C+
Washington Commanders
Grand theft in No. 181: the Commanders steal Schrader and grade out a C+.
by jbudka ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 1 reaches
When a board-topper like Cody Schrader slides to slot 181, you do not overthink it, and the Commanders did not.
They punted on wide receiver, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. They are betting Raym proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with tight end chief among the fixes.
Hit on Brock Bowers and the swing picks, and this ages a lot better than it grades today.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 4 they get a moveable chess piece at tight end. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick 27 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Tyler Nubin at pick No. 36 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They did well to land Jordan Morgan in the Round 2 slot, just ahead of his grade. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Mike Sainristil. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Leonard Taylor III at slot 101 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
A straight-up fair deal on Tommy Eichenberg at the 138th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They barely believed it either: Cody Schrader still on the board at the 181st pick. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Andrew Raym in the 220th overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.