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April 22, 2025 • 31 mins
GM Adam Peters and Asst. GM Lance Newmark speak to the media the week of the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Thank you all for coming.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Really really fun week, really exciting.

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Week, one of my favorite. Hey da, you're here.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
I thought you'd be on a basketball assignment or something. Okay,
we were just talking about Yes, I sorry to get
distracted there, but really fun, exciting week for all of
us in the building for the draft. But then also
it's really cool all the players are back. So everybody's
in the sitting in these seats right now. I think

(00:30):
you guys are in Jadeen's c You're in Bobby seat
right there. And so we got a big crew coming back,
so a ton of juice in the building. As you
guys can see a lot of cool things that are
happening around the building with the construction and everything. So
really thrilled about all that lot of good stuff coming down.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
And then this weekend is gonna be a lot of
fun too with the draft.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
So what I'd like to do first and then we'll
hand it out the questions is is just thanks some people.
And it's really The draft is so cool because it's
the whole organization.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
It's not just myself, not just Lance, it's it's.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
The everybody, right, But it starts with the scouts and
the college scouts and they're working tirelessly from really you know,
starting now until next year's draft on and all the
guys that we're going to be picking for next year.
So I like to single those those folks out and
then and a few others and then we can get rolling.
But first, the gentleman to my right here, Lance Newmark,

(01:27):
thank you. Our assistant GM Scott Fitter has done a
great jobby. He came over from Carolina and it's been
an outstanding resource to our staff and really cool to
have him here.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Doug Williams, you all know him.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
He's he's fantastic and the same thing, like just a
great sounding board for myself, for all our staff, a
great person to look up to, and he's also really
understands our players that are in this building and then
in the draft as well. David Blackburn, who he just
hired as our director of Player of Personnel this last year,
has been an excellent. Tim Gribble, our director of college scouting.

(02:04):
He's he's going to be like the most fun guy
at the draft party after the draft because he's put
in so much work, watched tirelessly. There's so many guys
and so many prospects, and put in aggregate so much information.
So really thankful for what he's done this year. Jeff

(02:25):
Bethard our National Scout. We got Tyler Klater our Blessedo Scout,
and Chuck Cook Cookie. If you guys don't know this,
he won the or He was awarded the CEO Bricado
Lifetime Achievement Award for Scouting and it was a big deal.
He was given an award at the combine. If you
see him, please congratulate him. And he's also just found

(02:46):
out it's his fortieth draft, so it's pretty darn cool.
Dewan Jones, another National Scout, Pete Piccarelli, Dustin Reagan, Ron Rose,
and Paul Skansky and then Roger Terry is our college
scouting staff.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
So awesome.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
It's an awesome group of guys, really fun to be around. Uh,
just it's great when they're in the building. They've been
here for they came in here for two weeks and
then left for Eastern and now they're back here for
this week. So they've been away from their families a
lot and then especially this month, but they're they're working
really hard, and so I just wanted to single them
out and then just everybody else, the R and D
department seeing you in our football solutions team, the developers

(03:25):
creating a really cool scouting database for us. Then you
get the coaches involved, and the coaches are incredible.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
They work really hard.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
In the draft video, it the doctors, football ops equipment,
the kitchen Connor, you guys know those guys, they cook
for all of us, Dylan and his team, team security.
And then last but not least guy over here, Sean.
So I bet I'm honestly like it's everybody. Then that's

(03:53):
what's so cool about the draft. So I just wanted
to thank everybody. And then last but not last, not last,
last last is our friends in DC, the Caps. Congratulations
on the win last night. Congratulations to our friend Spencer,
and best luck to them and OV. That was incredible
last night. And have become a huge Caps fan since

(04:14):
I've been here, so best of luck to them now anything.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
Yeah, I agree with everything you said, and go Caps,
Go Caps.

Speaker 4 (04:24):
All right, let's go all right, John Kim ESPN, looking
before we turn it this year, looking back at last
year's class, because as Dan said, you know, guys, take
that year, one year, two jump and with only five
picks a lot of.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
The improvements going to come from that group.

