NFC Notes: Commanders, Eagles, Giants, Daniel Jones

Commanders

Commanders QB Sam Howell was excited to land in Washington, and said that’s the team where he wanted to go all along.

“For me, I was just trusting God throughout the whole process,” Howell said, via Washington Football Wire. “I know that God has a plan for me and wherever that plans gonna be, is gonna be good. I’m super excited to join this wonderful football team led by Coach [Ron] Rivera, who I have so much respect for. This is a perfect spot for me. It’s a team I wanted to play for all along. So, I’m super fired up.”

Howell mentions the team’s weapons on offense, strong defense, and guys like QB Taylor Heinicke and QB Carson Wentz as reasons for finding Washington so attractive.

“I just think it’s a great team, great defense, so many weapons on offense,” Howell said. “I love the quarterback room as well. So many good guys with Carson [Wentz] and Taylor Heinicke in there. I’m just looking forward to getting to work with those guys. Be a lot of fun. I’m fired up.”

• PFF’s Doug Kyed mentions Howell fell in the draft due to other teams not trading up for the quarterbacks they wanted and simply letting them fall to them during the draft.

Eagles

Eagles WR DeVonta Smith is excited to learn from recently acquired WR A.J. Brown this offseason. 

“I’m excited, just to learn from a guy like him,” Smith said, via NFL.com. “Anytime you play football, you watch all the different receivers, just seeing what everybody has in their toolbox. So him being here, just being able to learn from him [is helpful].”

Smith thinks that Brown provides their offense a “different dynamic” and wants to study how his fellow receiver plays. 

“It gives the offense a different dynamic, but at the end of the day, as a receiver you have to use your hands and things like that,” Smith said. “With him being a bigger guy, he’s going to be more physical. You take things like that from him of how he uses his hands, cause, still at the end of the day, I’m a smaller guy, but I still have to use my hands when I release. So you take things like that from a guy like him, somebody you know, you’re gonna use that and what they do.”

Giants

Giants HC Brian Daboll said he’s been impressed by QB Daniel Jones‘ work ethic, leadership, and command of the huddle this offseason. 

“These first three-and-a-half weeks I’ve been around him [since the off-season program began], I’ve been impressed with his work ethic, his leadership when he’s with the guys,” Daboll said, via Dan Salomone of the team’s official site. “He does a good job in the huddle. I want him to be himself, too. I want him to not be afraid of consequences and pull the trigger and attack and have a positive mindset and continue to grow and learn.”

Daboll thinks it’s a “collaborative effort” in building their offensive system with Jones. 

“It’s fine and dandy when you’re standing on the sideline calling plays but you’re not the one back there in the huddle and you’re not the one pulling the trigger,” said Daboll. “So, I think It’s a collaborative effort on some of the stuff he likes and continue to help him improve. He’s got a great mindset. He’s got some good mental toughness about him. We’re taking it day by day.”

Daboll added that he worked closely with GM Joe Schoen on building their roster through free agency and the 2022 NFL Draft. 

“We did it all together,” Daboll said. “So, every time we added someone to the staff, we included them on the interview process to the point where at the end of the interviews, the last couple spots, we had 18, 19 people in the interview room asking questions and talking to the candidates. Then collectively we sat down and discussed who we thought would be the best and ultimately made a decision.”