Leap Year

[Music] Hello and welcome to another edition of the last man standing podcast. Yes, I'm your host Ben standing and I cover the Washington commanders for my sub stack last man standing at Sunday here. I'm almost back in the DMV but not quite yet. As I record this, I've got a bunch to get into here, talked the other day with Liam Griffin from the Washington Times. It get more of a preview here on training camp with a couple of specific questions. What player do we think is ready to make a big leap? Who is somebody that we're just simply not talking about enough? We got into a bunch of the guys from the 2024 draft class. We talked about Bill and others, Leo Shenall as well. We'll get to that in addition to that. After that conversation, I will share some final thoughts here on the Vegas summer league. We'll put a bow onto that as well. You can check all that and all our previous podcast episodes wherever you do your podcast and also go to last man standing at dot subs stack.com for all of my written work last week that included a deep dive into why the wizards made the move to sign a trade on to a $212 million dollar contract. That surprised many, many people in the league. And then also with the commanders, the story last week included the draft, the draft picked forward ceiling for some of these styles all the way down. You can check that out as well. All right. As I said, Liam and I spoke the other day. I don't know that anything before I went out of 10. I don't know that anything has changed too, too much. Obviously, if we hit on any receiver conversation as this point, they have not signed anybody else knew that I use continue to put out various social media things, although it doesn't look like anything. It's been natural at the moment I'm talking to you guys. We did have his former receiver coach, T.J. Hushmanzada come out and just flat out say he doesn't think the commanders will at all 100% now he's certain will not take I.U.K. I have no idea how he would know that he's been a detractor of Hushmanzada, sorry, of I.U.K. over the last month or two joining the club among others as guys, people, so it's in the corner, they understand what's going on. In any event, as we get closer here to the start of training camp, you would think that logically some of these players that are still out there won't be out there for much longer. We saw one example. This was not a receiver, but that center, Ethan Pochich, if I'm saying that right, who's been a starter with the Browns, he's been long looked at as sort of the best available center. He is coming off though a season in the injuries, so the question is when he can be able to go. Well, it doesn't matter from a Washington perspective now because he is signed with the Ravens just a good day or so after, came a report that he is ready to go off of his Achilles injury. So Washington has not made any other moves at the moment. We're talking since signing Ressoul Douglas. Receivers, the one that I think we're all going to focus on the most, anybody else, there could be obviously some fringy type additions for the practice squad or changes at the end of the practice squad, but by and large, this is probably the group, but now it's just a matter of is there a receiver that they potentially add to the mix. My basic stance for some time has been, sure, it would be cool if they had another kind of opposite Terry McClure, that we could also feel good about to punch in as, you know, guy getting the majority of the snaps over there and feeling pretty good about the production, but I don't think we can go there, but at the same time there is a bunch of guys who at least have a specific skill set that should help the offensive question is just, you know, how does Jaden Daniels help raise the floor for those guys as how does David Blow, the offensive coordinator first timer, how does he incorporate these guys into his bigger plan. So that's going to be a huge question there. All right, so all that said, Liam and I got into a bunch of other questions regarding the commander. So here's my conversation with Beat reporter from the Washington Times. Here on the last man, stand a podcast. [Music] I think many sports fans will agree with this statement. There is nothing better than weekday, daytime, live sports, the life. The NCA tournament, we get it there, but right now we get the experience of World Cup action all day, major baseball, they have day games here and there during the week. Golf, tennis, you know what I mean right now is a great time for that, which means if you want to enhance your fun, if you are somebody that feels responsible when it comes to wagering, go then to sanddool.com, that's where you've got all your lines, all your futures, all the actions to enhance your viewing experience, go to sanddool.com no matter what your favorite for it, no matter what time of the day. As I said, our defending champion, Liam Griffin is back, Liam, we're going to be under is what we do when we talk, but I gave a couple questions here, those try to give us some structure. Here we go, first question, player to make the biggest jump this year, and I would think you might dislike this could be in a variety of ways. It could be obviously a young guy goes up the level, that's like probably an easy way to go. Maybe it's like a phrase that they brought in who like expectations are here, but they get to there, or it's just