Hogs Haven
A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, and a sprinkling of other stuff
Yes, we are still months away from meaningful on-field action, but we can say now that these seven organizations, arranged in alphabetical order, jumped out as the most improved on paper heading into the 2025 NFL season:
Veteran additions | 2025 draft class
Washington’s stunning 2024 turnaround breathed new life into a franchise that had trudged through plenty of losing in the 21st century.
The Commanders entered the offseason with a clear goal: capitalize on their newfound success, and do so fearlessly. Trades for Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil gave them two proven veterans to bolster an offense headlined by 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels.
Now, there are ways things could go awry. Samuel struggled to stay healthy enough to consistently produce in San Francisco in recent years, and Tunsil allowed 52 pressures in 2024, the most for him in a season since 2018, according to Next Gen Stats (with a pressure-allowed rate of 8.3%, fourth-highest for him in that span). But if everything works out, the Commanders should be better than they were a year ago, when they sprinted all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
The Commanders are hoping Croskey-Merritt, who likes to go by Bill, can recapture the explosiveness he had two years ago at New Mexico and add an extra wrinkle to their backfield. First, however, he will need to earn a roster spot, and he faces a tough challenge to achieve that with Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols, all of whom had solid roles in 2024, in front of him.
Croskey-Merritt is [ready] to compete, but this offseason hasn’t been completely about challenging teammates for a spot on the depth chart. He knows he is surrounded by years of experience, and he wants to take advantage of that knowledge.
“I’m learning a lot, day by day,” Croskey-Merritt told Bryan Colbert Jr. “Those guys are telling me just small details of the game like what I can work on or what we can do better to improve as a running back room.”
Croskey-Merritt has already asked them several questions about how to improve.
“It’s a dream come true just to have big brothers in a room that can help me elevate my game,” Croskey-Merritt said.
Croskey-Merritt has already said he wants to do whatever the coaches ask of him, but he wants to live up to fans’ expectations, too. People know talent when they see it, he said, and he’s eager to show everything he can do....
