Opinion

When it comes to pro wrestling legends, few are as universally respected by fans and wrestlers as William Regal.

His career in the industry spans more than 30 years and includes runs with several different promotions, including both WCW and WWE at the height of their powers.

Nowadays, the former King of the Ring is helping others in their quest for greatness by running The Blackpool Combat Club in All Elite Wrestling. With Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta as his proteges, Regal has quickly built one of the most popular factions in all of pro wrestling.

We had a chance to speak to the Englishman about joining AEW, forming the BCC, how he's feeling physically, his approach to performing and much more.

How He is Holding Up

No matter what kind of style you work, spending over 30 years in the wrestling business is going to take its toll on your body.

Regal has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the years, but he is doing well these days as he celebrated turning 54 on Tuesday.

"I feel as good as I can possibly feel as far as from what I've been through, if that makes any sense," he said. "You know, major neck surgeries. I've had a pericardiectomy, which was this very, very rare thing to have. Thirty years as a wrestler, 26 of those full-time.

"So I've just finished doing 200 Hindu squats, and 100 Hindu push-ups and walked a couple of miles. So for being 54 in a few days, I feel as good as I think I'm ever going to. I probably could feel a bit better if I really put my mind to it as far as getting my work done on my body and all that kind of stuff, or doing extra bits of whatever, but I think I feel as good as I possibly can be and for what I've done with my life, so I feel good."

Joining AEW

Regal made his AEW debut at the Revolution pay-per-view on March 6 at the end of Danielson and Moxley's brutal encounter.

As somebody who has had a big impact on the careers of both men, he took it upon himself to break up their post-match fight and put them on the same page.

And the four-time WCW TV champion seems to be having the time of his life with his new role.

"I've enjoyed it immensely," Regal said. "How many weeks am I in? I really don't even know how many weeks, it's just gone by so quickly. And if I actually take a step out of it for a second and look back and think, 'Well, I was fortunate enough to get brought into this company to be in a role. And that role worked out.'

"And we're only in two months, which is nothing really, and we've made a new star. And we haven't even scratched the surface of what we can do with this group. It's just been great."

Forming the Blackpool Combat Club

When Regal confronted Moxley and Danielson at Revolution, he instantly put them in their place with a couple of slaps to the face. Once everybody calmed down, they immediately got on the same page and began forming a plan.

A few weeks later, Yuta was added to the group. He not only proved himself in a brutal encounter against Mox, but he also didn't back down from Regal despite being a bloody mess after the match.

They took the ROH Pure champion under their wing and have been dominating ever since. Regal spoke about bringing the group together and how it all came about.

"So Bryan gave me a call," he said. "It might have been three weeks maybe before I actually debuted, and he said 'Could you talk to Tony [Khan] please? Would you like to come in here? We have this idea.' And I thought, 'That sounds like a lot of fun.' And then I talked to Tony, and it all sounded like a lot of fun to come in as a talent and again just be me and be with Bryan because we've got such a long history together.

"Then I started watching the show because when I was let go by WWE, I checked out of wrestling completely. It might have only been six weeks, but when I say that I checked out, I checked out because all I've ever done is wrestling. And the only times I haven't done it is has been when I've been really, really ill.

"So it wasn't my job anymore. Let me have a complete break from this and not think about it, except for stuff that I liked, which is watching old British wrestling with my son who lives in England. We watched some old British stuff and some old Japanese stuff, and that was it. Then I was checked out.

"So I started watching the show. And then I saw Bryan mentioning there was stuff going on with him and Jon, which looked to me like they were going to be together. And then I spoke to Bryan again. He said, 'Yes, this is the idea.' So I'm saying, 'Thank you. Great.' So I turn up and just do my thing. I didn't know what I was doing until about maybe 15 minutes before we actually did it.

"I got to the building at 7:15 p.m. or something that night. I was in the room. Finally, Jon and Bryan came in and said 'Right, here we go. This is it.' And I'm like "What, this is it?"

