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Washington Commanders
The Commanders cashed the board's mistake on Rosengarten: A-.
by mwilliams ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 10 steals
· 2 reaches
When a board-topper like Roger Rosengarten slides to slot 220, you do not overthink it, and the Commanders did not.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
Spending an early pick on TE-EDGE with quarterback open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. Every board in the league had Eichenberg lower, and that gap is the story.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, JC Latham and all.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 16 they get a cornerstone up front at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick 27 they get a disruptive interior force. A real need, handled.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jordan Morgan in pick No. 35. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on Chop Robinson in slot 36; it is a wash and a sensible one. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Fair-plus on Kamren Kinchens, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Bralen Trice at the Round 2 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid up for Cooper Beebe at the 67th overall pick when waiting would have done the job. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at the 74th pick is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
By-the-book stuff, Josh Newton at slot 77 squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A curious use of Round 4, Pick 1. Quarterback needed the pick; a TE-EDGE in Cade Stover did not.
Johnny Wilson at No. 103 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Khyree Jackson. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board had Zak Zinter higher than pick 106, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose linebacker. Tommy Eichenberg in pick No. 109 leaves quarterback for later.
They read the board right and Jarrian Jones was the payoff at the Round 5 slot. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Ben Sinnott at the 142nd pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Taking Jaylen Wright in pick No. 181 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 robbed the room for Jaylin Simpson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Roger Rosengarten in slot 220 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Curtis Jacobs in the 224th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Stacking talent where they were already deep.