The Front Office: Adam Peters and Roster Construction

[skinsinparadise]

I don't expect more than 7-8 wins. I didn't expect more than that in 24 either. The first 8 games looks like 2-6 to me, and that's even stealing a win somewhere.

7-8 wins if with a healthy Jayden, Quinn has to go IMO. I'd fire Peters too but I bet he's given another chance.

IMO you can't fart around with a rookie QB. Assuming Jayden plays like 2024 Jayden -- he's going to command 60 million plus in the near future. And granted this regime acts as if they are paying 50 million plus for a QB as is right now -- but generally its not as easy to build a roster when your QB is commanding lets say 60 million versus the current 10 million.

I think they go 10-7. But I can see it going awry, too. My most optimistic take is I think they start 4-1. Lose to Dallas but beat the Eagles, Seattle, Colts, Giants.

 

[Faithful Fan]

I think they go 10-7. But I can see it going awry, too. My most optimistic take is I think they start 4-1. Lose to Dallas but beat the Eagles, Seattle, Colts, Giants.

You think we are beating the defending Super Bowl champs? We were 5-12, they were the best team in football.

The Eagles? We’ve only managed to beat them 3 times out of the last 11, and two of those were flukes because they were resting starters or playing a backup QB, so really we only have one legitimate win over them in five years.

The Giants and Colts I could see, but Harbaugh and traveling to London make me nervous. So we could luck into 3-2, but no way we go 4-1.

Then we have prime time games against the 49ers and Eagles. Then the Rams. We will do well to manage anything better than 2-6 by then. I’m sure we’re underdogs in most if not all of those first 8 games.

I hate to say it, but it’s just hard to imagine anything but a bad start given the schedule.

I don't expect more than 7-8 wins. I didn't expect more than that in 24 either. The first 8 games looks like 2-6 to me, and that's even stealing a win somewhere.

That’s how it looks to me too. But if we can get some upsets early in the year, then the rest of the schedule looks a lot friendlier, more winnable games and two long rests; so I do still have some hope we can stay in the fight and make a late season run.

 

[NoCalSkins]

It's hard to draw conclusions based on record alone. One scenario people seem to be overlooking is that with two new coordinators there are going to be hiccups coming out of the gate most likely and with the strength of the early schedule it could put the team in a hole by the end of October that is too tough to dig themselves out in order for the season to look successful on paper. None of this is written in stone or anything, and there are always so many unknowns about the season before it starts, however the probability given the state of the roster still being built and a lot of new coaches & staff and I think some people aren't appreciating the legitimate possibility that development & growth might be the measure of success for 2026, even if it isn't enough to save everyone when the clock strikes midnight.

 

[burgold]

It will be interesting if the two new coordinators unlock previously busting draft picks. The two most obvious candidates to make a jump because of a change in scheme or usage are Newton and Sinnott, but there have been snide hints that one difference with the new systems is that they plan to build it around player strengths which makes me wonder how much the old system followed the old Norv Turner axiom "what we do works" and just plugged players into roles reguardless of how well they fit.

 

[skinsinparadise]

You think we are beating the defending Super Bowl champs? We were 5-12, they were the best team in football.

The Eagles? We’ve only managed to beat them 3 times out of the last 11, and two of those were flukes because they were resting starters or playing a backup QB, so really we only have one legitimate win over them in five years.

The Giants and Colts I could see, but Harbaugh and traveling to London make me nervous. So we could luck into 3-2, but no way we go 4-1.

Then we have prime time games against the 49ers and Eagles. Then the Rams. We will do well to manage anything better than 2-6 by then. I’m sure we’re underdogs in most if not all of those first 8 games.

I hate to say it, but it’s just hard to imagine anything but a bad start given the schedule.



That’s how it looks to me too. But if we can get some upsets early in the year, then the rest of the schedule looks a lot friendlier, more winnable games and two long rests; so I do still have some hope we can stay in the fight and make a late season run.