"They told me, 'Yep, this is it. We're going out and having a match in a bit, we'll see you then. You just come out and react.' And that's exactly what we did. I just went out and reacted. And, you know, they gave me half an idea of what they wanted and where they wanted to go."

The name of the group is obviously a reference to where Regal grew up and got his start in the business, but he wasn't the one to suggest Blackpool Combat Club as the group's title.

"So the name, the Blackpool Combat Club, it was Jon's idea. I was like, 'You sure you want to call it that?' And Jon said, 'Yeah, it sounds great.'Wheeler's name was mentioned and he came on board. And then we're where we're at, as of this moment. And so that's how it's all worked out.

"We all get on together and just seem to work. Whatever it is, it just seems to click, which is a fantastic thing to have. Something else I've been very fortunate with. I've never been involved with any group or tag team that I haven't clicked with, which is a great thing to have. And I seem to just be clicking with this group, and they get on together. And we all get on together, and it just clicks.

"And that's what's happening at the moment. When you're comfortable being who you are, you can go out and pull anything off really, once you've done this a while. And we just all seem to work as a unit."

Giving Advice to Young Talent

For years, Regal has been passing his wealth of knowledge on to the next generation of pro wrestlers. He worked with many people in NXT, and he is continuing to help the roster in AEW both on and off-screen.

"I love being around a lot of young talents who want to be wrestlers," he said. "I enjoy it because I was very fortunate when I was a teenager to get into this job with the best wrestlers possible in Britain, and then Europe, and then different parts of the world.

"Because they knew I wasn't going anywhere and I worked hard, they gave me all their time and taught me a lot. I've never forced myself on anybody, but anybody wants to come and work on wrestling, that's what I love to do.

"I feel bad that I haven't gotten enough time for the amount of people who are coming up to me. You know, I just want to start working on something with somebody, that's the day gone. I'm really enjoying it."

His Approach to Performing

As a veteran of the business, Regal has done just about everything you could imagine. He has played the hero and the villain, he has worked as both a serious and a comedic character, and he has worked with opponents at every level.

The BCC leader has learned to not only make the most of every situation but also how to enjoy himself while he is doing it.

"I love the fact that I can just go out and be me, which took a bit of getting used to, to be honest," Regal said. "And when I say me, there is no real me. There's whatever William Regal turns into, and that is influenced from all kinds of wrestlers, all kinds of entertainers, a lot of old British stuff.

"It's very similar to when I was Lord Steven Regal in WCW. And nobody's saying don't do that. And really, I didn't have [people saying no] in WWE. I was very fortunate there because Mr. McMahon trusted me with whatever he gave me. And so when I hear these stories about people, you know, having to do these different things. I was given ideas, and it was just 'Go and do it.'

"And I've always had the attitude of 'Let's just make it work.' So I've just gone and done it. This might offend a few people but you hear these things, 'Well, they have all these writers, scripts, all the stuff.' Well, they do that so you know what you're doing.

"As long as you earn the trust first, and they know that you can actually pull off what they need, you take that and make it your own and go and sit in the stands for an hour, and like 'How can I make this into something and use my own words.' As long as you get that trust at the beginning, when you go there, you can go where you want with that stuff."

While being a pro wrestler involved a certain level of acting, Regal doesn't see himself as an actor in the strictest sense. He approaches things from more of a reactionary standpoint.

"There's learning how to react, or there's being an actor," he said. "I'm not an actor, I react to things. And it takes a long time to get to that. But fortunately, I had a lot of experience before I came here and failed miserably. That was before I came to America and died on my backside a thousand times trying different things.

"But once I came here, I just learned to react to situations. And so whatever you've got, you can make it into something. I've got that now, where I can just go out and be William Regal, and whatever's on my mind or however the mood takes me.

"I'm even sat there saying stuff and thinking, 'Where's that come from?' It's like something that somebody said 50 years ago and I happen to see on a piece of film 30 years ago, and it just comes out for me. So I'm really enjoying that bit of it.