like, you know what we don't we never talk about this guy, maybe we'll talk about this guy this much this year, and therefore that's a jump. So whatever you want to look at, what player for you came up and I said what player is going to make the biggest jump. Yeah, so a few, and then as you mentioned that that last bit of a potential free just saying another came up, but the first two that came to mind were the 2024 kind of more forgotten rookies in Benson, who kind of is a doer die mode in making it work in Washington. If you can't make it work now with this new offensive, David Blau is bringing in, and it's kind of hard to envision what it would take. It seemed like there was never a really clear role for him in a Cliff Kingsbury offense. It seemed like any of those tight end snaps were going to go to Zach Irts, any of the blocking needs were going to go to John Bates. There just seemed to be too much of a traffic jam up front for that. But with this new system that they're bringing in, and we've seen a little bit of this throughout the, throughout the mandatory minicamps in the OTAs, he's going to have a bit more creativity and a bit more versatility in his role. They're going to be using a move tight end. They're going to be in more two and three tight insets than they were before. They're going to be under center more. They're going to have somebody lined up in the back field along with the running back on occasion. And so there's going to be opportunities for him. If he can set himself apart, and what is like a pretty strong tight end berm with Chica Conco and with John Bates, like those are two guys who are very good at what they do. But if he can blend that versatility of what he can do with being a pass catcher, being a blocker, being someone who can get in space and make a defend a pay, that's going to be a really interesting role for him. And also it'd be hard for him not to make a jump because of how underwhelming those first two seasons have been. So that's the first one that came to mind. And then a guy who kind of flashed throughout training or throughout OTA's mini camp, which is, you know, with a grain of salt, guys, Arton pads, yet nobody's tackling. But Johnny Newton just kind of kept jumping off the field to me. And with the way that this defensive line group is set up, they've got a lot of depth. And so they're going to have a lot of fresh legs on the field at any given time. And I think he's someone that look, he had some injuries in the first season. It didn't look great in the second year. He had some, you know, some breakout games. But I think that he could really put it all together this year and be someone who you look at and say, okay, if DeRon pain walks 12 months from now, we feel pretty good about about what we've got. And then the last one, because you asked for one, and I don't have to listen to you, is a linebacker Leo Chanel, who in Kansas City was never quite a, never developed into a household name, never really became a, you know, proble level player. But I think depending on what role they choose to deploy him in in Dorontay Jones system, that's really, really interesting to me. Everyone knows he's an athletic freak. We've all seen a video of him at a Super Bowl parade, like jumping onto a double decker bus from street level. That's absurd. And it's a pretty easy comparison when you look at what like Andrew Van Kinkler was doing in Minnesota and saying, like, oh, I could see if things go right, I could see that level of jump for Leo Chanel. And so I think those are some guys who are really have flashed in the past here and there, but given more of an opportunity to develop themselves more snaps to work with, I think are going to be guys who we weren't talking about last year, but could really make an impact on this team in 2026. And we problem with your answers is I think they're better than mine. So, um, yeah, those are pretty good. We've talked about Senator Betlg Newton, I think it's really interesting, right? It is like, we've been waiting for something and it's like, it's almost like, wait, is it his fault? He doesn't, well, they seem to keep playing other guys, but then it's also like, well, they're playing other guys because What he's doing, you know, he's not showing enough. I know it against the run I'm sure they want to see more than he has the game with three sacks You're like, okay, I get that three sacks is not gonna be every week But if you could do that I Remember some of those sacks were like like something like yeah, they were in the quarterbacks in the pognites like Yeah forever any guy, so I get all that but like yeah, it's like wait Where's the like we can see the talent? But it's just not consistent and then they keep bringing in more guys to play ahead of them which they did again this off season potentially with Tim settle of Tim settles the nose tackle Then he's gonna be really the fourth guy behind him and pain and kid loss. I think that's a really good one You know in terms of Lisa guy that could make that kind of job Senate completely Agreed with there who's your third when you said Leo Chanel. Yeah, yeah totally I mean he that's the whole point right he was in more of a part time role there And here you should have a more expanded one although it is interesting right? I mean, I know they're gonna rotate people and blah blah blah blah, but like if they do the three four base with three true