Speaker 4 (04:38):
So I'm curious if you could talk about it, both
of you guys could talk about a couple of guys
in particular about the expectations for this year, Jerzon Ben
Sinnett and then Jordan McGee.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
Yeah, those guys.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
It's cool that you asked about those three because all
three of them have been here working in this building
for quite some time, you know, even we just started
today with the off season program, but they've been working
their tails off really for the last.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Couple of months.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
I see him in here almost every day, so really
excited about each of their future. You know, they're they're
the right types of guys and that the guys we
want their commanders, and so I think you'll see a
big jump in each and every one of those guys
play this year.

Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, I would echo that they are three guys that
are extremely dedicated to getting better. Like you said, they're commanders.
They've worked really hard this offseason to improve you know, physically, mentally,
every part of the game that they want to be
contributors next year, and they're doing everything they can to
do that. So they're definitely wired the right way and

(05:38):
they've worked really hard to be in position to do that.

Speaker 4 (05:41):
And then I'm also curious for Adam, like, what has
been your experience going when you're trying to vet a
guy that has a quote unquote character concerns, Like what's
the process you go through to come to a conclusion
that like, Okay, he's good or they're not so good.
You know, what kind of research do you put into that?
And you know, how do you get comfortable with the decision? Yeah,
that's that's a great question. Excuse me, And it really

(06:03):
starts with the scouts.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
And that's where like all the hours that they put
in and all the information, all the people they talked
to with the schools and the players hometown and everywhere else,
they dig up anything they can to find out what
makes each of these guys tick. And so you say
character concern and you know, we drafted a guy in
San Francisco who had character concerns and he turned out

(06:28):
to be one of the best players at his position,
one of the best teammates I've ever seen, one of
the best locker room guys, and just an outstanding human beings.
So you got to be careful where you get that
information and who's giving you that information, and know your
sources and all of that. But each thing, each character
concern is really case by case and you really figure

(06:48):
out what the incident, if it's an incident, what it was,
why that happened, find out all the information from them,
from everybody you can in order to make the best
decision for your team. So and there's you know, there's
a wide spectrum of character concerns from you have off
the field things, you have football character, there's not really character,
but then like mental and learning that you look into.

(07:10):
So all those different things play into it. But everything
is case by case and try to get as much
information as you can with.

Speaker 5 (07:18):
Only five picks going into this, are you hoping to trade.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Back, hoping the trade back, Well, we talked about this
that owners means a little bit, and you really opened
everything and you're open to moving up if the right
moves up.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
If Abdul Carter falls at.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
Twenty seven, I might want to try to move up
to and get him. But but I mean, if there's
a great player that we want to sit and pick,
we'll do that. But if there's an opportunity to move back,
then we'll certainly open to that. Too, you know, with
five picks, like you said that that's something you'd like
to do as ad picks, But you always have to
have somebody who wants to come up to and we'll
find that out. We're making those calls this week, and

(07:55):
we'll have an idea of who wants to come up
and if we want to do that, and I'll have
an idea of who wants to move back in the
first round ahead of us, and so we know what
we can do there.

Speaker 5 (08:05):
I believe last year you indicated that if a player
you're taking in the first round, you'd like them to
start and have an immediate impact. Along those lines, are
there positions that you typically don't like to drop in
the first round? I mean, do you usually like to
stick to premium positions in the first round or is
it situational?

Speaker 2 (08:25):
I think you could really go anywhere in the first round.
Last year we went quarterback. I don't think we'll do
that this year. But I think what we've done is
we've made ourselves given ourselves optionality to pick anywhere. So
I don't think we have a philosophy of going premium
positions or quote unquote premium positions in any round. It's

(08:46):
really just trying to pick the best commander for us
that's going to help us the most.

Speaker 6 (08:50):
David Aldridge with the athletic I'm wondering. I know every
year is different, every team's built organically that you can't
depend on what happened two years ago or three years ago.
But the fact that you all did have so much
success bringing in guys on short contracts, bring in veterans
on short contracts, does that inform you at all in
terms of perhaps we have the right group of people

(09:13):
here that can utilize veterans on short deals to continue
to build the team and allow us to not have
to necessarily have nine picks every year in a draft
to build a team quicker.

Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yeah, I think well one, I think getting you know,
it's all about a lot of that's about opportunity and
if you can get guys on longer contracts, obviously you'd
like to. You'd like to have as many picks as
you can, but the way we're structured currently, we'll have
to do that for a little bit and do these
one year deals. But I feel really good about our staff,

(09:47):
our scouting staff and our coaching staff identifying the right
guys to get on those one year deals and a
lot of those guys we brought back this year, which
really proud of and really really glad that we brought
those guys back. So I really have a great trust
in those staffs to be able to identify those guys.
And you know, it's not something you want to live
and keep doing over and over and over again.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
But until we get a really good.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
Foundation of draft picks throughout over the years, we're gonna
probably keep doing that. And as long as you're bringing
the right guys, it's okay.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah. I mean two years in a row.

Speaker 3 (10:19):
We've gone to the combine with our roster in the
high forties and we've been at the draft in the seventies.
So you know, we've really been productive in those sixty
days two years in a row, and I think every
time we've brought somebody in we've had a plan for him.
It's been sincere like, hey, we think this guy's a
chance to do something here. And going back to your

(10:40):
original point, I do feel that we have a great
foundation here in terms of getting people into this building
and maximizing what they have to offer in terms of
potential and helping them reach their what they can their best,
their personal best. I do think it's a really good
environment for people to develop.

Speaker 7 (10:58):
Ben standing with the athletic For both of you guys.
Last year, you guys drafted. Of your nine players, seven
were team captains in college. Obviously you clearly like the
what comes with that, the leadership and someone. But now
that you have a year into this culture set and
things along those lines, to some degree you're always building.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
Is that as strict.

Speaker 7 (11:16):
Of a situation. Is it like, hey, we've got to
get guys who were captains or is that a little
bit less so this year because you already have a
bit of a baseline when it comes to culture.

Speaker 2 (11:25):
I think you're still always looking for those types of
guys no matter what. Now the draft isn't always going
to fall that way. But I don't think we're ever
going to waver from the types of people we want
to bring in this building. And whether they are captains
in college or not, I mean, whether they are leaders
or not.

Speaker 1 (11:40):
Quote unquote leaders.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
People lead different ways, but we're just going to try
to bring in good people. And so if they were
captains in college, that that's great, that shows you something.
But if they weren't captains, that doesn't mean they're not
leaders and they can't become those and can't become the
types of guys we want in our building.

Speaker 7 (11:59):
And in terms of edge class, obviously, you guys have
done in free agency.

Speaker 1 (12:03):
You've got a.

Speaker 7 (12:05):
Rotation which everywhere you could say we can play tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
So I get that.

Speaker 7 (12:08):
But in terms of the edge classes or anything in
particular you might be uh to my answer, Yeah, any
particular you might be looking for. Obviously, you guys were
a little bit deficient last year against the run. You
also lost anti foul or get more saxes or anything
you're kind of looking at with that group in particular
that you think you guys need more of this year.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, it's a deep class, which is cool. There's something
I think for everybody, whether you're four three three four
team or multiple there's there's guys that are great against
the past or guys are really good against the run.
So whether you're you're taking that high in the draft
or or somewhere deeper, there's gonna be some good players there.
So that along with a lot of other positions, uh,

(12:47):
we'll be open to taking. And I think what's cool
is even though we have some really good players in
each of those rooms, whether it's edge or O line
or corner, which I'm sure you guys are gonna ask
about that too, But we have really good players, but
we really dq preaches competition, So those guys are going
to come in and compete, and the best guys are
going to play, and the more good players. You can't

(13:08):
have too many good players in a room, I guess.

Speaker 8 (13:11):
Chad Ricardo Fotts five. Around this point in time of
the year, we hear the phrase best available thrown around
quite often for the Washington Commanders. What does how do
you all define best available?

Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah, I think it's probably just the best fit for
our team, you know, in terms of how they fit
in our locker room, how they fit in our scheme,
and what we're looking for. So that could be any position, right, So.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
You know, kind of I don't want to keep saying
this because Ben made fun of me for saying this,
but you know, we we're in a position where we.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
Can take the best available and we can stay true
to our board, and so we feel really good about that,
and so we don't have to reach for a position
that we feel we need that we may be talking
ourselves into.

Speaker 8 (13:55):
This has obviously been a month's long process, in some
cases year's long process. What would the next forty eight
hours look like for you all?

Speaker 2 (14:03):
Just that's a great question. It's it's probably different for
every team, and sometimes it's different every year. I think
the next forty eight hours we're just really refining our
board and just making sure we're challenging ourselves on different scenarios,
different things that make come up. You know, really, you know,
you got two players right next to each other, who

(14:23):
would you take and why? And talking to the coaches
and how would this player fit? You know, does it
fit your vision? And so just the board's pretty much set.
It's just like a little bit of tinkering here and there,
and then you make some phone calls too, make some
phone calls like okay, you want to come up? Do
you want to come down, and just get an idea
of what's going to be available for you.

Speaker 1 (14:43):
So you're not making.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
All those decisions in real time in those ten minutes
that you have. So it's it's a fun couple of days.
It's it's cool to have all the scouts here and.

Speaker 1 (14:53):
Really exciting.

Speaker 9 (14:55):
Alan Sandwich with one O six one ESPN Richmond mister Peters,
I know you got guys emphasize doing your due diligence
on your scouting, even through free agency, talking to players
and getting their input on some guys. Has there been
any input given from players on maybe some draft picks.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
Yeah, there's always uh, some input on draft picks. And
just kind of like your evaluators, you always kind of
trust some guys more than the others.

Speaker 1 (15:22):
But they're not.

Speaker 2 (15:23):
All created equal in terms of evaluators. But yeah, it's
actually we'll listen. You know, you get information anywhere, and
so always lean into those guys and their and their
relationships and if hey, well this guy fitting our bloodstream,
you know, is our type of guy, and but we
don't really get into the skills and technical evaluations like that.

(15:46):
But certainly all years to any information.

Speaker 10 (15:51):
Chickernandez WUSA nine. You guys have done this for a while.
How different has this process changed with modern technology and
all that goes into it. How different is the draft
from say even you know, five six years.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
Ago, I thought you're gonna go further back.

Speaker 10 (16:07):
Well I was trying to be kind, but I see
the greatness, So let's go ten fifteen years we went?

Speaker 2 (16:11):
We did we probably both go back to carbon paper
and certainly beta tapes. So a lot's changed, and it's
changing every year, you know, even last year. This year
we got a new draft room which is really cool,
a lot of cool bells and whistles and that. So
there's always new information out there. There's it's always evolving,

(16:32):
and you're always trying to stay ahead of that and
really be on the cutting edge to find any edge
to help your team, you know, like just like you're
trying to every edge in a game, every edge you
can and every little bit of information you can to
make the best decisions in scouting and for the draft.

Speaker 10 (16:49):
And when you make the pick for a guy in
your position, you're you're going to talk to that newest commander.
What is that moment like when you can hear the
hysteria on the other end of the of the line.

Speaker 2 (17:02):
Yeah, the first one was really nerve wracking, and I
didn't know what I wrote down, what I was gonna
say and making sure I said it right.

Speaker 1 (17:09):
And all that. It was a big pick.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
But then after that it was really fun. It's actually
really cool to hear the joy in the players voices,
really cool to hear the joy in the background or
their family, and like, it gets you emotional. You know
they're emotional. It kind of gets you emotional, and it makes
you really happy. You realize what a big moment it
is for them, and they've worked their whole lives to
get there, and they have their loved.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
Ones around them and to celebrate with them.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
So it ends up being ended up being like the
coolest part is being making those phone calls for sure.

Speaker 11 (17:41):
Scott Abraham, ABC seven, Last year versus this year, how
much more comfortable do you feel at them?

Speaker 2 (17:47):
Obviously?

Speaker 11 (17:48):
Last year was your first NFL draft of running the show,
and now here you are your second year. Just kind
of me to take me through the mindset of maybe
the differences last year versus this year.

