B
Washington Commanders
The Commanders won the night they stopped Fitzgerald from sliding. Grade: B.
by draftpick ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 3 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. Ryan Fitzgerald at pick 247 is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did. More right than wrong, and a B to match.
If Nash pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it. The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
Marcus Mbow in the 37th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jared Ivey in the 61st pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Andrew Mukuba at the Round 3 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They let Maxwell Hairston come to them and pounced at pick No. 89. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They talked themselves into Nick Nash at Round 4, Pick 25, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Somehow Chris Paul Jr. was still sitting there in No. 146, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Taking Brashard Smith in slot 203 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They will replay Luke Lachey at pick 236 for years; that is how good the value is. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Circle this one: Ryan Fitzgerald at the 247th pick is a fall that decides a draft. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.