defense alignment then Lou Vu's styles or should all one of them is in playing Every you know all as as regular as you think and we are assuming styles is gonna be out there every snap so Yeah, that'd be interesting if it's like Lou Vu were to forget Like I actually thought about Lou Vu for this and and maybe he's a good answer But I couldn't quite get there yet partly because of why you're saying should all they like yeah Is there gonna be enough work for all these guys? It's a good problem to have though in that you're looking at at the depth that you have those positions You're like well this guy who was you know My second round pick and you put a lot of stock in had a three-second game last year Which you mentioned are like cleanup work and sex can be misleading but guys who have kind of a pedigree and have shown things and they're You're looking at them like third or fourth in your death chart and like that That's a good problem to have because the injuries are going to come at some point at some position and To be set up like that or maybe just some guys don't you know they get on the field and they they don't quite gel with Dorenta Jones's system media like sometimes that happens doesn't mean a guy's a bad player But it might mean that a different players able to jump up and really make it impact quickly No, no, I like I like those I like those calls alright So guys that I thought about I mean one of them like I probably shouldn't even count But but I said Josh Connerley, I mean like a you know tip for him to make a jump I don't know what people would think that would mean. I'm not saying he's gonna joins the Jacobi Trent Williams Jim Lache Laramie Tumsle level But at the same point, you know a year ago we're talking about a guy who would go on to first three games look like a you know kind of a deer on ice Trying to do it you know learning how to run I got better but the thing you got he progressed pretty good amount as time went on and then you know we saw him out at OTAs in minicamp and again the offensive line kind of channel, you know, parts of the test added without pads but I made this comment He he he looks I don't say more serious, but he looked more mature, right? Which is you know the first offseason he gets to really work on being Off his crapping shape versus trying to get drafted But he's gonna look toner. You've lost some weight Even I noticed like his hair like he he went for the real short look as opposed to before and he had like you know I don't know high-top a little little curls gossip one even that seemed to be to be like okay, we're going up a level here So, you know, I've already said I think the tonsill and Conner like by the end of the year could be like be like a top 10 pair of tackles So I don't know that he's necessarily like the biggest jump, but depends where you thought he went last year But he was one guy that I thought about You mentioned shanol You know, I think Who is gonna be the Andrew van Ginkgo roll seems to be interesting and maybe we're all overstating. Maybe van Ginkgo is just Uh, so far when it come yeah, right. Maybe he's just somehow is able to make these plays that he's always able to make as he did last year He's been here it last year against Washington, but And shanol felt like the guy was like the most obvious for that role He even said that he studied van Ginkgo. They both looked at his constant, you know, etc But I'm probably going with Caleb on chase on here like I don't know definitively if he's gonna be the that guy I know Logan Paulson might have him on he kind of thought so and When we talk about all the pieces on defense, right We talk about styles. I do feel like we probably talk about shanol A big because that linebacker and my steers, you know, rough. So he's can it helps that Um, if we're gonna talk about the guys a sign The daphe always gonna get more attention But chase on's coming off of a you know, really impressive year with the team that went to the air see championship game And if he is given if he's in that role What what does that mean again? Maybe van Ginkgo is one of one, but like if he's able to do some of those things Then that got me like injury angles like not like Some dynamic player, but we all kind of recognize there's something unique there So chase on to me could be like a guy who if he's in that role and does some of those things We end up talking a lot more than we we have been because they've just added so many pieces Um on defense uh last one since I also built a some myself and came up with three This one is almost like too deep cut to matter like this is like a player Didn't have a pulse last year now. I'm saying maybe there's like every every so off. There's a little there's a adult They're been treated by can madron out. I could be completely wrong. I don't know where he's going to play Because you got the three guys we just talked about and Jordan McGee. So I'm not saying madron is gonna be a thing, but Uh, I just feel like over some of my wife can play he seems to be around the ball and he's got to get on the field for that to happen We know how What the world happens guys get hurt or you know, you never know So I'm just going from zero blips to maybe a blip and that uh That that that that counts for me Yeah, it's just it's gonna be so hard for him to get on the field like yeah The deployment they would have to arrange like obviously never want anyone