Daniels has been at the helm, Brown is separating himself — and the reason isn’t hard to find.
Brown’s best football has always come with Daniels throwing him the ball. In 2024, playing in a system designed around Daniels’ strengths, Brown posted career highs with 30 receptions for 428 yards and three touchdowns — including a 41-yard touchdown grab against Cleveland that showed exactly what he can do when a quarterback trusts him downfield. Those weren’t scheme-generated opportunities. Daniels looked for Brown because Brown was making plays, and the two built a rhythm together that extended into the playoff run. Brown hauled in 14 catches for 229 yards across two postseason games, including a 45-yard bomb against the Lions that nearly took the roof off in the divisional round. That’s not a supporting actor — that’s a guy who showed up in January.
A to Z Sports
Daronte Jones makes it easy for his guys, but hard for anyone trying to score points
Daronte Jones’ defense is quite an interesting one from a 10,000 foot view. Once the ball is snapped, they aren’t doing anything revolutionary from a coverage perspective. It’s your standard Cover-3, Tampa 2, etc.
Where the uniqueness comes into play is with the pre-snap looks. The Minnesota Vikings are so good on defense because they will show you 3-6 different coverage looks before you snap the ball, and it makes communication paramount for the success of the unit. It’s also why Flores included many players in the construction of his defense, because ownership breeds more success. Think of it like this: you hired a Michelin star chef to cook at an Applebee’s.
There are commonalities at play, here. Jones and the Commanders defenders, like Flores, have been collaborating when it comes to constructing the defense. The same goes for the Commanders offense, too.
Commanders Wire
Logan Paulsen believes in Ben Sinnott as an NFL tight end
“When you look at him at Kansas State, for example, you’re gonna see him running a corner, you’re gonna see him running a post, you’re gonna see him running a high cross, you’re gonna see him running a seam. What do all those routes have in common? They’re vertical stems, with slight variations at the top. What we’re not gonna see from him is a lot of, like, short area, choice route, bursty, kind of snag route type stuff. That is a bigger feature of this offense, in terms of how it’s gonna work the middle of the field.”
Paulsen then partially compared Sinnott’s situation to that of Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. McBride struggled as a rookie under Kingsbury and behind Zach Ertz. However, McBride’s career took off once Kingsbury left. Like Sinnott, he just wasn’t an ideal fit for what Kingsbury did, while Ertz was perfect in the role.
In two NFL seasons, Sinnott has 16 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns. He has only 18 career targets. Washington will use employ multiple tight end sets under Blough.
Heavy.com
Sonny Styles reveals key to team making deep playoff run
“I think it’s a long season, things happen sometimes, guys’ minds can get out of it,” Styles continued. “But I think if everyone stays there, we’re all in, and we trust each other. Everyone shows up and does their 1/11th on the field, the talent’s there. It’s just about being consistent and doing it for 17 weeks straight, and you pick your head up and see you’re in the playoffs, and you go a little bit more after that.”
When asked what his objectives are for his rookie season, Styles keeps it simple — it’s just a matter of doing whatever it takes to help the team win.
“Me, individually, I’m just trying to carve out my role, figure out how to help the team win, whether I’m playing MIKE, Will, SAM or special teams, whatever that may look like, just help the team win,” said Styles.”And then collectively as a team, try to win Super Bowl. But it just starts with Week 1 though. It really starts with just getting through camp and preseason, but it obviously starts with Week 1 with Philly, just giving everything I got each every week, just showing up, doing my 1/11th, doing my job.”
Riggo’s Rag
Chris Paul suddenly finds himself in predicament heading into Commanders’ training camp
Coming off a breakthrough season, Paul presumably envisioned moonwalking into the role he just proved capable of handling. His efforts garnered league-wide attention after all. Instead, the Tulsa product is battling with Coleman.
No one would blame Paul for being frustrated for essentially having to earn his stripes all over again. He showed enough not to have to worry about job security, or so we thought. Not to mention, we already saw him leapfrog Coleman once; why is this can of worms being reopened?
Coleman reportedly got a good amount of work at LG during the Commanders’ organized team activities (OTAs). The club is figuring out where he’s best suited after seeing him struggle at left tackle as a rookie. Fair or not, his situation is getting in the way of Paul’s.
While Paul has his warts, specifically in run protection, he’s one of the best in the NFL when it comes to keeping the quarterback clean. The 2022 seventh-round selection ranked near the top of the league among interior offensive linemen in ESPN’s pass block win rate (95 percent).
Photos
Commanders.com
PHOTOS | Minicamp 3
Podcasts & videos
Washington Commanders Will REACH The Super Bowl? 👀 NFL LIVE REACTS
NFC East links
Big Blue View
NFC East Grades: Where do the Giants stack up at the defensive line?