Speaker 2 (17:59):
Yeah, we've done everything once, so that that's good understanding
all that. We're in a different draft room, which is cool,
it's better now, But I don't I don't think there's
a whole lot different, to be honest with you, I
think there's always I don't ever want to be comfortable
or relaxed. I always want to have a little bit
of an edge and make sure that you know we're

(18:21):
crossing every t dot and every I making sure we're
leaving no stone unturned. And uh what I what I
do love is the people were working with and the
coaches and the play and the coaches and the scouts,
the way they work together, the way they really pour
everything into it. Even after a long season, the coaches
turned the page and jumped right into it, and just
the teamwork, the camaraderie, and just another year of doing

(18:45):
that together. Everybody knows what to expect, so you're not
teaching everything for the first time.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
So I thought the process.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
Was really good this year, and we'll continue to tweak
it and get it better, but certainly please from where
we're at.

Speaker 11 (18:58):
This is the first time in a long long time
the quarterback question has not been asked during a NFL
draft process. What does that like to solve that starting
quarterback position? How does that open up a draft and
a draft board for you guys?

Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yeah, that was I think that's every team that wants
that right, is to get your quarterback. And so we
feel great not only about Jayden, but about the whole
quarterback room. And we feel awesome about that room. And
so now, I mean, how it opens it up. We
don't have to look for a quarterback anymore, which is cool,

(19:34):
and really just looking for ways to support him and
the rest of the team make him better.

Speaker 12 (19:39):
Lake Lewis, CBS six TV and Richmond. Last year you
made a trade with the Eagles, and now that's a
team that you're gonna have to try to get through
to get to where you want to go. Does it
change this year for you if that call were to
come from them as far as possibly trading or any
team in the NFC East, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:57):
That's another really good question.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
You think about that, But I think it's like a
lot of things case by case, and what is the trade?

Speaker 1 (20:05):
Is it the best move for your team?

Speaker 2 (20:06):
And you can't do I don't personally believe in in
you know, being scared about trading with the team within
your division. If if you think the trade is a
good value for you and you can get some good
picks to help your team get better, then definitely consider it.
Some some cases it won't be and so some cases

(20:27):
you think, all right, maybe maybe we don't want to
do that for whatever reason. But I don't think we'll
ever shy away from that taking those calls, and a
lot of times you'll have a lot of picks on
you know, there are a lot of trades kind of
lined up, and in that particular instance, the Eagles trade
was by far the best trade in terms of value
that we got.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
So we made that trade.

Speaker 12 (20:46):
And then as far as your your your board, you
know the players that you guys value. You went out
and brought in Deebo Samuel obviously to pair up with Terry.
But if there's a receiver, you know, I'm not going
to mention any names, but if there's a receiver either
that drops and he's at twenty nine, is that something
that you guys would clearly jump at or considering this

(21:07):
already a position of strength right now?

Speaker 2 (21:10):
Yeah, I think really every team every year is a
little bit different, right and so we really just what's
the best player that's going to help us now and
in the future.

Speaker 1 (21:21):
And because that room's going to change next.

Speaker 2 (21:23):
Year, just like every other room in our in our
building's going to change each year, it's going to evolve.
So you know, if the best player, we think that's
the player that's going to help us more than any
other position, then we won't hesitate to take that.

Speaker 13 (21:37):
Donald Hopkin's Pro Football Plus, Adam, this is for you.
You talked about challenging yourself. You mentioned basketball in the beginning,
so I'll stay there a little bit. Michael Jordan and
Magic Johnson when they didn't get the NBA Championship, they
had to challenge their staff again. To you all came
so close to being in the Super Bowl. What does
the biggest challenge look like for you all this year?

Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yeah, I think, I mean we're all we're all starting
at the bottom.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
Again.

Speaker 2 (22:04):
I think lost that game more times than I wish
to say, so it kind of stinks. But you don't
just start there.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
You don't.

