B+
Washington Commanders
The Commanders let Harden fall and pounced. Final grade: B+.
by mwilliams ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 4 steals
· 6 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Myles Harden had no business being available in the Round 7 slot, and the Commanders did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Call it a sensible B+, earned the boring way.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. Spending an early pick on OLB-EDGE with quarterback open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. The quarterback hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
The cost of the Kamara reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 14 they get a cornerstone up front. The biggest hole, addressed.
In slot 27 they get an anchor for the offensive line at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 2, Pick 3 with a little surplus value in Graham Barton. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They took Darius Robinson at par in pick No. 36, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reach on T'Vondre Sweat in the 39th overall pick; the board had better options right there. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
No edge and no loss on Edgerrin Cooper in the 40th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They did well to land Kamari Lassiter in No. 43, just ahead of his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They paid sticker price for Roman Wilson in the Round 2 slot, and that is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Cooper Beebe at pick 67 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending the 101st overall pick on Javon Solomon with quarterback unsolved.
The board fumbled Xavier Legette all the way to the Round 4 slot, and they scooped it up. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Blake Corum here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A big swing on Mohamed Kamara at No. 111, well ahead of any board in the building. The roster fit checks out.
A straight-up fair deal on Theo Johnson at slot 138, value and slot in agreement. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Tykee Smith in Round 5, Pick 13 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Jarrian Jones in pick No. 169 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jared Wiley at pick 181 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They went early on Trey Knox in the 220th overall pick, and the value did not follow. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy little value on Michael Barrett in Round 7, Pick 4, a step better than break-even. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Myles Harden in pick No. 230, plain and simple. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.