The Daily Slop – 15 July 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!
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Articles
Sports Illustrated
We interviewed rookie QB Athan Kaliakmanis after he helped raise $13,000 for Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington
Philip Hughes: When Washington drafted you, what was the first thought that went through your mind once the moment settled in?
Athan Kaliakmanis: When I got drafted, the first thought that went through my mind was my appreciation for God. It was an appreciation of my journey as a whole, and I was just thankful God was with me on every step of my journey. I was then thankful for my family and just grateful I got to experience that moment with them. It was a collective effort.
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Philip Hughes: You said after the draft that you wanted to be a Commander. What was it about this team, this staff, or this situation that made Washington feel like the right place for you?
Athan Kaliakmanis: Washington felt like the right place for me for a number of reasons. I felt like after my visit, I really wanted to play for the coaching staff in Washington. I loved the area and the experience the entire coaching staff had as a whole. I also thought it would be a great opportunity to learn from a group of very talented NFL quarterbacks. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)
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Can RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt fit in Commanders switch to zone run scheme?
The good news for Washington is a switch to more zone runs suits Croskey-Merritt perfectly. In fact, one of my concerns with Croskey-Merritt when he was drafted was his fit with Kingsbury’s preference for gap scheme runs. In college, Croskey-Merritt ran almost exclusively zone run schemes, so I wondered how he’d fare in a different system. Overall he did well under Kingsbury, but during the middle of the season, we did see times where he lacked discipline with gap scheme runs.
There were times in his rookie year that Croskey-Merritt made back side cuts work and picked up nice gains, but when he started to go hunting for big plays a little too often, he saw his workload reduced quite a bit over the middle part of the season. But when he started to earn more snaps later in the year, he did show more discipline. That discipline will be important for him in his second year because the zone scheme does require discipline, but it also provides some flexibility that suits his running style. In the zone scheme, the offensive line isn’t blocking to open up a specific gap, but rather it’s looking to use horizontal movement of the offensive line to create vertical lanes for the back to cut into. The running back can cut into just about any available lane he wants to, but the key is to make one cut and be decisive with it.
Croskey-Merritt showed in college and at times last year how effective he can be in the zone scheme.
Commanders Roundtable
Evaluating the fit for veteran Keenan Allen with the Commanders
The 34 year old has been nearly a lifelong Charger after spending all but one of his 12 NFL seasons with the organization, totaled over 11,300 receiving yards and 63 touchdowns during his time in San Diego then Los Angeles. His lone season elsewhere materialized in 2024 where he started in all 15 games he was available for the Chicago Bears, finishing second on the team with 744 receiving yards along with a team-high seven touchdowns. Yet the production dropped in 2025 for the six-time Pro Bowl selection after starting in only three of the 17 games he was available in Los , amassing shy of 800 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 81 catches and 122 targets.
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Fowler also noted that “nothing is going on” with Allen as of late with the front office doing its due diligence.
The question for Allen would be not only how productive he could be, but how he fits into the current wide receiver room. While he showcased himself as an outside receiver earlier in his NFL career, Allen could be staring at more snaps out of the slot ahead of 2026. Though head coach Dan Quinn noted he has the versatility to play inside and out, a possible signing of Keenan Allen could take away from some of the snaps available to rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams, adding another layer of questions about whether the best fit for Allen is in Washington.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Commanders.com
Commanders 2026 opponent breakdown | Tennessee Titans
What’s the next step for Cam Ward? The 2025 No. 1 overall pick had a mixed bag of results in his rookie season. He was constantly looking to make explosive plays, and while there were moments where his arm and athleticism shone through, he also had multiple head-scratching plays that led to turnovers. He wasn’t near the top of many statistical categories, but the Titans believe that a new scheme could help highlight his better qualities.
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Brian Daboll, the former New York Giants head coach who is now the Titans’ offensive coordinator, was high on Ward during the draft process, and general manager Mike Borgonzi has given Ward weapons like Tate and Robinson. Some of Ward’s development still falls on him, but the hope is that a better cast will lead to better results.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Podcasts & videos
***Today’s feature***
Something a little different
The Athletic (paywall)
Football meets international football: Ranking every NFL soccer-style crossover jersey from 1-32
These shirts will first go on sale at Fanatics Fest in New York City on July 16, then they’ll be available online the following day. Last year’s inaugural edition, inspired by football club kit designs from around the world, were priced at $100 each and quickly sold out.