"So, again, I've been fortunate that I've had a lot of that in my career where I've had some great talent where I could just go out and be amazed. For any younger talent reading this, you have to earn that trust with whatever company you're working for. You have to earn that trust first. I'm having a blast."

The Full Conversation

Regal was generous with his time and we spoke for over an hour on many topics. To hear the full conversation, check out the video above.

Here is a list of some of the other topics he covered:

• Whether he has considered a career in acting.
• What makes Danielson, Moxley and Yuta special.
• Wrestlers like Danhausen getting themselves over in the pandemic era.
• The relationship between comedy and pro wrestling.
• What we can expect from his new podcast.
• Review of a TV series.

All quotes were given directly to the author and edited for clarity. You can follow William Regal on Twitter @RealKingRegal and you can follow Chris Mueller @BR_Doctor.

Perhaps Davante Adams' departure from Titletown to Las Vegas becomes a blessing in disguise for the Green Bay Packers. Of course, no team wants to trade away its best wide receiver and two-time All-Pro, but now the Packers must transform their offense, which may lead to optimal playoff results. 

The Las Vegas Raiders won the trade with Green Bay. They gave up a first-round pick (No. 22 overall) and a second-rounder (No. 53) for arguably the league's top wideout, and he'll fill a major need for them. Nonetheless, the Packers' post-Adams plan may change their identity for the better and extend quarterback Aaron Rodgers' career. 

Surprisingly, the Packers didn't use either of their first-round picks on a wide receiver. They selected inside linebacker Quay Walker and defensive end Devonte Wyatt. Both defenders played in one of the best defenses in college football history.

Walker will line up alongside All-Pro linebacker De'Vondre Campbell as an immediate playmaker against the run. He's a sure tackler who diagnoses plays quickly, which allows him to make stops all over the field. Wyatt can disrupt the opposing team's passing game at the line of scrimmage. In a rotational role, he recorded seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks last season.

Green Bay didn't have a clear-cut starter to pair with Campbell, and the front office tried to patch up its interior run defense in free agency with defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who signed a one-year deal. 

Walker and Wyatt will strengthen a run defense that allowed the third-most yards per rush attempt (4.7) last season. They're the potential missing links for an otherwise solid defense that ranked 13th in scoring and ninth in yards allowed last season. 

The Packers selected wide receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs in the second and fourth rounds of the 2022 draft, correspondingly. Based on draft status, rookie seventh-rounder Samori Toure will likely need time to develop in the pros. We shouldn't expect any of them to make a leap from the collegiate level to the top three spots on the depth chart. 

Rodgers has a rapport with wideouts Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard. Per Pat McAfee, he's excited about the addition of Sammy Watkins, who brings eight years of pro experience. 

However, Rodgers cannot rely on any of those veteran receivers on a weekly basis. Cobb and Watkins have seen their receiving numbers decline every year since 2019. The former turns 32 years old in August, and the latter hasn't played through a full season since his 2014 rookie term, missing at least four games in three of the last four years. Both wideouts have just one 1,000-plus-yard campaign on their resumes.

At 6'5", 227 pounds, Lazard has great size for the red zone and recorded eight touchdown catches last year, but he doesn't have more than 40 receptions or 513 receiving yards in any of his four seasons. 

Overall, the Packers have a solid stable of wideouts, though no one jumps out as Pro Bowl or All-Pro talent this year. Green Bay probably won't field a top-10 passing offense for the upcoming season, but Rodgers will have an array of targets from well-seasoned veterans to high-upside rookies. 

Head coach Matt LaFleur knows how to transform the Packers offense following Adams' departure, and he has the personnel to do it. 

Remember, LaFleur broke into the pro coaching ranks with the Houston Texans as an offensive quality control assistant under former NFL head coach Gary Kubiak and served as an offensive coordinator on Sean McVay's Los Angeles Rams staff. Both lead skippers have relied on an effective ground attack as a staple in their offenses.