New York Giants
D.J. Reader, Shelby Harris, Darius Alexander, Bobby Jamison-Travis, Josh Tupou, Leki Fotu, Zacch Pickens, Sam Roberts, Anquin Barnes Jr., Ben Barten
Dexter Lawrence was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals for the tenth overall pick in the draft, which turned into Francis Mauigoa, but left a massive hole in a position at which the Giants were already thin. To Joe Schoen’s credit, he did a solid enough job in replenishing the position with competent veterans. New York added D.J. Reader, Leki Fotu and Shelby Harris after the draft, but unfortunately lost Roy Robertson-Harris to injury. They also claimed Zacch Pickens off waivers and signed Josh Tupou.
I’m sure defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and defensive line coach Dennis Johnson believed they would have Lawrence when they accepted their jobs, but a lot can change in a short amount of time.
Darius Alexander did show signs of progression down the stretch of his rookie season, although it was mostly as a pass rusher. Sixth-round pick Bobby Jamison-Travis is one of my sleepers heading into the 2026 season. Overall, the unit lacks star power but has two new quality veteran options in Reader and Harris, with other rotational veteran options and some young players who could take the next step.
Still, the Giants only receive one point.
Points: 1
Washington Commanders
Daron Payne, Johnny Newton, Charles Omenihu, Javon Kinlaw, Tim Settle, Shy Tuttle, Deatrich Wise Jr., Ricky Barber, D.J. Davison, Jeffrey M’ba
Daron Payne is coming off a down season for him, but the 29 year old is one of the more effective two-way defensive lineman in the National Football League. Johnny Newton had two adequate seasons – the first he was recovering from a pre-draft injury and he recorded 27 pressures and six sacks in his second season, but he must be better against the run. Washington signed Tim Settle from Houston; he had an average season, relative to his career last season, but did record 43 pressures in 2024.
Javon Kinlaw, Deatrich Wise Jr., and Charles Omenihu are all big bodied 4/5-techinques with length, with Kinlaw bringing experience playing inside techniques as well. The depth and experience of Washington’s group gives Dan Quinn’s unit the edge over New York.
D.J. Davidson also joined the Commanders this off-season, for what it’s worth.
Points: 2
NFL league links
Articles
Pro Football Talk
Raiders minority owner Tom Brady bashes the NFL’s fine system for on-field “mistakes”
Tom Brady owns a piece of the Raiders. He’s part of management. In a recent podcast appearance, Brady shared his views on one of the collectively-bargained realities of playing in the NFL — the fine system for on-field infractions.
And Brady took a distinctly anti-management and pro-player position.
“What they start doing is they start fining you $50,000, $75,000,” Brady said on the Stick To Football podcast. “And I’m saying, like, I hate that. I hate the fact that, like, you sign a contract for $2 million a year, $5 million a year, and it’s so easy for someone to say, ‘Give me $75,000. Give me $50,000. Oh, it’s your second offense? That’s $100,000. That’s your third offense, $200,000.’ . . .
“What job is like that in the world? Where you make a mistake at your job, and they come in, they go, ‘Hey, we’re gonna take your salary away.’ And then people are like, ‘Yeah, you should take his salary away.’”
Front Office Sports
After NFL and CFL Say No, UFL May Be Sorsby’s Best Option
The UFL appeared to confirm Sorsby would be eligible despite his gambling activity
Last week, billionaire and UFL co-owner Mike Repole posted on X that the former Texas Tech quarterback was welcome to join the UFL—specifically the Dallas Renegades team.
On Sunday, when Front Office Sports asked a UFL spokesperson whether Repole’s comments were reflective of the league’s official stance on his eligibility, the spokesperson simply directed FOS to Repole’s tweets.
“The UFL is the league of opportunity,” Repole wrote. “We created our Regional Player Initiative to keep great players closer to home, closer to their fans, and on the field.” He continued: “Have your people call my people!!!!!”
Daily Aiyuk
Pro Football Talk
Brandon Aiyuk has complaints about the NFLPA, too
Aiyuk seems to be confusing union membership with union leadership. That said, he hasn’t made a specific complaint regarding anything the union has done, or failed to do, as to his current situation.
When the 49ers voided Aiyuk’s contractual guarantees, he reportedly decided not to fight it. If he had decided to do so, the NFLPA would have taken up the cause.
And if Aiyuk is suggesting that the NFLPA has been working with the 49ers to in some way impact his rights in a negative way, that’s just ridiculous. The NFL Players Association doesn’t operate that way. It’s there to represent the interests of all players. The suggestion that the NFLPA would be working with a team to hurt a player is very hard to take seriously.
For now, the message to Aiyuk — from the NFLPA, an agent, or anyone — is simple: File with the NFL a petition for reinstatement from the reserve/left squad list. It’s not just his best move. It’s his only move.
And it’s the one way to move the 49ers to release him.