to get injured, but you're like Boy, I mean, it's just you like you mentioned like you've got styles He would think it's going to be on the field 99% of snaps Luvu and or should all are gonna be taking up the bulk there and then McGee who really came on last year toward the end Like it seemed like especially in the run was really playing sideline to sideline an impressive way and so Yeah, if he could if he I think the goal right now for majana is gonna be making sure he has a spot on the roster because even if you're looking at just Mocking the 53 year like man, they really like nick the Laura special teams too like there's it's gonna be hard Hard to to make that roster and then make an impact I just like I keep going back to he was the fastest linebacker the combine His issue is tackling but then you can you know he'd run to the play In this system In my head and just keep thinking about it. But again, that's a very very deep cut So I don't there you go. Oh This one play really a situation that concerns you the most so basically what's what's the area that you're like? I still don't know and then who's the player that sort of defines that thing micro upper damn Well the good news isn't we talked about this pretty recently is that they have addressed cornerback that's that's a pro But I'm still not but by signing Russell Douglas you're raising the floor of that room a little bit And so the worst case scenario gets a little bit less likely and it seems like you're avoiding having to deploy Antonio Hamilton, you know as a starter which is good But at the same time you are still banking on Trey Amos to Immediately be the guy who is lining up across the other teams best receiver And Trey Amos is someone who was pretty promising in his rookie year. He's got really great feed. He's pretty athletic He's good in coverage But he has played you know half of a season at the NFL level and is also going into a new scheme Which may or may not help you know you put a lot of you know Secondary and pass rush are going to be married at good pass rush is going to help your guys in coverage But you're making a you're making some leaps and you're making some assumptions about what a guy is or is not going to be able to do and so I don't have any outright concerns I'm not saying like I'll Trey Amos is not going to be able to hold up man coverage You can't cover a top receiver I'm just saying that if if there if you told me that something went wrong on this defense That was be what I think what I would think is that The coverage wasn't able to get there fast enough and posing offense were able to exploit some of the weaknesses at the cornerback position I mean and you could just as easily pointed out the other side at Mikey San Mistil who I would project right now to be the other the other outside cornerback assuming I mean Robert Sin is going to be inside because one of those sub six foot guys is going to be going to be outside on the perimeter So when I'm looking at it, you know, you don't want to Be cynical but at the same time you're like if Something was not immediately translating well or if there is a weakness other teams would try to target You would think it would be there or maybe I'm wrong and Trey Amos is a pro bowl or immediately and it looks like you know the nice Patrick Sir Tan, but it's going to be a place to watch and I think he's going to be tested really quickly by opposing offenses. I feel like The Washington's pretty glad that AJ Brown is not going to be their week one opponent But I wouldn't be surprised if you see some shots to Dvanta Smith really quickly from Philadelphia when week one comes around I like that one a lot the other day or not the other day, but At some point here in the Aussies, I did like a mailbag and one of the questions was like They said I've what's more what's the more we talk about receiver law, but isn't corner or arguably I think was corner It's an arguably more concerning and I wrote about corner a lot to the point that when I put up the picture for the story I almost debated Trey Amos because I think it is like we're saying, okay, he's going to start, but there's a difference between just saying he's the starter versus, hey, he's now going to have to be the top guy. And I get it the last year, he was, Mark Sean Lattin was a little bit better last year than he was the year before. There was never going to live up to the expectations. But Amos, because Lattin was there, Amos didn't have to be the third guy. Now he needs to be almost because we have, there are other questions, the other positions, Sanders, silly man, Sanders, I was like almost my run around here or almost my call. So it's thinking of it being one specific position I'm going for the offense broadly. And I'm saying that I think Jakory Kroski, Meredith, AK Bill, maybe the tipping point is to whether this offense really shines or whether it's good enough for the moment. And that's because we understand that there are questions that right now, at the second receiver, spot at the third receiver, a lot is being said about Chica Kanko and I do think he's positioned to have a pretty good year, but also haven't seen it yet. Based on his time with the Titans, you could debate some of the offensive lines, but I went with Bill because I think the one huge key to this whole offense is going to be, is there a running back on the field that makes it so that the defense doesn't