Moreover, while the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans in 2018, LaFleur saw running back Derrick Henry's emergence in a featured role and how he stabilized the offense despite quarterback Marcus Mariota's modest passing numbers and issues with durability. 

In the Packers backfield, running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon combined for 1,602 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per carry last year. They could lead the way for a more balanced and physical offensive attack behind a rock-solid offensive line. 

Two-time All-Pro tackle David Bakhtiari, left guard Jon Runyan and center Josh Myers project as starters for the upcoming campaign. Once Elgton Jenkins recovers from a torn ACL, he'll likely fill the right tackle spot. Green Bay also added Sean Rhyan and Zach Tom in the third and fourth rounds of the 2022 draft, respectively. The rookie offensive linemen offer versatility in case the coaching staff has to shuffle the unit because of injuries as it did in 2021. They could challenge Royce Newman for his spot at right guard.

With a stronger ground attack, the Packers can extend Rodgers' career, which should be one of their objectives after they made him the highest-paid player in NFL history at 38 years old. 

Despite all the accolades on Rodgers' resume—four-time league MVP, four-time All-Pro and 10-time Pro Bowler—he's 11-10 as a primary starter in the playoffs with only one Super Bowl title. We shouldn't count win-loss records as quarterback stats, but clearly the Packers have underperformed in postseason action with one of the best signal-callers in the game.

Green Bay has to do something different to go beyond NFC North titles and early playoff exits. Without Adams, the team should revert to an approach that worked in 2010 when the Packers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the campaign.

That season, Green Bay's defense allowed the second-fewest points and ranked fifth in yards allowed. Rodgers had a decent but not spectacular year, throwing for 3,922 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He didn't make a Pro Bowl or All-Pro roster that year.

Though the Packers' rushing attack ranked 24th in yards during that term, they outrushed three of their four postseason opponents.

Green Bay didn't outgain the Pittsburgh Steelers on the ground in Super XLV, but its defense forced three turnovers, which certainly impacted the outcome of the game. 

Since that Super Bowl year, the Packers haven't ranked top 10 in points and yards allowed in a season, but they can change that with the current roster and bring along an effective ground game to cover any rough patches in the aerial attack.

With home games at the Frozen Tundra, Green Bay should be suited to play a physical brand of football.

As the No. 1 seed, the Packers lost their last two postseason games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers in the trenches. Green Bay's special teams unit deserves some blame for the loss to San Francisco, but Rodgers took five sacks in both defeats.

Three years ago, in the NFC Championship Game, San Francisco ran for 285 yards on Green Bay's defense at Levi's Stadium. Adams caught nine passes for 138 yards, but the Packers couldn't stop running back Raheem Mostert, who put cleat marks on the face of their defensive front with 220 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

This year, the Packers can flip the script and change their playoff fortunes with an aggressive attack-style defense and a ground attack that rips off chunk yardage on the road or in the elements at Lambeau Field in January.

While the offensive execution won't look as fluid and finesse in comparison to years past, Rodgers would probably trade in a 40-plus-touchdown season and an MVP award for another Super Bowl ring with a hard-nosed physical football team.

       

College football statistics are provided by cfbstats.com.        

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.

Tell everyone you're tanking without actually saying you're tanking. 

The Seattle Seahawks have done just that with their commitment to Drew Lock as their starting quarterback for the 2022 campaign, though the approach isn't without merit.

Essentially, the team invested in a lottery ticket as part of the Russell Wilson deal. If it works out, the Seahawks will be ahead of the curve. If not, they can look to the 2023 NFL draft and reinvest in the quarterback position. Meanwhile, they can get back to basics without worrying what may or may not upset Wilson. 

Lock, whom the Denver Broncos selected in the second round of the 2019 draft, still has upside. 

"I think he'd have been the first guy picked [in 2022], of quarterbacks anyway" Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said of Lock during an interview on Sports Radio KJR (h/t Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith). "He'd have been the first guy in this draft. I don't have any hesitation saying that." 

