B+
Washington Commanders
The Commanders fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by Maddmax ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
There was a run on nobody at that position, and the Commanders started one anyway for VJ Payne, 48 picks ahead of schedule. It does the job without flash, and the B+ reflects it.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Wetjen. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the tight end spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
A clean, defensible pick in pick 9 with a little surplus value in Jeremiyah Love. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Bryce Lance at No. 71 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The board had cheaper options than Connor Lew at slot 74, and it noticed. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They let Hezekiah Masses come to them and pounced at the 147th overall pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Value said wait; VJ Payne in the 148th pick says they were not listening. A minor itch, scratched.
They robbed the room for Ephesians Prysock here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Kaden Wetjen at the 256th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.