B-
Washington Commanders
A solid, sensible weekend for the Commanders: B-.
by bshea ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 2 steals
· 1 reaches
Boards are made to be trusted, and the Commanders shredded theirs for Xavier Nwankpa. He came off 24 spots early, and the room will hear about it. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B-.
A whole weekend of picks and tight end is somehow still a want. However the rest shakes out, Caldwell at that price is a win they earned.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 12 they get a downhill thumper at linebacker at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jake Slaughter at Round 3, Pick 7 is the proof. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Charles Demmings. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid sticker price for Taylen Green in the 187th pick, and that is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A tidy bit of business in No. 209, where Jeff Caldwell graded well above the range. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Xavier Nwankpa at the Round 7 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.