Yes, everyone can hear some snickering after reading that statement. But Carroll isn't necessarily wrong. Lock is only 25 and less than two years older than Kenny Pickett, whom the Pittsburgh Steelers chose as the top quarterback in this year's draft with the 20th overall pick. No other incoming quarterback prospect heard his name called before the third round. 

"The first look at Drew, he's really athletic. He's really a confident athlete. You can see he's got a lot of body control. He's got quick feet. He's got a quick arm. He's got various ways he can release the football as his body's in different positions," Carroll explained. "He's got a real knack there. He's got a strong arm. He can throw the ball a mile down the field. ... He has a world-class arm, and all that."

It was smart for Seattle to pass on this year's quarterback class. Too many questions swirled about the group.

"You don't draft a bad quarterback for the positional value," an executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando. "You can take a year and see what you've got. Do you trade everything for a quarterback next year? Yeah, if it is the right one. That is something they have to figure out."

Instead, general manager John Schneider began rebuilding the foundation after it had eroded. With Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner no longer with the franchise, the Legion of Boom era can officially be put to rest. The Seahawks are now built around wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and safety Jamal Adams. 

The incoming rookies have exciting upside with strong pedigrees. 

This year's ninth overall pick, offensive tackle Charles Cross, immediately fills a premium position with an elite talent. While Alabama's Evan Neal and North Carolina State's Ikem Ekwonu received more attention throughout the predraft process, Cross was generally considered in the same tier as a legitimate top-10 talent.

The Seahawks paired Cross with fellow rookie Abraham Lucas, whom they drafted with the 72nd overall pick. The four-year starter at right tackle has allowed the second-lowest pressure rate since the start of the 2020 campaign, per Pro Football Focus (h/t Smart Football's Adam Carter). 

Schneider took a similar approach with two other premium positions and doubled down at cornerback and edge defender.

The second-round selection of Boye Mafe should give the defense more juice in the pass rush, while Tyreke Smith provides extra depth. Corner is more interesting because fourth-rounder Coby Bryant is the reigning Jim Thorpe Award winner and a sound, aggressive defender, whereas Tariq Woolen, who fell to the fifth round, has a similar background and traits to Richard Sherman as a bigger corner who converted from wide receiver.  

An emphasis on those positions, particularly on defense, coupled with the second-round selection of running back Kenneth Walker III portends a throwback approach by Carroll and Co. 

A mistake could be thinking that Lock is anything more than a placeholder until he proves otherwise. As a result, the Seahawks should once again be a run-first team, and they have the backfield to make it happen with a returning Chris Carson, re-signed Rashaad Penny and the newly acquired Walker. 

"If Rashaad Penny can continue what he did late in the year, and now they have Walker, you know, with that quarterback situation, what's going to happen," an NFC coordinator told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "Those guys are going to get the ball a ton."

And they should.

Carson is a proven 1,000-yard ball-carrier when healthy, though he's coming off neck surgery. Penny finally looked like a first-round back when he ran for 671 yards over the Seahawks' final five games last season. Walker, meanwhile, is the most explosive back from this year's class. His 1,168 yards after contact in 2021 were the most by a Power Five running back since the 2019 campaign, per Pro Football Focus. 

Considering the aforementioned youth at key positions, the team's incomplete roster and the uncertainty under center, the Seahawks aren't positioned to surpass the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals, let alone dethrone the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, in the NFC West. 

An eye should be toward the future. 

"Their fascination with Drew Lock feels like a contrarian, 'Hey, we are going to win running the ball and our evaluation of Drew Lock was right,'" an executive told Sando. "Only a Super Bowl-winning coach who has tenure and is feeling secure can do that. This will either be the greatest 'I told you so' or it could be, 'Hey, you know what, I gave it a great run, and no one is going to remember this part when it is said and done anyway.'"

Only a lights-out season by Lock could and should sway the Seahawks from going in another direction next offseason. Granted, the team may still entertain the possibility of a Baker Mayfield trade, but he doesn't change the math when it comes to Seattle's current setup since the 2018 No. 1 overall pick isn't under contract after this season. 