Do I think? yes. That's why I said it. I don't think the Eagles are as formidable anymore post AJ Brown. Plus they have the element of surprise with new schemes for game 1. And the Eagles often aren't as good early as they are late.

Seattle has to play a 1 pm game across the country. Last year it was a night game. And yeah I do expect the defense to be good. So I don't think Darnold will mow through it like he did last year. Also Seattle was one of a number of games that Terry missed. Heck I think you and I could have covered Chris Moore and Jaylin Lane

 

[skinsinparadise]

It's hard to draw conclusions based on record alone. One scenario people seem to be overlooking is that with two new coordinators there are going to be hiccups coming out of the gate most likely and with the strength of the early schedule it could put the team in a hole by the end of October that is too tough to dig themselves out in order for the season to look successful on paper. None of this is written in stone or anything, and there are always so many unknowns about the season before it starts, however the probability given the state of the roster still being built and a lot of new coaches & staff and I think some people aren't appreciating the legitimate possibility that development & growth might be the measure of success for 2026, even if it isn't enough to save everyone when the clock strikes midnight.

Could be. But speaking for myself I have zero appreciation for a "growth" season that sets up 2027. With a rookie QB on a rookie contract, the time is clicking. It would be like my kid telling me hey their junior year sucked, bad grades, but hey they hung in there so wait for the senior year -- my thought would be the clock is ticking they don't have an 8 year run in coillege, its just 4 years, if you waste two of the 4 years, good luck getting into a good grad school. Same idea here. And if this team can feel a little squeezed at times with their cash budget now, imagine how it will feel when Jayden is making 65 million?

If they have an 8-9 season but show promise, I'd 100% want everyone gone. Though I suspect Quinn would be fired but not Peters in that case.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I do think this team is going to have a good season, assuming Jayden stays healthy. What's interesting to me is that at least two of the people pushing back on the idea that Peters hasn't done enough to surround Jayden with weapons also believe this team is headed for a mediocre season. I think that's a big part of why we're talking past each other. This debate isn't just about the roster—it's about expectations.

If I also thought this was an 8-9 team, I probably wouldn't care much who the Z receiver is either. I'd be perfectly content talking up Van Jefferson or whoever wins the job, and I'd probably sell Chig as some unique solution because he's Jayden's No. 2 target—even though Ertz was Jayden's No. 2 target the last two seasons. If your expectations are modest, it's much easier to convince yourself the current setup is good enough.

I'm not into talking myself into things. If my expectation were 8-9, why not? It's like my kid telling me why this semester is going to work out. If I'm expecting straight A's, I'm going to question every weak spot. But if I'm hoping for a C+, then sure, all those explanations sound perfectly reasonable because a C+ is well within reach. Your expectations change what you view as acceptable.

For me, though, I expect more. I think they can beat Seattle traveling across the country for a 1 p.m. game. I expect the defense to be significantly better. I expect the offense to be at least as good as 2024 if Terry stays healthy. I expect them to split their road games against their NFC East rivals. I think this is a good football team.

The schedule is tougher than it was in 2024, and I don't think the weapons are clearly better. But if Terry stays healthy, I think the overall weapons are at least comparable to 2024, while the defense should be noticeably improved. My frustration is that it feels like they built three-quarters of the Death Star and then stopped. That's why I don't see them beating the Rams or Seattle on the road in the playoffs, and I don't think they're as loaded as Dallas, which is why I picked that game as a loss.

I have them at 10-7. If they had the 2024 schedule, I think they'd match the 2024 record. I think they win a playoff game but fall short of the Super Bowl. And yes, I believe that if they had two legitimate stud wide receivers, they could absolutely win it all. Unlike some, I don't view having two high-end receivers as an unnecessary luxury. And I don't think having a good receiving tight end means you no longer need a real weapon at Z. To me, that logic only makes sense if your expectation is an 8-9 season. If your expectation is to seriously contend for a Super Bowl, the conversation looks very different.