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(Note that the stars above some team logos on the jerseys represent Super Bowl wins in the way they represent World Cup wins on international soccer shirts.)
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
NFC East links
Big Blue View
NFC East Grades: Where do the NY Giants stack up at quarterback?
New York Giants
Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston, Brandon Allen
Did part of me want to give the Giants more credit due to the presence of Jameis Winston as the strongest No. 2 quarterback in the division? Maybe, but the Giants receive just one point, mostly because of the unproven consistency Jaxson Dart so obviously lacks as a 23-year-old. Dart had a good rookie season, and the national conversation surrounding Dart would likely be more favorable if the Giants’ defense could hold a damn lead in the fourth quarter.
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Dart finished with 2,272 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He had a 5.2% Big Time Throw Rate and a 3.4% turnover-worthy play rate, with an average of 6.7 yards per attempt and an aDOT of 8.8 yards. He also added 487 yards on the ground with nine rushing touchdowns. Dart demonstrated the ability to adjust his arm angles while showing good control of touch and velocity across a variety of throws and areas of the field. He was poised and did a great job extending plays off-script. There’s still plenty of room for Jaxson Dart to grow, but his arrow is ascending. Still, the Giants only get one point.
Points: 1
Washington Commanders
Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, Sam Hartman, Athan Kaliakmanis
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Jayden Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 after leading the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, where Jalen Hurts and the Eagles ended Washington’s season. Daniels was sensational as a rookie, but injuries limited him throughout his sophomore campaign. Even when healthy, opposing defenses appeared better prepared for him. He failed to top 233 passing yards in any game in 2025—a mark he reached against Shane Bowen’s Giants in Week 1. Daniels finished the season with 1,262 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and added 278 rushing yards with two scores while fumbling three times.
That disappointing sophomore season shouldn’t overshadow what he showed as a rookie. In 2024, Daniels rushed for 1,026 yards and seven touchdowns while throwing for 4,309 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He was one of the league’s most dynamic offensive weapons and a nightmare for opposing defenses.
Even after his disappointing 2025 campaign, I’d still take the Commanders’ quarterback situation over the Eagles’. It’s not just because Daniels is on a more team-friendly contract—I also believe his individual ceiling is higher than Hurts’ when evaluating each quarterback independent of the talent and infrastructure around them.
Points 3
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Bleeding Green Nation
Eagles schedule preview: Titans
Coming off a 3-14 season, a new head coach should bring in a culture change. Let’s take a look at how that’s going:
“One of the first things we did here was get rid of all the seed oils in the building”
Robert Saleh has moved beyond adding and removing ping pong tables. He probably also believes the 49ers practice facility is being poisoned by a power station.
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Not ingesting seed oils will be 12 free agents signed to contracts with at least $1M guaranteed. A low bar, but 8 of those 12 players came from losing teams in 2025. Four were from the Giants, including three of their five highest guaranteed contracts. Of the 26 total free agents they signed, 14 previously played for either Saleh or offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Bringing a different type of losing culture is technically a culture change.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Blogging the Boys
Dallas Cowboys 2026 Opponent Preview: Washington Commanders
On defense, the Commanders have made a lot of changes to lean even further into the style that Quinn wants to play, and even done some things that Cowboys fans familiar with this defense would certainly call uncharacteristic, most notably drafting an 0ff-ball linebacker in the top ten with Sonny Styles.
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Daronte Jones comes over as Quinn’s defensive coordinator with a specialty in the secondary, serving as the Vikings DB coach and passing game coordinator from 2023 until last season. This creates an interesting dynamic where Quinn can focus on the front seven and Jones focuses on the backend of this defensive with a lot of new names.
The area the Commanders did the most work with external free agents is the defensive line. Settle, Chaisson, Omenihu, and Oweh give this team a new pass rush look up front, joining mainstays in Javon Kinlaw, Daron Payne, and former Cowboy Dorance Armstrong who is still with the Commanders. Gone are the days of the Commanders stockpiling Alabama-bred defensive linemen, particularly interior tackles, and having lines that were good at holding the line of scrimmage, but lacked in juice. Quinn is looking to rebuild an aggressive, penetrating defense starting with the front, and has some big new names in the secondary to tie this defense together as well.