know what's coming runner pass, etc. They had that in 2024 with Austin Ackler. He of course then gets hurt last year. I think that was one of the reasons I moved on from Brian Robinson was because he wasn't enough of a confusing piece for the defense. Then last year you had Chris Roderick as a Bill, neither of whom were a factor in the passing game. It's Bill and we are fortunate to see this play enough this all season so far, or before training camp. We don't know how improved he is in the passing game as a blocker and a receiver. If those things are real and he's able to be on the field a lot and we already saw what he can do, his running ability is the most upside, his ability that we saw to cut, break away, etc. That is going to be the difference maker for me in terms of where this offense can go. So that is huge. If it's Rashad White, I give it more for 50/50. Rashad White came to 50 passes a year. He's got some ability. I thought he looked pretty good in camp. But based on his four years, he's not that guy. Even if he's going to be helpful, which obviously they hope regardless, the more him means less of Bill and that probably lowers the ceiling for me. That's where I went with Chikori Krasky Maritake. That's it. I'm glad you brought up Rashad White because I feel like you could make that same question on the other side of, I feel like you either want Bill to show more in the past game or you want to see Rashad White ideally take a step as a runner. I feel like by default, based on where those two guys in their career is easier to project Bill making that step in the offseason and first fall offseason and also with the expectation that he's going to be a starter because he was such a late riser in that process where nothing the guy's slacking off. But it's kind of hard to focus on the intricacies of past protection and your route running when you're really focused on trying to make the 53 man roster and beating out guys like Brian Robinson, Austin Eckler. I think you're absolutely right. You want to be able to have that flexibility in that versatility regardless of who is on the field. We mentioned earlier, it's why I think Ben Senate is a good fit for this offense because it's not like he's going to be on the field and you say, all right, that's a run. Being able to have Rashad White and Bill in these roles where they can do multiple things and you can't just be like, Rashad White is on the field. Look for the screen. I think that's the way to get the pass and vice versa with Bill being like either under center now, you know, prepare for a run inside the tackles, having that flexibility where you can mix and match those two is going to be a way for them to really, you know, act as an easy button for this offense. No, for sure. And look, he's running on. We'll say kind of see where he fits into this. Again, his style does not lend itself to OTAs and many camp. So let's see what he looks like. And he's in warm vault again. He was a six round pick. Bill was a second. So it's not like impossible. I mean, Bill was in a better graph for right back, but that's separately. Last question here was most important player who was not getting enough attention. I just went for me. I wrote down will hair slash Juan Martin. Like we're kind of not at least generally that they have a lot of safety depth. We know Nick crosses one guy, but who's the other safety? I think will Harris is a very solid player. We know he's a good at communication, probably a little bit better, but a free safety than Juan Martin, but Juan Martin, I could have been the answer to the last question as well. If they can finally unlock his athleticism in this system that maybe gives him a little more freedom, then that could go up and not, but if it's will Harris, then either way, who's going to be the other safety is basically the point, especially when we talk about cornerback having some questions. So that was my thought there. What about you? For me, it almost seems wrong, but I do think that it's kind of Antonio Williams, which seems crazy because he is one of those top draft picks, but I feel like with the surrounding drama around a San Francisco 49ers player who I don't like talking about because there's no news. He gets kind of lost where you just kind of plug it in as well, they have a question mark of the second receiver. And I'm like, well, I mean, they probably like you don't want to have to rely on a rookie, but you drafted him for a reason. And in the NFL over the past five years or so, we've seen these rookie receivers come in and are able to make an immediate impact. And I think his skill set in particular, Lens really well to that. He's a really polished route runner. He's incredibly smooth. And I think he fits into this offense that we've seen from David Blow, I mean, like a glove. And so I think it's a really perfect marriage of opportunity where you don't have somebody clear ahead of him on the death chart, apart from Terry McClaurron with that offense. And with, you know, being in a new system that other defenses do not have a clear understanding of going into week one, I think we could really see him hit the ground running, especially if teams are kind of overcomensating and looking at Terry for all that. I think he's going to have a lot of opportunities, you know, this offense we expect to marry the run and pass in a way that was kind of lacking over the past couple of