C
Washington Commanders
McCarthy is the Commanders' new face under center. Grade: C.
by trial ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 1 steals
· 3 reaches
The Commanders spent the pick that matters most on J.J. McCarthy, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape. It washes out to a C, no better and no worse.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. They will need Wilson to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped tight end, which is a strange place to end up. The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
It grades out a shrug today, with plenty of room to move either way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get the arm they will build around, though they paid up to get him. A real need, handled.
Kingsley Suamataia at the 40th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
No drama and no debate, Patrick Paul went about where he belonged in Round 3, Pick 3. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Mike Sainristil at No. 78 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Johnny Wilson at pick 100 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
By-the-book stuff, Matt Goncalves at pick No. 116 squarely in line with his ranking. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board had Chau Smith-Wade higher than the 139th overall pick, and the cornerback fell to them anyway. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 152 with a little surplus value in Mason McCormick. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.