B
Washington Commanders
Fitzgerald should have been long gone. The Commanders pounced, and earned a B.
by draftpick ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 1 reaches
The Commanders did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Ryan Fitzgerald fell into slot 247. It does the job without flash, and the B reflects it.
Reaching for Gillotte left real value on the table behind him. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
The trades cost them a sliver of value they did not need to spend. On the needs board they went 6 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
Ashton Gillotte at pick No. 45 is a conviction pick that outran the value. The roster fit checks out.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Azareye'h Thomas. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Isaiah Bond at pick 79 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Dylan Sampson in the 115th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It fills a real need, too.
A linebacker of that caliber at slot 156 is the definition of value, full stop. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They barely believed it either: Terrance Ferguson still on the board at the 203rd pick. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Hunter Wohler at the Round 7 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They took Logan Parr at par in Round 7, Pick 20, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Taking Ryan Fitzgerald in Round 7, Pick 31 is close to grand larceny; a specialist that good had no business lasting this long. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.