NFC Notes: Mekhi Becton, Ezekiel Elliott, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles

Commanders

Second-round DT Johnny Newton slid further than most analysts expected allowing the Commanders to grab him with their second pick. Washington GM Adam Peters dove into the organization’s process for their first pick of day two.

“We were ecstatic,” Peters said, via Ivan Lambert of the Commanders Wire. “After Thursday night, you look at your board, and Johnny was really an outlier on our board. We were looking at each other, and we talked about it Thursday night and again Friday morning.”

“We got a ton of calls Friday from teams wanting to trade up (to No. 36). In the end, we said, if Johnny’s there, we got to take him, even though maybe that wasn’t the biggest position of need. He was clearly the highest player on our board. He’s a game wrecker. He fits what we do perfectly, and he fits everything that a commander is really.”

Cowboys

After RB Tony Pollard signed with Tennesse, the Cowboys reunited with RB Ezekiel Elliott as a cost-effective option they feel can produce. Elliott touched on why he wanted to return and his goal for the upcoming season.

“It was just important to me just to get back here and finish what I started,” Elliott said, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “At the end of the day I’m a football player. I love this game. I think I still am a dominant guy. I’ve got to go out there and prove that. That’s a motivation. I think we all know how I feel about competing and leaving it all out there for my teammates.”

“Got unfinished business. Here to chase the ring.”

Eagles

Eagles HC Nick Sirianni says that the team plans to start out former Jets OT Mekhi Becton as a tackle with the chance that he could end up doing inside to play guard. 

“We obviously have a lot of time to figure out who the top five guys are. He’s played tackle, obviously, as everybody knows. He’ll start there and then we’ll see what happens,” Sirianni said, via Pro Football Talk.

• Becton signed a one-year, fully guaranteed $2.75 million contract. He has $2.75 million in additional incentives that are currently being treated as a signing bonus and spread out over four additional void years. (Over The Cap)
• Becton’s deal includes a $1 million guaranteed base salary, around $1.6 million in a true signing bonus, up to $750,000 in per-game roster bonuses and a $100,000 additional bonus.