Commanders 'Easy Pick' To Protect Star Quarterback Jayden Daniels
The New York Giants may have "won" the first round of the NFL Draft by landing an elite pass-rusher and their quarterback of the future. The Philadelphia Eagles - again - stole an athletic SEC defender. And the Dallas Cowboys added yet another offensive lineman named Tyler.
Quietly, hidden amongst the hubbub in the NFC East, the Washington Commanders did exactly what they set out to do this offseason and this draft: Find help for star quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Advertisement
After trading for receiver Deebo Samuel as a weapon and Laremy Tunsil as a protector, Commanders' general manager Adam Peters drafted more offensive line insurance around Daniels by nabbing Oregon's Josh Conerly Jr. with the 29th pick.
The surprise team of 2024 that went all the way to the NFC Championship Game has now added a star receiver, a Pro Bowl left tackle and a promising rookie who - at 6-5, 311 pounds - had the fastest 10-yard takeoff of any offensive lineman at the Scouting Combine.
Conerly Jr. had been projected to go as early as 18th to the Seattle Seahawks in mock drafts. He raised eyebrows by holding his own in the Big Ten Championship Game against Penn State's Abdul Carter, who went No. 3 overall to the Giants.
"This was a pick from the entire building," Peters said. "Throughout the process we fell more and more in love with him. "Kliff Kingsbury, Brian Johnson, Dan Quinn - I mean everybody was just really pumped to get him. We were holding our breath for a while thinking he might go ahead of us so we were thrilled when he was there. It was an easy pick for us to make."
Related: Commanders 47-Sack Worry Addressed With Jayden-Friendly Draft Pick
Related: Donald Trump Bashes Washington For Controversial Name Change
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
11 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Pacers take 1-0 lead into game 2 against the Thunder
Indiana Pacers (50-32, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -11; over/under is 227.5 NBA FINALS: Pacers lead series 1-0 BOTTOM LINE: The Indiana Pacers visit the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Pacers won the last matchup 111-110 on Friday, led by 19 points from Pascal Siakam. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 38.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
On a broken toe, Francisco Lindor delivers win for Mets: 'We're watching greatness'
When Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Francisco Lindor could be available in Friday's series opener against the Rockies after keeping him out of the starting lineup for the second straight game, you just knew what eventually happened was a possibility. In the ninth inning with the score tied 2-2 and runners in scoring position with two outs, the Mets skipper called upon his shortstop -- hobbled by a fractured pinky toe -- to try and push across the go-ahead run. Advertisement Mendoza needed something; the Mets outside of Pete Alonso -- whose two-run double in the seventh put them ahead temporarily -- have struggled mightily this season with runners in scoring position. Entering Friday, Lindor was hitting only .189 with RISP, but the Mets needed their de facto captain and he came through, broken toe and all. Lindor pulled a sweeper into right field to score two runs to lift the Mets to a 4-2 win. "Special player, I've been saying it. Special talent. We're watching greatness," Mendoza said of Lindor after the game. "Continues to do what All-Stars do. Continues to show up in big situations on a day when he was in the dugout with a bat in his hand since the fifth inning, finally gets his chance and comes through for us." Advertisement Mendoza said that right before the game, when Lindor came away from hitting in the batting cages feeling ok, he knew he could use him. Ideally, Mendoza wanted to stay away from Lindor, especially knowing that it would have been a two-player move to replace him in the field for the bottom of the ninth, but as the game went on the second-year manager told Lindor in the eighth inning that if Tyrone Taylor's turn at-bat came up in the ninth, he was going to him. "For me and for a lot of people, we are spoiled," Alonso said of Lindor. "With him, he's a guy who is ready to strap on regardless... I see him do stuff like this all the time. I know it's hard to do. Battling through physical stuff, there's limitations. I have nothing but the utmost respect. He's a true pro and he embodies that." "It illustrates what type of person Francisco Lindor is," Kodai Senga, who allowed just one run over six innings on Friday, said through an interpreter. "A leader. He's just a