The Daily Slop – 4 July 2026 (happy 250th!)
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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A to Z Sports
ESPN predicts Antonio Williams will win OROY in 2026
It’ll take a down year for a late-drafted WR to win this award, but this looks like a down year. Only two quarterbacks were taken in the first two rounds, and one of them (Ty Simpson) has no chance of earning a starting job. Should Mendoza not surpass Cousins until midseason or struggle statistically when he starts, the field opens up.
The running back class this year was historically weak. RB3 (Kaelon Black) left the board at No. 90 — the latest the third running back has been taken in the common draft era (since 1967). Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are the two first-round running backs, but Price is reportedly facing a timeshare in Seattle, while Love will labor on a bad Cardinals team eyeing the 2027 No. 1 pick. The likelihood a running back wins the award this season is as thin as I can remember.
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There is hardly any competition in the Commanders’ receivers room behind Terry McLaurin. Williams will catch passes from Jayden Daniels, a remarkably better quarterback than players such as KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston (Browns) or Omar Cooper Jr. (Jets) will work with in 2026. Williams still needs to dodge the late-summer addition of a Brandon Aiyuk or Stefon Diggs, but his path to high-quality targets is shockingly clear for a third-round pick.
Williams is also a hand-in-glove fit for David Blough’s Detroit-inspired offense. Williams is an easy glider who makes fearless catches over the middle of the field.
He is evidently cut from the Amon-Ra St. Brown cloth, and St. Brown’s reliability helped him break into the Lions’ starting lineup as a fourth-round rookie.
If the Commanders suddenly need to funnel six-plus targets per game his way, he has the deep tool kit and reliable play style to sustain that volume. There are few middle-round rookies for whom I have rosier Year 1 projections than Williams.
NFLcom
Top 100 Players of 2026, Nos. 90-81: the Bobby Wagner edition
2025 stats: 17 games | 162 tackles | 8 tfl | 4.5 sacks | 2 INT | 4 FF
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The timeless linebacker continues to rack up standout seasons at the tail end of his Hall of Fame career. Wagner has never fallen short of triple-digit tackles in a season through 14 years in the league, and he now sits third all time — just 59 behind Ray Lewis’s record — with 2,000, per Pro Football Reference. Never out of place, Wagner was credited by Next Gen Stats with 69 run stops in 2025, second in the NFL. He’s as steady of a QB for the defense as there’s been in his (or any) era.
NFL Pro insight for Wagner: Bobby Wagner played at least 98% of his team’s defensive snaps for the ninth time in his career.
The Athletic (paywall)
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Four NFL teams with big concerns
I am alarmed about these four situations, listed in order of severity (excluding the Browns, whose quarterback situation is perpetually severe):
3. Did Jayden Daniels get needed support? The honeymoon is over in DC. The miracle NFC championship appearance to begin the Daniels-and-Dan Quinn era was followed by a sophomore slump. Daniels was hurt, and the Commanders went 5-12. The coach’s job is safe for now, but new coordinators on both offense and defense hint at urgency. Daniels still deserves better weapons, and I’m not sure Brandon Aiyuk would be the answer.
Pro Football Talk
Do the Commanders want to sign Brandon Aiyuk?
There have been no reports or suggestions that they are. Perhaps more importantly, there have been no reports or suggestions that they aren’t.
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It’s only tampering to express public interest in a player under contract with another team. It’s not tampering to make it known that a team isn’t interested. If they aren’t, why not make it known?
If nothing else, it would save Aiyuk a lot of time and effort.
This suggests that they are. And why wouldn’t they be? Quarterback Jayden Daniels, who played in 2019 with Aiyuk at Arizona State (and who recently got an earful from a 49ers fan at a World Cup game), presumably wants Aiyuk on the team.
Given that he wants to play for the Commanders so badly, they could offer him a one-year deal for the league minimum. Take it or leave it.
Pro Football Focus
Ranking the NFL’s best scrambling quarterbacks using PFF data
PFF’s scrambling grades produce a leaderboard that closely reflects the broader picture painted by the underlying metrics. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were almost impossible to separate throughout this analysis, while Patrick Mahomes generated enough volume to comfortably belong in the conversation.
The 2024 quarterback class is already establishing itself as one of the league’s most dangerous groups of runners. Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels already rank fourth and fifth in PFF scrambling grade over the past three seasons, with Drake Maye not far behind. Daniels had a marquee rookie season, while Williams led all quarterbacks in PFF scrambling grade (92.4) in 2025.
Last Man Standig (paywall)
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Mailbag: What are the chances that Jayden Daniels doesn’t sign an extension
Let’s say Daniels “only” gets a dollar more than Mahomes’ average. I think the chances of turning that generational wealth down are lower than the Kardashians spending the next decade incognito.
Now, Daniels must look more like the 2024 version when he delivered one of the greatest rookie seasons in league history to ensure the maximum payday. That includes remaining healthy. Even then, we’ve seen players get paid coming off injuries.
So, no, I don’t see Daniels trying to force himself back home. One caveat …
For more from Ben Standig, click here
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NFL.com
Jahan Dotson eager to showcase talent with Falcons: I didn’t ‘have that opportunity the past couple years’
“I 100 percent believe in my talent and ability to make plays in this league,” Dotson said, via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. “It’s just about getting the opportunity to do so. I didn’t really have that opportunity the past couple years. Now I’m looking to really do that, and I can’t wait to make plays for this football team.”
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Dotson entered the league with promise, dealing with injuries as a Washington Commanders rookie but exhibiting a nose for the end zone with seven touchdowns and hauling in 35 receptions for 523 yards over 12 contests. The TDs and yards, however, still stand as career highs. He spent just one more year in Washington and never found a groove as the team churned through quarterbacks. Dotson had 518 yards and four scores on 49 catches in 2023, then was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles amid a 2024 preseason in which he fell down the Commanders’ WR pecking order.
Dotson started off buried behind superstar duo A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in Philly and never dug his way out. Over the last two seasons, Brown and Smith combined for 420 targets, 290 catches, 3,923 yards and 26 TDs. Dotson finished third among the the Eagles’ wide receivers in targets both years, but it amounted to 37 receptions for 478 yards and a score on 69 looks.
The Falcons offer renewed hope for Dotson that he can carve out a crucial role.
Discussion topics
Commanders Roundtable
2026 Commanders opponent preview: Philadelphia Eagles
This game could be decided by who plays better in the trenches. The Eagles continue to bolster one of the top offensive lines in the league. Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson remain one of the best tackle duos in football. Cam Jurgens has made back-to-back Pro Bowls since taking over the starting center role. Landon Dickerson is a three-time Pro Bowler himself, and Tyler Steen looks to improve in his second year as a full-time starter. The Commanders have new pieces all over the defense, looking to improve the second-worst unit in 2025. Edge rushers Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson were signed as free agents this offseason, as was inside linebacker Leo Chanel. Washington got Chanel’s running mate in the Draft when they selected Sonny Styles with the seventh-overall pick. How quickly he adapts to the NFL will be a major storyline early in the season. On the defensive line, Daron Payne is back to wreak havoc while Javon Kinlaw is in the second year of his three-year deal signed last year. Washington signed three defensive linemen to team with those two in Tim Settle, Charles Omenhui, and DJ Davidson. There’s also veteran Deatrich Wise Jr. The Commanders need this new-look unit to make an impact right away against a strong offensive line.