"I don't see us making a trade for anybody at all. I don't see that happening," Carroll told Sports Radio 93.3 KJR-FM last week (h/t ESPN's Brady Henderson). "But we're certainly going to continue to be open to chances to help our club, and meanwhile, we're just going to be battling and competing our tails off."

The coach also said that Seattle had "no intention" of trading Wilson about two weeks before that occurred. Still, the Seahawks won't take on much, if any, of Mayfield's deal based on their financial standing. 

Seattle has $12 million in salary-cap space before it signs its rookie class. The rest can be rolled into the 2023 season when the franchise is projected to have the fifth-most salary-cap space at $62.9 million, per Spotrac.

Carroll and Schneider will also enter the next draft cycle with a pair of first- and second-round selections. They can use one of those picks or package a group of selections to acquire a quarterback in a class that already looks much stronger than the most recent iteration. The Seahawks can make a play for Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, Alabama's Bryce Young, Kentucky's Will Levis or whoever else works his way to the top of the draft. 

Seattle has never won fewer than seven games in any season with Carroll as head coach. A pair of seven-win campaigns predated Wilson's arrival as a third-round rookie in 2012. The Seahawks are back to where they started. They're searching for a quarterback, and they'll try to grind out wins and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

In other words, they are dipping into the tank once again and hoping to come out of it with another big fish. 

                          

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.

As Carson Wentz prepares to suit up for a third team in three years, he must understand this may be his last chance at a starting job in the NFL. Nonetheless, he could turn his career around after returning to the NFC East with the Washington Commanders.

A week before the official start of free agency, the Commanders acquired Wentz, a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a second-rounder and a third-rounder along with a conditional 2023 third-rounder. Washington also agreed to take on his full contract, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, which carries a $28.3 million cap hit in 2022.

Regardless of whether the Commanders believed in Wentz enough to take on his sizable deal and sacrifice draft capital or made the move out of desperation, they have the right head coach and the supporting cast to help him flourish in Washington.

Without a doubt, Wentz has the arm talent to make spectacular plays and breathe life into an offense. Though he can be inconsistent, the seventh-year signal-caller has a decent resume of passing production, with 140 touchdown passes and 57 interceptions with a 62.6 percent completion rate.

In 2021 with the Colts, Wentz threw for 3,563 yards, 27 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in a run-heavy offense that featured running back Jonathan Taylor, who rushed for a league-leading 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns, and one consistent pass-catcher in wideout Michael Pittman Jr.

In the final two weeks of the 2021 campaign and with a playoff berth on the line, Wentz played poorly, completing 58.9 percent of his passes for 166.5 yards per game. Nonetheless, his tenure soured long before the Colts' late-season collapse, per The Athletic's Zak Keefer.

"As for the Colts, the issues with Wentz stretched back to before the season began, one source said, and over the course of the year, some grew frustrated at what they deemed a lack of leadership, a resistance to hard coaching and a reckless style of play, which had a role in several close losses this year," Keefer wrote.

Based on talent alone, Wentz has the qualities of a middling starter. He can help a team win games, but his boneheaded mistakes have led to costly turnovers and a low completion rate. The 29-year-old also seems to lack leadership traits, which reportedly shortened his time in Indianapolis and might have led to his departure from the Philadelphia Eagles.

According to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, people within the Eagles' organization believed that the team's decision to select quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 draft adversely impacted Wentz's confidence and performance, though he denied it two years ago.

Wentz's lack of desirable intangibles in a leadership position hurts his standing as a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL. Luckily, head coach Ron Rivera's strong personality as the leader of the team should ease the burden on Wentz.

In his introductory press conference, Rivera talked about a culture shift in Washington with a no-nonsense attitude.

Head Coach Ron Rivera is ready to build a player-centered culture with a coach-centered approach.

