B
Washington Commanders
A respectable, level-headed haul for the Commanders: B.
by Maddmax ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 1 steals
· 4 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Commanders took Emmett Johnson a full 29 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B.
Wheatley at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it.
They left with wide receiver solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off. The future picks help the war chest more than the win-now roster.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a true top target. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They did well to land Chris Johnson in pick No. 38, just ahead of his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Connor Lew in No. 73 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Emmett Johnson well ahead of where he belonged. The roster fit checks out.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Zakee Wheatley in the 116th overall pick, plain and simple. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Harold Perkins Jr.. A minor need, but a need all the same.
DeMonte Capehart at slot 136 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They paid up for Beau Stephens at Round 5, Pick 7 when waiting would have done the job. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No edge and no loss on Ephesians Prysock in No. 187; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Dallen Bentley in the 209th overall pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Eli Heidenreich in the 223rd pick, miles early. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.