Speaker 2 (22:12):
You don't just start back in the championship game. You
start at the bottom with everybody else. So that's the
biggest challenge is building back up. But I you know,
take the lessons that you know that you learned that year.
You know the good and the bad of your team,
and there's a lot more good than bad, for sure,
there's very little bad, and just try to do the
things that kind of help you put put yourself over

(22:33):
the edge for the next year. But it really starts
right now, started today, which was really cool, and I
think we got a lot of great men in this
room that not in this room right now, but that
sit in this room for the the guys. There's a
lot of great men and women in this room currently players.
But uh, but I think you know it's I totally

(23:00):
lost my train of thought. But it's gonna be a
fun challenge and I know our guys are up to it.

Speaker 1 (23:08):
I guess what I'll finish.

Speaker 13 (23:09):
And this is for both of you all, because you
were able to put a lot of pieces together as
far as through free agency. Does that change some things
as far as going into the draft to say, well,
maybe we were gonna go this way, but now we
feel that we're a little stronger now that we may
go a different way.

Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
I think that that's what it's. That was the goal
of it, and free agency was to do that so
we don't have to force something. And I think we
put ourselves in a really good position to not force something.
And really we have a lot of players that we
think we can take, whether we say at twenty nine
or trade up, trade back. But we don't have to

(23:47):
just say, okay, we need to look at these three
position x's or these two position Wise, we can look
at all these guys across the board and say, okay,
who's going to help us the most this next year
and then for years to come.

Speaker 3 (24:01):
I think you have to prepare for every eventuality in
the draft. You know, you don't know who you're going
to get in freegency, you have goals and you have
exciting hopes for guys, and the road I would say
to the draft changes throughout the course of the scouting year,
and we end up at this point where we feel
really good about our options. And I think at every pick,

(24:24):
we can look at what's who we feel the best
players are, what position they play, how they affect us
in twenty twenty five, how they affect us beyond that,
and make the best decision for our organization. And we'll
we've already had a lot of really good conversations and
we'll continue to do that and then pick by pick,
what's there for us? What's the best decision, you know,

(24:45):
And it's great to have that freedom and that you know,
kind of mindset where we can really do what we
think is best and not be you know, really tied
to need.

Speaker 14 (24:55):
Good aftering gentlemen, David Harrison on si AP kind of
a two part if I may. We talk about boards
all the time, and you know, top five pick, like
you have five players listed and one of those guys
is gonna be available. Do you have that same type
process of twenty nine? Do you have like a twenty
nine man list of guys you're comfortable with and if
you're going big board, but are there if you could

(25:15):
estimate maybe how many players one to twenty nine would
be guys that no matter who's calling, we're picking this
guy no matter what.

Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, I think that's another really good question.

Speaker 2 (25:27):
There's guys that we know there aren't going to be there,
so it wouldn't be I mean, if they were there, yeah,
we'd take them. But we're fairly certain they're not going
to be there. But there's there is a group of
I don't know. This This draft is interesting just because
very little certainty after you know, the first ten picks
or so, who's gonna go where and why and what's
gonna happen and all that. So we have to be

(25:48):
ready for a lot of different guys to fall to
us or to not fall to us.

Speaker 1 (25:52):
And so we have we have.

Speaker 2 (25:54):
Done that where we've done an exercise where we just ranked,
you know, this group of guys, however many it is.
It could ten, it could be five, could be twenty
of Okay, will they be there all right? And if
these guys are there, should we stay and pick or
should we trade down?

Speaker 1 (26:09):
Should we trade up to go get one?

Speaker 2 (26:10):
So really challenged ourselves to do that before we fell
on the clock. That way we'd have we'd be able
to make a decision pretty quickly.

Speaker 14 (26:18):
And then lands for you, I think you're a great trajectory.
Most people agree is pointing towards GM at some point.
How much do you feel like you've grown from your
on the job training experiences here in Washington?