🔗: https://t.co/3YTGnagpsB pic.twitter.com/1h4MxLkO3d

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) January 3, 2020

Rivera has highlighted accountability in the past, but he's willing to take the blame as long as players follow the program. This makes for a good environment for Wentz, who's justifiably taken criticism at every stop in his career.

Despite ongoing investigations into the franchise for allegations of sexual harassment and financial improprieties, Rivera can still change the culture within the locker room and put players in positions to succeed on the field. The well-respected head coach led Washington to a division title in his first year with the club and won seven games in back-to-back years despite instability at the quarterback position. The Commanders have started six different signal-callers over the past two seasons.

Even though starting quarterbacks require leadership, Rivera will have the most prominent voice in the room. Wentz just needs to follow the team's plan and play to the best of his ability. The Commanders have a supporting cast that can help him in that regard.

While Wentz had a statistically decent 2021 campaign with the Colts, he'll have more perimeter playmakers around him in Washington.

Despite the revolving door at quarterback, Terry McLaurin has emerged as a productive No. 1 wide receiver with 222 catches for 3,090 yards and 16 touchdowns through three seasons.

The Commanders selected Penn State wideout Jahan Dotson, who averaged 15.1 yards per catch at the collegiate level, with the No. 16 overall pick in the draft.

Bleacher Report NFL scout Nate Tice highlighted Dotson's quarterback-friendly qualities.

"Dotson is a very good athlete who is dangerous with the ball in his hands and has the long speed to take the top off defenses. He is also a very good route-runner, already showing an extended route tree and the polish to win on a variety of different routes at all three levels. He also has natural hands that allow him to maximize his size. He is consistently comfortable extending away from his body on throws both high and low. This trait also shows up when working back to the quarterback, which allows him to come down with throws in traffic."

The Commanders have an established veteran wideout and a rookie who can stretch the field with the ability to make big catches when the quarterback extends plays, which meshes well with Wentz's mobility in the pocket.

If wide receiver Curtis Samuel and tight end Logan Thomas stay healthy, they can become solid third and fourth targets. The former saw a steady increase in his receiving numbers in four years with the Carolina Panthers, and the latter recorded 72 receptions for 670 yards and six touchdowns with the Commanders in 2020. Both missed more than 10 games last year.

Out of the backfield, running backs Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic can catch the ball, combining for 201 receptions for 1,527 yards and seven touchdowns over the past two seasons with the team. Wentz doesn't have to force big plays downfield with a pair of reliable pass-catching backs who can move the chains on short passes.

Wentz doesn't even have to lead a top-10 scoring offense with a defense that ranked fourth in points and second in yards allowed just two years ago. With an aggressive pass-rushing front that features Chase Young, Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen and Montez Sweat up front, Washington's defensive unit could bounce back after ranking 25th and 22nd in points and yards, respectively, for the 2021 season. Of course, Young has to recover from a torn ACL and perform at a level close to his 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year form.

If the Commanders field a decent defense in the upcoming campaign, Wentz should be able to lead them to several wins. He has multiple weapons in the passing game and an offensive line that will return three players who started in at least eight contests during the previous term. Furthermore, the five-man unit welcomes a solid pass-blocking guard in Andrew Norwell, who allowed three sacks through 1,078 snaps last year, per Pro Football Focus.

With Rivera, a solid supporting cast on offense, and a defense not far removed from a dominant season, Wentz's career can take a positive turn in Washington.

     

Player contracts details are provided by Over the Cap.

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.

On Sunday night, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins faced each other in a fantastic WrestleMania rematch. The two have great chemistry together and they managed to tell an even better story this time around. It hardly seems like WWE is finished with this rivalry, so what is Backlash? 

There was a lot of pressure on Rhodes’ first feud since his return to WWE. His time with AEW was so important to the company’s early success, but The American Nightmare became so divisive among its fanbase towards the end of it. As such, he had quite a bit to prove after such a high-profile exit and murmurs that his refusal to turn heel hindered his character.

