C-
Washington Commanders
The phones sank the Commanders this weekend: C-.
by Maddmax ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 3 reaches
The rest of the league had time to spare on VJ Payne; the Commanders did not wait, grabbing him 49 spots ahead at the Round 5 slot.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end.
A perfectly average weekend, for better and for worse.
Pick-by-Pick
Value with a capital V on Sonny Styles in the 31st pick, a genuine coup. A minor itch, scratched.
Christen Miller at pick No. 63 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid up for Connor Lew at Round 3, Pick 7 when waiting would have done the job. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No drama and no debate, Malik Muhammad went about where he belonged in pick 92. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
No edge and no loss on De'Zhaun Stribling in slot 112; it is a wash and a sensible one. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They talked themselves into VJ Payne at the 147th overall pick, and the board did not agree. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
By-the-book stuff, Jeff Caldwell at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board had cheaper options than Thaddeus Dixon at pick 209, and it noticed. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Noah Whittington at Round 7, Pick 7 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.