D
Washington Commanders
The Commanders left with their quarterback, and a D to match.
by CJ5moker ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 2 steals
· 5 reaches
Call it belief, call it a gut call, but Jared Wiley at the Round 5 slot is 62 spots clear of consensus, and that is the headline. The process wobbled, and the D is where it lands.
Drake Maye gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere.
Leaving running back unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. Jackson falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, running back very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 2 they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
In slot 8 they get a difference-maker at receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They did well to land Darius Robinson in the 40th overall pick, just ahead of his grade. It fills a real need, too.
A big swing on Patrick Paul at pick No. 43, well ahead of any board in the building. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A straight-up fair deal on Payton Wilson at No. 45, value and slot in agreement. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A premium they did not need to pay, Cooper Beebe a notch or two before his time. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Devontez Walker at the Round 3 slot. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Khyree Jackson in pick No. 101. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They paid sticker price for Zak Zinter in the 103rd pick, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They jumped the gun on James Williams, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A real head-scratcher, Jared Wiley in Round 5, Pick 2 is miles ahead of his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A reach on Mason McCormick in slot 142; the board had better options right there. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ty'Ron Hopper in the 181st overall pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Fair-plus on Gabe Hall, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.