superstar." So, how did Lindor prepare for his pinch-hit opportunity? The shortstop said he was ready because he discussed the possibility with Mendoza before the game and the team's trainers got him ready. Advertisement "Mendy had a great game plan from the beginning of the day, he told me what was in his mind. It was just a matter of the trainers," Lindor said. "They did a fantastic job, they prepped me the right way. They did everything in their power to get me on the field. Around the fourth or fifth inning, Mendy asked me if I was available to hit and I said yeah." This isn't the first time Lindor, who usually plays just about every game, has come up with heroics while not at 100 percent as a Met. Last season saw him overcome the flu to deliver a game-winning hit, and when last year's back issues first popped up, he delivered down the stretch, including help the team clutch a playoff berth. Lindor said he can feel he's not 100 percent at the plate, but knows he's not the only big league player playing through injury. So when he's good enough to play and help the team, he'll be ready. "The Lord has blessed me to play this game and stay on the field. When I'm not on the field, the trainers do a fantastic job. You see the results, but they are the one putting in the time to get me right and on the field. This training staff is one of the best, if not the best. Once it comes to those moments, I'm just there to make something happen. Just get a good pitch, and what happens happens. Don't let the moment get too big." Lindor hopes he's in the lineup on Saturday, but knows that he needs to see how he feels tomorrow and speak to Mendoza and the trainers. But even if Mendoza wants to give his shortstop another day off, he knows he can use him again when he needs a big hit.
Associated Press
13 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Kyle Hendricks celebrates 100th career win with former Angels pitcher who tutored him as a youngster
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Hendricks' 100th career victory created a full-circle moment. The 35-year-old right-hander helped pitch the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. And he got to celebrate his milestone with a mentor. Former Angels left-hander Clyde Wright, who threw a no-hitter for the franchise in 1970, began tutoring Hendricks at his Anaheim pitching school when Hendricks, who grew up in South Orange County, was 12. Wright, now 84, finished his 10-year big league career with 100 wins in 1975. 'He came down to the clubhouse and gave me a hug, and I told him it only took 23 years after our first lesson to tie him,' said Hendricks, whose career record is 100-87. 'I spent a couple of years with him at the beginning. He taught me how to start throwing a curveball, how to stay healthy with certain stuff. 'I kept pitching and kept loving the game because of him.' Hendricks (3-6) was hardly dominant Friday night, giving up four runs and eight hits, striking out two and walking two in six innings. And his stuff, as usual, was not overpowering — his fastball topped out at 86.6 mph. But he escaped a second-and-third, two-out jam in the fifth inning by getting Randy Arozarena to ground out. And he got some help in the fourth from right fielder Jorge Soler, who reached above the short wall in the corner to rob Rowdy Tellez of a potential grand slam before crashing into the fence. 'I thought it was a homer off the bat, so I was so surprised, man,' Hendricks said. 'Thank God, (Soler) had my back today big-time.' Tellez's long fly — the first out of the inning — drove in a run. Leody Tavaras' RBI groundout gave Seattle a 3-1 lead. But Travis d'Arnaud's two-run homer off Mariners starter Bryce Miller (2-5) tied it at 3 in the bottom of the fourth. Seattle took a 4-3 lead on Julio Rodriguez's RBI triple in the fifth, but the Angels scored twice in the bottom of the inning to go up 5-4 — a rally that began when Jo Adell was hit by a pitch and he stole second. Chris Taylor, after fouling off two sacrifice-bunt attempts, roped an RBI double to left-center for a 4-4 tie, and Nolan Schanuel's RBI single made it 5-4. Ryan Zeferjahn retired the side in order in the seventh, Reid Detmers struck out two of four batters in the eighth and Kenley Jansen threw a perfect ninth for his 13th save. Jansen presented Hendricks with the game ball from the final out of the pitcher's 100th career win. 'It's one of those things that when you're done playing and you look back, it will mean a lot,' said Hendricks, who won 97 games during his 11 years with the Chicago Cubs. 'But in the heat of the moment, it was just a huge team win against an opponent toward the top of our division, so that's the focus.' — AP MLB:
