Read the full transcript from DC Sean Duggan's media availability on October 22, 2026.

Where is Chop in his progress in terms of setting the edge in the run game? There was obviously promise this offseason. Has he done decently? Is there still a lot of room to improve?

Sean Duggan: Yeah, I think Chop's done a nice job. I think as an entire defense, I think we do a nice job in the run game. And again, that takes all 11 guys, right? So when Chop's out there for a lot of plays, he's done a nice job. I think he's really embraced just early down defense. I think his goal was to be a complete player and that's what we challenged him to be. And he's done a nice job. And I think there's always room to get better, you know? We're always going to try to raise the bar. So yes, he's done better, but there's always going to be room for improvement. We're always going to keep challenging him to grow and continue to get better. And the same with all the guys, right? We're always going to strive to be better, really in every aspect. That's our job.

What was Rodney McGraw doing in practice that drew the interest of the team to say, one, we got to play him on Sundays and then two, hey, it's time to elevate him to a 53?

Sean Duggan: First off with Rodney, just his work ethic and the way he's gone about everything he's done since he's gotten here. To be an undrafted guy and come in and just put your head down and work and learn and just embrace the way we're going to play defense. So really a ton of credit goes to him. But just the right mindset, which is huge for us, the desire to play the game a certain way. And then a lot of credit obviously goes to Austin Clark and Chuka and Siriki. They've done a great job with him and really all those guys developing. We want to be a developmental team and continue to push the envelope with every player we get. As far as him as a player, I think the thing, one, he's a big man. You see him on the field, he's a big person. And he embraces being a big person and some guys don't do it. He plays the game physically. He knows what he's good at and continues to lean into that and grow in that aspect. You see he's heavy-handed, sets edges in the run game and continuing to develop his rush. He's just done a nice job. I can't say enough good things about how he's worked and his just desire to get better and better.

How much can he help you in terms of different styles and approaches that you can use on the front line?

Sean Duggan: Sure, I think anytime you get a big body guy, you can have flexibility with him. There's certain things technique-wise he needs to continue to get better at, and we're going to ask him to do different things and grow in that aspect of the game. Being a flexible piece along the line as a big body, but size is good. I know I heard Austin had a good line in here about size a couple weeks ago when he was here. So he's done a nice job, but there's definitely room to improve too.

Last game, Julius Brents seemed to stand out. What are the strides he's taken in his technique to go with those natural tools that he has?

Sean Duggan: JuJu, again, just the way he's worked, man. In practice, the way he comes out every day, I mean, you see him today, he's finishing 25 yards to tag off on a ball carrier. Like that to me is uncommon. The desire when the ball's in the air, my guy's not going to catch it. And then the same breath, he shows up in the run game. I mean, he shows up and throws his body. He's a big physical corner. But he's done a good job. He's starting to understand the scheme, understanding different releases, what type of coverage am I in? OK, if I'm getting this, what am I really going to protect? What's my area of the field I need to really cover? So I think he's done a nice job just continuing to learn technique within the scheme and then just his competitiveness in the run and pass game I think shows up.

Confidence is obviously a big part of cornerback play. When you have as good of a showing as JuJu did against one of the most dynamic duos in the league, just what's sort of good confidence does that bring to a player?

Sean Duggan: I think it brings a ton of confidence, but to me it starts in practice. The way he practices should bring confidence to the way he plays on Sunday. So I think that carries over. Now the challenge is right, can you raise the bar and go do it again? Because we're going to play good receiver. I mean, there's good receivers in this league on every team we play. I feel like we come in here and we talk about premier receivers every single week. So now it's a new challenge. It's a new week, go do it again. It's a week-to-week league and you got to prove it every day and every week, right? So I think where there's confidence that stems from practice, that builds on Sundays and his performances in recent weeks, now it's go do it again.

Speaking of receivers, what makes Garrett Wilson so special and also what sort of wrinkle does Omar Cooper Jr. add to that offense?

Sean Duggan: I was actually with Garrett for a year at Ohio State in 2019. I think he was a true freshman and he's just a natural catcher. I mean, catching the ball for him, it's easy. His body control, whether he's jumping up to get a ball, whether he's reaching out, everything looks easy for him. I know it's not. And I know he's super talented and works at it, but he's just a natural pass catcher. And obviously, he's got real speed on the edge. And he can make catches at three levels. He can take shallow routes and create explosive plays. He can run intermediate routes, whether it's in the perimeter or over the middle, and then he can stretch you vertically down the field. So he's a threat at every level. Omar Cooper, I know he got hurt early and last week was his first game, but you see a guy that's just to me an ultra competitor. You got to get multiple hats to the ball when you're tackling him. Really good with the ball in his hand. And again, just a tough, competitive guy. Real speed, good size. He's not 6'5", but he's strong, strong with the ball in his hands. So again, I got a lot of respect for the way he plays. It'll be a good challenge.

