As Commanders QB Jayden Daniels goes into the second year of his career, QB coach Tavita Pritchard said their coaching staff is focused on figuring out how Daniels takes the “next step” with his development.
“I think the fun thing for us is we get to not really worry about what the stats are or the process. We get to worry about right now is what does year two Jayden look like in the walkthrough? What does year two Jayden look like in the meeting room?” Pritchard said via the team’s site. “So, I think that what’s most at the forefront for us as coaches is, ‘How are we gonna take that next step? What’s the next thing that we’re gonna talk about in his progression of taking his next step? So, that’s what’s been fun for us just to kind of focus in and home in on those things.”
The Eagles selected S Andrew Mukuba in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. When asked what it takes to become an elite safety in the NFL, Mukuba said you need to be productive against both the pass and run.
“You have to be able to do everything – cover in the passing game, support the run, tackle, and you have to know everybody’s assignments and where you are supposed to be,” Mukuba said, via Dave Spadaro of the team’s site. “It is important to learn the defense and that is the first priority. You do that and then your physical ability takes care of itself. My game matured in college and I gained a lot of knowledge about the game of football and was able to progress and grow my game. Now I’m at a different level. This is where the best players in the world play, so I have to be at my best and handle the environment and stay in the playbook and go out and do something I love and that’s play football.”
Mukuba molds his game after Cardinals S Budda Baker and Lions S Brian Branch.
“There are guys like Budda Baker (Cardinals) and Brian Branch (Lions) who are similar in size to me and they have been guys I’ve kind of patterned myself after,” Mukuba said. “I’m going to be aggressive and smart and play with everything I have. All my heart. I have a lot of energy and always have had energy and so for me to go out on the field and have fun, it’s kind of like being in the park with your friends playing ball and being physical and helping my team win. That’s all that matters – helping the Eagles win. I want to do my part, perfect my role, and enjoy everything about being a Philadelphia Eagle.”
Giants QB Jaxson Dart had a press conference where he spoke about his improvement since becoming a pro, which is intriguing to those who believe Dart could wind up as the team’s starter sooner rather than later.
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve made tremendous strides, especially from my first day to now, just being able to understand the pictures of the offense and whatnot,” Dart said, via Pro Football Talk. “Obviously, I’ve got to dive into a lot more. But, I’m definitely just trying to take it to the next level this summer, really just lock in, hone in on as much as I can throughout the time so that way, when I get back for training camp, I’m on an even better level than I am now.”
“I just trust them,” Dart added. “They’ve had this blueprint and they’ve done it with different quarterbacks and you’ve seen them succeed at the highest level. So, I trust them. And for me, I’m just trying to be the most coachable player that I can. I want to play well in the offense. I want to be able to manage it and operate it at the highest level. So, I know that they definitely do have a plan. I’m just trying to take it day-by-day. And I’m not looking for results immediately. I’m a process-driven person, so I’m just taking it day-by-day, rep-by-rep.”
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