Ahkello Witherspoon coming over from the Rams is the headline here along with Rasul Douglas, as well as Nick Cross at safety. The Commanders allowed just two less passing touchdowns than the awful Matt Eberflus led Cowboys defense last season, one less pass play of over 40 yards, and led the league in yards per reception allowed. Even if the Daniels/Kingsbury pairing was able to stay together and generate big plays all season, this defensive weakness made it difficult for the Commanders to grab control of games. The Commanders blew four leads in the fourth quarter of games last season, and seven of their 12 losses were by one score.
Cowboys fans will know well that just how good a Quinn defense can be depends on a lot of factors well beyond the defensive personnel itself.
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To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
NFL league links
Articles
Over the Cap
Offensive Line Investments for 2026
I decided to do the valuations a bit differently here. For any player who was on a non drafted contract I used their standard APY to calculate their average salary value. For a draft pick I used their projected value based on the Fitzgerald-Spielberger draft chart and the position they play. While this may not be as accurate for the production of 4th year rookies where we have a better understanding of how good the player is, it does give us a decent way to look at upside that exists with the young players on the roster. I used the top 10 valued players to take into account how much depth a team has rather than just the top 5.
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Not surprisingly, the Eagles ranked tops in the NFL in this metric with over $110 million per season invested in their offensive line. The only other team over $100 million was the Panthers. The Panthers group likely has more upside of the two. Their non draft picks are a full year younger on average than the Eagles group (The Eagles near 30 year old average should be alarming) and they have $38 million potentially invested in young talent compared to $22 million for the Eagles.
At the bottom are the Bengals and their plan seems crazy. They have just $54 million invested on the line with a QB who is getting the injury prone label and an offense that is heavily reliant and invested in their passing game. The age of the vets on the team is nearly 31and they rank below average in projected rookie impact, basically a 50/50 split between rookie and veteran investment. On paper this is tough to justify.
Those looking more at veterans are the Broncos, 49ers, Rams, Commanders, Falcons, Bills, Chiefs, and Bucs, all under $23 million.
Here are the numbers for all of the teams in the NFL. The adjusted salary simply means it takes into account the projected contribution of a draft pick rather than their lower slotted salary:
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To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Discussion topics
Pro Football Focus
NFL quarterbacks are holding the ball longer than ever: The trends behind time to throw
The average time to throw across the NFL last season was 2.86 seconds. It ranged from Davis Mills at 2.55 seconds to Shedeur Sanders at 3.30 seconds. The margin may seem small, but even half a second is a long time in an NFL pocket.
PFF times every dropback throughout the NFL season, and we can use that data to gain insight into how quarterbacks’ tendencies change over the course of their careers. Focusing on the last four seasons in particular, it is interesting to note that no quarterback has reduced their time to throw every year since 2022.
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Overall, this is consistent with the league-wide trend that quarterbacks are holding onto the ball longer than ever. The NFL’s average time to throw has increased every year since 2020.
This can perhaps be attributed to a general improvement in defensive coverage. Big-time throw rates and average depth of target haven’t materially changed over the past five years. The percentage of throws beyond the sticks has slowly crept above 40%, suggesting quarterbacks are becoming slightly more aggressive, but an overall decrease in RPOs and other schematic changes may also skew that trend.
Offensive line quality, wide receiver talent and, most importantly, play-calling all influence how long a quarterback holds the football over the course of a season, and those factors rarely remain constant. Despite coaching staffs placing a greater emphasis than ever on avoiding negative plays, quarterbacks are generally becoming more comfortable extending plays.
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It also highlights just how difficult it has become to play quarterback in the modern NFL. Defenses are disguising coverages more effectively than ever and deploying more bespoke game plans from week to week.
As offensive and defensive philosophies continue to evolve, average time to throw will remain one of the more revealing metrics for understanding how quarterbacks operate. It’s a statistic that reflects far more than simply how quickly the ball leaves a passer’s hand.
