A-
Washington Commanders
Nobody dealt better than the Commanders this weekend: A-.
by Meandwarf ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
The trade table was a mismatch, and the Commanders were on the right end of it, hauling in a fortune in surplus value.
They punted on tight end, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. The Jackson value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere.
T.J. Hockenson gives the group a proven body among the projects. They will need McCarthy to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it.
In the end it comes back to Olumuyiwa Fashanu, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Olumuyiwa Fashanu at par in the 12th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid up for J.J. McCarthy at the Round 2 slot when waiting would have done the job. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They went early on Kris Jenkins in the 42nd pick, and the value did not follow. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They did well to land Ladd McConkey in No. 44, just ahead of his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
No drama and no debate, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. went about where he belonged in Round 3, Pick 2. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Christian Mahogany at pick 100 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They let TreVeyon Henderson come to them and pounced at slot 102. A need, and now a little less of one.
They read the board right and Khyree Jackson was the payoff at pick No. 139. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 180 with a little surplus value in Josh Proctor. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Zion Nelson is a better player than the 223rd pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.