The Atlanta native had a strong showing during his re-debut at The Showcase of the Immortals but that was kind of a given. The true test would be how well could he ingratiate himself with WWE’s fanbase after the initial shock of his return and consistently play a role on WWE programming.

The Ideal First Opponent

Honestly, the change of scenery has revitalized and vindicated the second generation so far. His current character work seems more focused and his motivation to become a world champion is crystal clear. Surprisingly, he may be the hottest babyface on Raw right now.

That’s what makes Rollins such a perfect opponent. The Visionary is a truly great heel. He’s at his best when he has a stone-faced protagonist to work with because he will work twice as hard to get under their skin.

In return, the 35-year-old will force competitors to tap into the type of resolve that is hard not to root for. We saw a great example of this last Monday as he mocked Dusty Rhodes’s failure to win a WWE Championship. In the process, he got The Son of the Son of a Plumber to emote and capture the fire that made him so captivating during his early run with AEW.

With time to build to their second match, Rhodes and Rollins crafted a simple but entertaining story. The Prodigal Son is back to prove his worth to the company that initially overlooked him by accepting a challenge from one of the biggest stars of this generation. Meanwhile, The Drip God seeks to prove his loss to the returning superstar was a fluke in his ongoing pursuit of validation from an audience that rejected him.

If that’s not enough to get you excited, the video package should have. The clip ahead of the opening match of WrestleMania Backlash beautifully encapsulates the best moment of this build. These competitors went on to deliver the match of the night on an uninspiring card.

More Stories to Tell

The rematch wasn’t quite as good as their impromptu WrestleMania showdown but it did depict a convincing story. With that in mind, logic would dictate that revisiting the match a third time could lead to diminishing returns. However, the finish of their latest encounter leaves the door open for another bout and there’s still more that these two can do while WWE sorts out its world title situation.

This time around Rollins studied his foe. That played a big part in the match but The American Nightmare had also scouted his opponent. This led to a great matchup filled with reversals and attempts at one-upmanship.

In the end, the Davenport, Iowa native was hoisted with his own petard as Rhodes reversed his O'Connor roll and grabbed his tights to secure the win. Of course, The Visionary will just say he had to cheat to beat him but his adversary just outsmarted him because he tried it first.

This would be an excellent way for Rhodes to remain undefeated and leave room for contention so Rollins can demand another rematch. After all, he didn’t win fair and square but he did overcome WWE’s tendency to present its babyfaces as gullible do-gooders. Nevertheless, there is still more ground to cover with this feud and this does justify another match at the next pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell.

This will be an interesting exercise because one could argue that AEW’s program with Malakai Black lasted too long and it ultimately harmed the former TNT champion’s reputation. The company also didn’t do as many longforms feuds as its distinguished competition does regularly. As a matter of fact, WWE tends to book too many rematches sometimes.

Nonetheless, Rollins excels at this kind of storytelling as we saw last year during his ongoing rivalry with Edge. The two took part in a phenomenal trilogy of matches starting at SummerSlam and ending in the fall at Crown Jewel. Expect him to do something desperate or cross another line to raise the stakes and goad Rhodes into giving him a rematch.

A Fight to Crown the Next Contender

It’s unclear what this will mean for The Visionary or who his next target will be. However, the point of this program should be to prepare The American Nightmare for a shot at Roman Reigns. That has been his goal since he came back to WWE so he should keep picking up wins until he earns a title match.

Rollins fit a similar role last year when he gave Cesaro a big win en route to his bout against The Tribal Chief. The Swiss Cyborg was unable to unseat The Head of the Table but his work with The Drip God legitimized his ascent to become the number one contender.

The next move should be for Rhodes to win the WWE Championship. As of now, he is the most viable option to hand Reigns his first loss in over a year and bring the title back to Raw.

Conversely, Rollins still has some claim to a rematch because his former stablemate didn’t beat him at Royal Rumble. It would stand to reason that one of these men will earn a trip to The Island of Relevancy soon. Rhodes should be the one who comes out on top if this continues next month at Hell in a Cell and moves on to challenge the Samoan superstar.