I know they don't use him a lot or target him a lot in the pass game this season, but the speed that Kenyon Sadiq adds to that tight end position, how can that stress the defense?

Sean Duggan: I mean, any tight end, right? It's a matchup we kind of talked about, I think last week where it's a bigger body. How does that create matchup problems? Well, this guy can run like a receiver. So he's a bigger body that can also move. So he's definitely a guy you got to know where he is and respect his speed and understand you're going against a guy that can not only be physical in the route, but can also run. So he's definitely super talented. I'm excited for our guys to match up against him.

It was 16 snaps on defense for Kenneth Grant in his first game back. From a conditioning standpoint, is he ready to play a lot more?

Sean Duggan: I think that's probably a better question for Haf. I think he looks good. I know he works really hard in practice. He worked really hard getting back. I think the strength staff and the training staff did a great job getting him to the point where he's back and continuing to be ready to play. I think it's got to progress, right? I think as you get back and you get more comfortable playing football, not just training. I think, those reps, you should be able to take more.

Your run defense is doing well. I think you're 9th in yards allowed and 8th in yards per carry. We see Jordan Phillips taking on the double teams. We see Jacob cleaning up the tackles. What should we be seeing beyond that?

Sean Duggan: I think you talked about two guys. You see corners tackling. You see guys in three techniques setting edges. You see guys like Chop setting edges, guys like Josh Uche setting edges. You see guys like Zeek Biggers and Zach Sieler grinding out blocks. KG did a nice job when he was back last week. So again, I'm going to sound like a broken record, but it takes 11 guys to stop the run. We're going to ask our corners to tackle. We're going to ask safeties to tackle. I think what's fun and cool to watch and honestly to talk about is every week it seems like we come in here and talk about a different guy showing up in the run game, right? We've talked about corners, we've talked about our safeties, we've talked about, obviously, our linebackers and our D line. I think that's a sign of a good run defense, right? When you're constantly talking about different people are impacting the game in a run game perspective, that makes you feel good as a coach.

When speaking with J-Rod this week he couldn't stop praising Chris Johnson. Just talking about his physicality, his ability to cover as well as nickel. And just I want to ask what is your evaluation of Chris after five games?

Sean Duggan: I think Chris has gotten more and more comfortable from Week 1 out in Vegas till a couple weeks ago for Cincinnati. I think you see a guy that's getting more comfortable in what we're asking him to do. He's a really smart player. He understands not only his role in the play call, but what's going on around him, which is allowing him to start playing faster and faster. And again, just a super competitive guy. A guy that wants to show up in the run game, wants to cover the slot, wants to do all the things that make him a really good player. So I think he's just gotten better and better. And again, just like everyone, there's going to be things he needs to get better at, whether it's technique, whether it's alignments, little details like that. There's always going to be room to improve. But he's done a nice job. And again, it's another guy who works really hard at it. I mean this guy's all about football.

I want to do something on ball protection from the ball carrier standpoint that. I'm old, when I grew up, it was high and tight, but I have a feeling that you have to do a little bit more than that. When you teach your guys how to get the ball out, what are you telling them? I mean, punch, rake, pry, finger – what are you teaching them?

Sean Duggan: I think there's different techniques. I think when you go into a game, you kind of study how each runner carries the ball. When does he get loose with the ball? Because I think every runner is a little different. A lot goes into what type of runner is he? How does he break tackles? I don't want to get too into it. But there's a lot of prep that goes into it. Not only are you teaching the tools of, 'hey, here's how we take the ball out,' whether it's a punch, whether it's a rake like you're talking about, but when are the right opportunities to take that, right? Because if you just try to punch the ball every time, that's also how leaky yards could happen, right? Where three-yard runs turn into six-yard runs because guys are punching at the ball. So it's understanding who you're going against, what are the tools I can use, and what tools are really good versus this player, and then when's the right time to do it. So there's a lot that goes into it. We stress it constantly. We definitely –  we've emphasized takeaways and our guys punch at the ball. I mean, I think when you watch the film, it shows up. We attack the football. Have the results happen yet? Not to the level we've wanted them to, but the process is right. And we're going to keep emphasizing it.

What has Dante Trader Jr. doing brought to the defense?

Sean Duggan: I think a level of physicality, definitely. Again, showing up in the run game, he does a really nice job. I think he's a confident player right now who's continuing to get more and more comfortable with what we're asking him to do. I think he has some range. He's a good cover guy, understands zone coverage as well. Again, I see a guy that's just getting more and more comfortable right now.