 

[burgold]

If I'm expecting straight A's, I'm going to question every weak spot. But if I'm hoping for a C+, then sure, all those explanations sound perfectly reasonable because a C+ is well within reach. Your expectations change what you view as acceptable.

I get this, but I also feel like if I see my scores and it averages up to a C+ I'm working my ass off to turn it into a B. You're right that you don't coast if you got straight As on the horizon, but I think they're different motivators. After all, on a report card, the difference between a C and a B is huge.

I remember taking a statistics class in grad school. The teacher was awful. He would solve the problems incorrectly, hated answering questions, and just didn't want to be there. All he did every class was confuse me. It got so bad I drove to my dad's house and asked him to teach me. Then, I returned to the class, turned my back on the professor and taught my fellow students what my dad had showed me. I wound up with a B in the class. I thought I had maxxed out. I worked harder for that B than most of my A's.

As to breaking free of the analogy, I bounce back and forth a lot. I DO believe that 2025 got wrecked by injuries and that the narrative it told us was a false one. I also believe that, in the end, at least one of our team's teachers sucked at least as bad as my old stats prof. Under Whitt, I think the best possible grade any player could hope for was a C. No one was going to shine. Before Quinn took over, several players decided to settle for the C or the D. I infer that because of how much the production improved once Whitt was benched. So, I think with a better teacher/coach and hopefully better i luck (knock on wood,) pushing to a B or even an A isn't out of the cards especially since we are combining a better teacher with better students.

Last year:
Defence D/F- (graded on the injury curve)
Offense C/C+ (graded on the injury curve)
Team F

Burgold's "realistic" improvement projection:
Defense C+/B-
Offense B

Burgold's optimistic improvement projection
Defense B
Offense B+/A-

Burgold's pesimistic projection
Defense D
Offense D

I think the weirdest thing is that I feel more positive about the defense and yet when scribbling out these grades I keep thinking the O should be better.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I get this, but I also feel like if I see my scores and it averages up to a C+ I'm working my ass off to turn it into a B. You're right that you don't coast if you got straight As on the horizon, but I think they're different motivators. After all, on a report card, the difference between a C and a B is huge.

I remember taking a statistics class in grad school. The teacher was awful. He would solve the problems incorrectly, hated answering questions, and just didn't want to be there. All he did every class was confuse me. It got so bad I drove to my dad's house and asked him to teach me. Then, I returned to the class, turned my back on the professor and taught my fellow students what my dad had showed me. I wound up with a B in the class. I thought I had maxxed out. I worked harder for that B than most of my A's.

As to breaking free of the analogy, I bounce back and forth a lot. I DO believe that 2025 got wrecked by injuries and that the narrative it told us was a false one. I also believe that, in the end, at least one of our team's teachers sucked at least as bad as my old stats prof. Under Whitt, I think the best possible grade any player could hope for was a C. No one was going to shine. Before Quinn took over, several players decided to settle for the C or the D. I infer that because of how much the production improved once Whitt was benched. So, I think with a better teacher/coach and hopefully better i luck (knock on wood,) pushing to a B or even an A isn't out of the cards especially since we are combining a better teacher with better students.

Last year:
Defence D/F- (graded on the injury curve)
Offense C/C+ (graded on the injury curve)
Team F

Burgold's "realistic" improvement projection:
Defense C+/B-
Offense B

Burgold's optimistic improvement projection
Defense B
Offense B+/A-

Burgold's pesimistic projection
Defense D
Offense D

I think the weirdest thing is that I feel more positive about the defense and yet when scribbling out these grades I keep thinking the O should be better.

My expecting an A isn't about cycling back to 2025. It's 100% about 2026. I'm over 2025. In fact, I'm so over it that I reject the idea that simply being better than 2025 automatically means progress. I don't buy the premise that because they bottomed out last season, a mediocre 2026 should be celebrated as a step toward 2027. That mindset does nothing for me. Some people remember Rivera's tenure only through the lens of the disastrous 2023 season, but that's not really how it went. Most of those years weren't awful—they were mediocre. In 2022 they were 8-8. If, three years into this regime, we're sitting around saying this team is roughly where Rivera had it with Heinicke at quarterback—even though we now have Jayden Daniels—that, to me, is an epic failure.