years. And in those play action opportunities, there's going to be a lot of situations where Antonio Williams is able to beat his guy off the snap is able to make an in cutter. You know, I feel like I feel like the Antonio Williams dig route is going to be kind of a constant factor for this offense. And I really think that he's been overlooked, which is easy to do when there's Brandon Ayyuk lurking in the background and kind of the on and off assumption that he will or will not be on this roster week one. But I think that this team and they've been saying it, which we all know they kind of have to say it because you can't talk about Brandon Ayyuk based on the NFL's guidelines. But they're saying like we feel good about this group. We're always looking to add if there's somebody to add. We've seen them do that this season and in past off seasons. But if they go in and they've got Antonio Williams, I think they're really comfortable with that. And I think he has an opportunity to shock a lot of people. I like that one. Obviously, we discussed him because he was the first offensive player they drafted. If we talk about the draft or generally talking about styles and for talking about receiver, maybe not Terry, but it feels like there's a lot of question of, wait a minute, who is the number two receiver? You mentioned the guy we won't mention. But then it is like, well, you know, Tristan Berks. I mean, he's going to be the guy. How much is the on the ground going to be involved? Is this the year we're looking for you Jaylen Lane show a little bit more more than it's probably because of the Williams. It's like, well, we don't quite know. We know he's the third round pick. We know is a really good right runner. He's got good speed, all those things, but we haven't seen it yet. Plus he was more of a slot guy than a outside guy. Therefore, to that, like, he's sort of like we're having to sort of view him playing in a position that wasn't the intention when we were all assessing him. They obviously a guy that can do a bit more. So no, it's huge. If he's able to be a legit rock runner, create operate, create openings for himself and then Jayden does what Jayden does, then that's a huge deal. Not to mention like, you know, if we don't know what Terry McClure is, we're going to be on the corner deals beyond the season. And that would mean who the hell knows what's going on with this receiver himself. He's able to step up and really solidify some kind of role that would be a big deal for sure. All right, you rock by Liam Griffin on Twitter. I'm not saying buy Liam Griffin. I'm saying his Twitter handles at buy Liam Griffin. That said, I will also say buy Liam Griffin. I appreciate you doing this man. Hope you have a great summer. I'll see you training camp one way or the other. Yeah, you mean a hundred degrees in Asperger. Let's get it. So depressing. Thanks man. No problem. Appreciate Liam's time as always as we get down to the stretch here. We are officially putting a bow on the 2026 NBA. Similarly, the championship game I believe will be later today. I couldn't even begin to tell you who's in it. It doesn't really matter. I guess if you're a fan of whatever teams are still involved, then that's, you know, can be a little bit of fun in any event. The wizards effectively put a ended summer league after their second game. That's when it gave DeBonza a stop playing. Same with Will Riley. Trey Johnson didn't play after the first game. Camille Watkins didn't play much more. It looks so par with their second round pick did play a little bit in the end, but by and large, obviously the main pieces were over a bit ago. And you know, we talked about a bunch here about DeBonza already. I think it's fun. I'm watching the final round of the British. open and they always talk about golf tournaments or majors. You know, you can't win it in the first round, but you can lose it. I think from like a perception narrative storyline, you can't, you know, for if you're got like debaunta, you can't win it in summer league, but you can lose control of it. And he did not do that. And the banta had a very, very good performance by my eye test based on talking to other people around, you know, of course, there's always things to work on, the three point shot. You know, he's only a one of 11 from three, but as I talked the other day with my guy, Adam Rubin, that's not his game per se. That he needs to make make a higher percentage. He needs to be at least a threat. All that is true. But that's not how he is going to thrive in this league. Certainly not initially. He's going to get by with his athleticism, his length, his fundamentals, his scoring ability, his alpha mentality all in and off the court. All of these things he showed in abundance, able to get to wherever he kind of wanted to on the court. He was able to initiate offense. He was able to get to the free throw line religiously. And that's not in again, he wasn't doing it in a way like hunting the way we see with Shake the other side of the sander and others where it can be like you can tell like the foul is the primary thought as opposed to getting off a good shot. DeBonze's case, I just think he seemed to understand when he's going to get his shot where he may have some leverage opportunities against defenders and was able to take advantage of that. So all things considered, I thought DeBonze was pretty impressive. Also, his post