Speaker 3 (26:28):
So far, I feel like I've I've grown a lot here.
I I'm really grateful for my time here. It's been
It's been great to work with Adam, It's been great
to work with TQ and the coaches. It's been great
to work with this staff and this team. This team
was very unique and special last year. One of the

(26:50):
one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in my
career was was this season here last year. And I
try to go every into every day, Hey, let's how
can we get better? What can I learned? And I've
learned a lot from him. I don't know if he's
learned anything from me, but it's uh, it's been I
feel like I feel like we compliment each other really well,
and it's been a great experience. I feel like I've

(27:12):
really grown in a lot of different ways, and I
think as long as you're open to that, you can
you can do that in any situation. But this one
has been really special, just because, like you said earlier,
the people that we're doing it with.

Speaker 1 (27:23):
You than you got more.

Speaker 15 (27:27):
Hey there, I'm Candy Waller from Bowie TV. Adam, this
one is for you. During the combine, coach Quinn mentioned
that he is opening statement said that this time last year,
you all weren't really sure you know, what is a commander?
What does a commander kind of look like? And what
were you what were you all looking for in a commander?
But now you know what that looks like. So what

(27:50):
are some of the characteristics of the people on the
team now that made you say, yes, this, this, that's
a commander right there?

Speaker 2 (28:00):
Well, I mean there's there's some basic characteristics that you
kind of look for and just about any any football
player of any team, right but you really just seeing
the competitive spirit of a lot of the guys.

Speaker 1 (28:11):
We have the guys, I mean, you.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
Throwing like Frankie Luvu's competitive spirit, you know, Bobby Wagner's
professionalism is consistency, is leadership.

Speaker 1 (28:19):
You know, I can go down the line and and.

Speaker 2 (28:21):
But I think there's so many different things that that
really go into that, and they're not It's not a
one size fits all, I don't think either, but that
the guys that are great competitors, that are great teammates,
I love football, and I think those are probably the
three biggest factors that would go into it.

Speaker 16 (28:40):
For Adam Liam Griffin with the Washington Times, last year's
draft was really successful. Just beyond Jayden, you had several
starters from that draft class who contributed immediately. What made
last year's draft so successful? And how do you go
about trying to repeat that?

Speaker 2 (28:55):
I think I think it started with right when we
got here with our collaboration with the coaches, and you know,
we all sat in this room and the coaches presented
what they're looking for at each position. And not only
did did our personnel staff get to understand what the
coaches were looking for, but then during that time we
got to get to know each other in bond and
create relationships and create really good working relationships, so you

(29:18):
could have really good conversations about players and understanding, okay,
what we're looking for at each position, and then from
there just really focusing on guys that we think would
fit really well in this culture, which really hadn't been set,
but we had an idea of what that culture was
going to look like, and so sticking with those two things,
getting players that we all really were committed to, that

(29:40):
we were kind of agreed upon in terms of both
coaching and scouting, and then getting the right types of
people in here. And you know, we were able to
do that, and I'm really proud of the guys we
brought in.

Speaker 17 (29:53):
Sam Fortier, Washington Post. How much do the coordinators factor
into your decision making? By that, I mean, you know, hey,
we spend a lot of resources to go get a
couple couple of top line guys for Cliff, Maybe we
should use the top pick for Joe. How do you like,
how if it all do the coordinator's factor into your
decision making during the draft?

Speaker 2 (30:11):
First shout out to the vach shirt. Really uh like
exceptional pull. There been there a long time. I hope
to never go again, but h but the coaches are
really involved that the coordinators are really involved in the
draft process. And so when we're going through our draft

(30:32):
meetings every position we go through an offense, Cliff is
in there meeting with us, which is, you know, it's
a long long time for coordinator to be in in
a meeting room, and then for the defense, Joe's in there.
So they both give their opinions on really every player
that we talk about, and so they put a ton
of work in and they do a great job of

(30:53):
teaching us their vision for the player if there's a
player they really like, or the player that maybe they
think is a good player, but maybe we don't have
a vision for them, or they aren't the.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
Best fit for us.

Speaker 2 (31:04):
So really constant dialogue between those you know, during those
meetings and then really from those meetings when they finished
up last week until really until Thursday night and through
the weekend just understanding, okay, what do you think here
between these two guys, and you know, we all will
come to a decision altogether, but their input is you know,

(31:25):
really important for us.
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