Going back to the grade analogy, if the average grade for this three-year stretch ends up being a C, and the one clear bright spot is that Jayden still looks like a superstar, that's not something I'd celebrate. My reaction would simply be, "Meh." You had an elite quarterback on a rookie contract and still produced a mediocre body of work.

One of Peters' strongest defenders recently posted that he expects a mediocre season and even suggested maybe Jayden isn't quite as good as I think he is. My response was, doesn't that actually make me the Peters guy more than you?

That's why I think expectations might be at the heart of so many of these disagreements. If I expected this team to go 8-9, I'd probably view the roster differently too. I'd be much more willing to shrug off the questions at receiver or convince myself everything is fine. But that's not where my expectations are.

I was in Tampa for that playoff game. I got both of my kids invested in that season—even my daughter, who normally isn't into football. We were talking about going to the Super Bowl if they made it. That season changed the way I look at this team. It didn't feel like a fluke or a mirage. It felt like the beginning of something. It raised my expectations.

So I'm not interested in dialing those expectations back and convincing myself that 2024 was just a one-off before returning to the old Snyder-era mindset where sneaking into the playoffs every few years counts as success, and simply being competitive is treated like winning a championship. That's not where I am anymore. I expect this organization to build a team capable of beating the best teams in the league, not just hanging around with them.

And as for this specific team winning.

A. Defense should be good. Not so so. good. That's where they dedicated their resources both in FA and the draft. And sans CB, I like a lot as to what Peters has done for that unit.

B. Offense should be good. If they had above average weapons versus subpar, it would be great IMO. But I think 2024 style, Jayden can elevate the unit especially if he runs like mad ala that season and stays healthy. The key is for Terry to stay healthy -- this offense is more dependant on that one Wr than arguably almost any other team so his health is key,

 

[burgold]

Sounds like we're on the same page despite occasional sparring.

I think we have enough talent to be good. Can the team meld together quickly enough and can the coordinators find their play calling groove are my biggest concerns. The greedy part of me would love to add one more vet plus receiver, but I think I've convinced myself that a threat at WR, a threat at TE, and a threat at RB is already good. If Williams finds his feet, if one of the other drafted receivers prove NFL reliable, and if Bill grows in the non-rushing responsibilities of the running back then I think we are already better than good.

 

[Conn]

You’re not greedy for not wanting to rely on all those “ifs” happening when it’s not necessary.

 

[NickyJ]

If you don't feel greedy for paying your car insurance bill, then I don't think you have much reason to feel greedy for wanting the team to pay the McLauren insurance bill.

 

[NoCalSkins]

Could be. But speaking for myself I have zero appreciation for a "growth" season that sets up 2027. With a rookie QB on a rookie contract, the time is clicking. It would be like my kid telling me hey their junior year sucked, bad grades, but hey they hung in there so wait for the senior year -- my thought would be the clock is ticking they don't have an 8 year run in coillege, its just 4 years, if you waste two of the 4 years, good luck getting into a good grad school. Same idea here. And if this team can feel a little squeezed at times with their cash budget now, imagine how it will feel when Jayden is making 65 million?

If they have an 8-9 season but show promise, I'd 100% want everyone gone. Though I suspect Quinn would be fired but not Peters in that case.

I don't think 10-7 is unattainable for this team, I was looking at it more from the perspective of a lack of confidence to be firm in making the prediction they will. I think to get to that record one of two things have to happen; .500 or better going into the bye week or coming out of the bye week going on a long win streak to get them some cushion. I don't see either as impossible, I just look at this season as one that is tough to predict until I see them on the field for about a month's worth of games. The talent on this team overall has definitely improved but I don't think to the point where you look at them on paper and start penciling in a deep playoff run sight unseen.