game conversation after the effort game won very poised, very calm. All the things we've seen in all the different interviews. I had a buddy of mine did text me that hey, is do we care at all that DeBonze left Somerleague and went to Fanatics Fest? I guess it's in New York, right? Where it seems like every big athlete and a lot of movie stars or whatever are there signing autographs and that whole thing. Is there any concern that DeBonze was there versus being here at Somerleague? I mean, honestly probably don't think so. I also am not sure what's to deal with all the other guys who were shot down. Are they still floating around here? I don't know. So I don't think it's a big deal. Kind of just going to put it back of all of our memories. We'll go from there. But AJ DeBonze definitely an excellent performance, gave justification why he was considered to be worthy of being the number one pick, not just by the Wizards but others. And look forward to obviously to see what he does going forward. I thought that in terms of some of the other guys that will Riley and Gamer Watkins probably helped themselves the most when it came to shot at rotation work. I mean, you would think that Riley in particular will be in it. The rotation, but the question is to what end? Like where does he or does he fit in? Obviously, we've got a lot of guys on the wing. He's a unique player at 6.9, kind of a 0.40 type. But obviously you've got Cher Young, you've got DeBonze who could handle some of the offense, Keach on George as well, but Carrington as well. How does that all play out? So we will have to see on that front. But in terms of Riley, I just continue to be very impressed. It of course is, summerally, we have to always remember that, but he was draining threes in his second game. And just, you know, his understanding of where he is on the court, where his teammates are, his passing, et cetera, has been impressive. And for Watkins, go back to that first game against Darren Peterson, the number two pick in the draft. He really came out and attacked Peterson defensively. Peterson looks off. Whatever the final numbers were, they were fine. But he had nothing going on in the first quarter with Watkins all over him. So is there enough space for Watkins to get playing time? You know, that's going to be the question. I'm just saying, I think that now he's given them just a little bit more data to say, okay, we have a guy here that we can bring in the second unit, at least, to smother some shooting guards or some wings who look to be pretty tough defensively, or offensively. So take that for what it's worth for Watkins. I mean, Trey Johnson, the other guy, the other sort of main player, you know, he played the one game, scored a bunch. You know, there's still some work to be done on defense, by and large though, he looked fine. I think the only question here is, can you, from a size perspective, Trey Johnson works with Trey Young, who's obviously not the biggest guy. But from a defensive perspective, Ken Washington just, if I haven't both of those guys out there, I think that will be the question. That would be the big question with regards to whether Trey Johnson starts or not, if not, then we could be looking at a, a, a kind of George situation. So we will have to see about that. And lastly, just in the least, the summary, you know, one question is, what's going to happen with the, with the two-way contracts? The two second-round picks are already locked in there. And it's Akparra, a few looks like Parra, their second-round pick this year. Big body showed off his ability to be a rim runner and block some shots. He's also very, very raw. So you got to take that for what it's worth when it comes to projecting him for this year. But, you know, it could be a good guy to track playing in the G-League a lot, I would imagine. Then you've got, I mentioned Watkins, he's the other one, Julian Reese, former Maryland standout, of course, who joined this team late last year and had some really impressive remounting performances. He is the third guy right now, but I, you know, these positions are not necessarily locked in. So you would have to think that the second-round picks are probably set. So the question is, did Reese do enough to hang on? You know, I think he probably did. Rebounding is a real skill. He's got that ability. I think the other guy that stood out to me a little bit was Chris Livingston, 22. Former five star recruit for the University of Kentucky. He's only 22. He was bounced around sort of the fringes here of the NBA the last couple of years. You know, he signed to play it with the Gogo, so he may not elevate, but you know, at least I just noticed as a guy in terms of an athlete as an active body, he would seem to fit in if that type of player is needed. So there you go. We'll have more to talk about with the Wizards down the line. I hope everybody has been enjoying the extra coverage here for another team in town. One that, you know, I've already gotten some good intel on written about, talked about, and hopefully you've got really good response. I hope that continues here going forward, but we will of course be spinning this back towards the commanders now that we are just basically where we are here just a little over a week away from when the veterans show up on the 28. So that is going to be it for me for now. Ben standing, signing off here until next time. See you.