Daily Slop – 28 Jan 24: A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

Commanders links

Articles

ESPN

Sources: Commanders, Seahawks eye HC candidates from Ravens, Lions

There are some who have viewed Johnson as the “presumptive favorite” for the Washington job, but multiple sources insist that is not true. While Johnson could land the Commanders head-coaching job, sources insist that there are other strong candidates — most notably Macdonald, Weaver, Glenn and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn — who remain “very much in play.”

Quinn also is scheduled to interview a second time with the Commanders, according to sources.

The Seahawks did not get a chance to interview Macdonald and cannot do so until the Ravens’ season ends, raising questions over whether Seattle would be willing to wait to interview him for a first time if Baltimore advances to the Super Bowl.

Since the Seahawks interviewed Johnson already, they are permitted to speak with him this week regardless of Detroit’s result because of the NFL rule that states: “Beginning Monday January 29 through Sunday February 4, (the bye week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl), second interviews in person or virtual are permitted for head coach candidates employed by clubs that will participate in the Super Bowl. Prior notification must be provided to the employer club.”

So far, the Commanders have interviewed Weaver, Macdonald, Johnson, Glenn, Quinn and Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.

The Seahawks have interviewed Johnson, Quinn, Slowik, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith.

During this hiring cycle, eight NFL teams have changed head coaches, and six already have filled their jobs. The Patriots hired Jerod Mayo, the Raiders hired Antonio Pierce, the Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh, the Titans hired Brian Callahan, the Panthers hired Dave Canales and the Falcons hired Raheem Morris.

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Pro Football Focus

One ‘secret superstar’ for all 32 NFL teams after the 2023 season

Washington Commanders: G Samuel Cosmi

Cosmi was an adequate performer at right tackle for the first two seasons of his career, but a shift inside in 2023 has awoken something in the former Texas offensive lineman. His 80.6 PFF grade is a career-high and Cosmi has the 20th-lowest pressure rate among all guards in the NFL at 4.3% — the same as Cowboys titan Zack Martin, one of the best guards in the business.

It’s still early days, but Cosmi earned the fifth-highest grade among all guards. As well as an 80.9 run-blocking grade and a 74.0 PFF pass-blocking grade. He’s showing the traits of an all-around quality guard. Those are hard to come by.

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Sports Illustrated

Should Commanders Re-Sign Curtis Samuel?

Washington Commanders’ receiver Curtis Samuel is the No. 76 potential free agent this offseason, according to Pro Football Focus.

Pro Football Focus recently ranked their top 150 potential free agents for this upcoming offseason, and Samuel checked in at No. 76.

“Samuel was an efficient target in Eric Bienemy’s Washington offense that spread the ball around more than any team in the NFL, hauling in just shy of 73% of passes thrown his way with just four drops on 85 targets in 2023,” PFF wrote. “Samuel was used as a ball carrier in 2023 like he was in 2022 and previous seasons dating back to his Ohio State days. His Swiss Army knife skill set shows up with good change of direction in space and start-stop ability that is still above average at this stage of his career.”

While he may never top the 77-catch, 851-yard breakout season that he had in 2020 for the Carolina Panthers, Samuel’s two most recent seasons in Washington proved to be much more productive than his first.

Samuel has 126 receptions for 1,269 yards and 10 total touchdowns since the start of the 2022 season. He’s not a Pro Bowl-caliber player, but if you’re looking for a No. 3 receiver, Samuel can provide value.

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Bleacher Report

Christian Mahogany NFL Draft 2024: Scouting Report for Boston College IOL

OVERALL

Christian Mahogany is a three-year starter inside Boston College’s 60-40 run-pass split, motion-heavy, play-action based scheme centered around a downhill, multiple run game featuring duo, power and inside zone.

Mahogany is a home-run-hitting presence on the interior with the size, power and bully mentality to unseat and punish defenders on contact. This translates most on down blocks, double-teams, inside zone combo blocks and as a puller.

Mahogany has solid athletic ability to get to landmarks and into fits on time, covering up first-level defenders before creating lift and movement with heavy hands. He has the necessary quickness to track and intersect targets on climbs, pulls and screens with the size and power to erase smaller defenders.

Things get dicey for Mahogany against post-snap movement, slants and gap exchanges due to inconsistent footwork and tardy strike timing, leaving him behind his target and losing cleanly across his face. He needs to add more patience and tact to his game to level out his default aggressive mentality.

In pass protection, Mahogany uses stiff, strong hands to stymie rushers with his initial punch, and he has a naturally strong anchor to grind down the bull rush. When he maintains the inside-out relationship on rushers and/or squares them up, his length, thick build and strength can take over, but he is too easily manipulated out of position against stutters and hesitations against wide rush alignments. He is an asset when uncovered, looking for work with a vengeance to deliver crushing body blows, but he needs to work on his spacing and depth to better maintain levels and prevent penetration from loopers.

Overall, Mahogany is a big, powerful, tone-setting presence at guard who can impose his will in a downhill, vertical based run game centered around RPOs and play action. However, he will need to learn to add patience and polish to his footwork to become more of a steady presence rather than a pure bouncer.

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Podcasts & videos

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NFC East links

NFL.com

Eagles expected to hire Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore for their OC position

Philadelphia is expected to hire Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as their new OC, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Saturday night.

Moore spent the 2023 season with Los Angeles, a tumultuous campaign that saw head coach Brandon Staley fired on Dec. 15 and franchise cornerstone Justin Herbert miss the final four games due to injury. Under those circumstances, the Chargers offense sputtered to a bottom-12 ranking in scoring.

Despite this being Moore’s third change of scenery in as many years, the 34-year-old remains one of the league’s most-respected offensive minds.

Even during the season that led to Moore and the Cowboys mutually parting ways, Dallas still owned a top-five scoring unit, and the Chargers had been blocking him from interviews until they hired Jim Harbaugh on Wednesday, per Rapoport and Pelissero.

Thus, it took just three days for fast-moving Philly to bring Moore on board.

Head coach Nick Sirianni now has a new set of coordinators — he hired defensive coordinator Vic Fangio within 24 hours of his parting from Miami — for the second consecutive offseason.

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Tweets

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NFL league links

Tweets