 

[Boone]

Agree NoCal... it's extremely difficult to predict what any NFL team is going to do in any given season. I think the obvious biggest question marks are the two new coordinators (and all of the requisitie 'newness' that comes with that). Growing pains could cancel out whatever talent gains we've made especially early on. Or they could quickly find success and surprise everyone. It's just very difficult to know what to expect.

 

[Busch1724]

But 2024, their first season, JDs rookie year, with a bunch of leftover Ron garbage on the team, was even lower chance of being impressive.

We also had the benefit of playing teams at the right time, poor quarterbacks as a whole, and not very many injuries.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

We also had the benefit of playing teams at the right time, poor quarterbacks as a whole, and not very many injuries.

Mariota hasn’t had a ton of success in hia career as I recall. He has been ok and fine at times, but also made critical mistakes- seems the same here.

So JD alone going down as an injury for extended time, given their dependence on him, is also telling.

 

[burgold]

We also had the benefit of playing teams at the right time, poor quarterbacks as a whole, and not very many injuries.

And yet, every other Redskin or Commanders' team would have folded. How many times have we given the rookie QB their first win or been the turn around game for the slumping quarterback. We were the get right team that made every mediocre and bad team look good. More importantly, we beat Tampa Bay in the first round and then Detroit (you can apply the injury excuse here if you want to) and took out two legit playoff teams.

So, I don't really by the luck argument that 2024 was a gift. Daniels was superb. We've had too many examples of being in the right place at the right time and just fallen on our face not give credit to a team that is able to sieze their opportunity. Daniels imposed his will on defenses and one after another they broke.

 

[Boone]

Quinn coached differently in 2024 as well. We forget that this was a team that went for it on 4th down a record number of times, and was highly successful in converting them primarily because Jayden thrives under that kind of pressure. In 2024 we played like we had nothing to lose - because we didn't. 2025 was the polar opposite of that approach. Yes - I'm aware of the injuries and that was a monumental factor. But the other big factor was Quinn coaching scared and abandoning the aggressive style that almost took us to a Super Bowl the year before.

 

[burgold]

Quinn coached differently in 2024 as well. We forget that this was a team that went for it on 4th down a record number of times, and was highly successful in converting them primarily because Jayden thrives under that kind of pressure. In 2024 we played like we had nothing to lose - because we didn't. 2025 was the polar opposite of that approach. Yes - I'm aware of the injuries and that was a monumental factor. But the other big factor was Quinn coaching scared and abandoning the aggressive style that almost took us to a Super Bowl the year before.

The first major symptom of this was in the Championship game. Without the go-for-broke mentality, the team kept pace with the Eagles in the first half to a degree, but then the dam burst. They turtled in that game and for the first time it felt like they were playing not to make a mistake, playing not to lose, and got killed for it. The defense as constructed and led just could not be counted on to hold an opponent in check, especailly not one as dialed-in as the Eagles were that season.

I remember Quinn saying something to the team prior to the game about how they needed to play differently for this game because it mattered so much more. Something about the way he said it bothered me. It was like he was telling the team to play afraid and to be conservative.

 

[DWinzit]

The first major symptom of this was in the Championship game. Without the go-for-broke mentality, the team kept pace with the Eagles in the first half to a degree, but then the dam burst. They turtled in that game and for the first time it felt like they were playing not to make a mistake, playing not to lose, and got killed for it. The defense as constructed and led just could not be counted on to hold an opponent in check, especailly not one as dialed-in as the Eagles were that season.

I remember Quinn saying something to the team prior to the game about how they needed to play differently for this game because it mattered so much more. Something about the way he said it bothered me. It was like he was telling the team to play afraid and to be conservative.

Great points and he never regained that original attitude Boone mentioned in that game or the full 2025 season. DQ appears to be in a better mindset going into 2026 but will that go for it attitude return. The team built so much confidence by obtaining so many of those first downs on 4th and whatever.