A-
Washington Commanders
Best value of the weekend goes to the Commanders for Lance: A-.
by Maddmax ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
When a board-topper like Bryce Lance slides to pick 125, you do not overthink it, and the Commanders did not. They executed a plan and it shows in the A-.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. For all the activity, tight end went untouched, which is hard to explain.
In the end it comes back to Mansoor Delane, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 13 they get a sticky cover corner at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 2 slot with a little surplus value in Christen Miller. A need, and now a little less of one.
Value with a capital V on Zachariah Branch in pick No. 71, a genuine coup. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Connor Lew at the 84th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Taking Bryce Lance in pick 125 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They went early on VJ Payne in No. 187, and the value did not follow. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They read the board right and Kobe Baynes was the payoff at slot 209. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Thaddeus Dixon at the 223rd pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.