D
Washington Commanders
The Commanders answered their biggest question with Maye. Grade: D.
by CJ5moker ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 3 steals
· 7 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Commanders would have aced it. Mason McCormick at pick 103 is 56 spots clear of where he belonged.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. So much rides on Drake Maye that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him.
Getting Hadden where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The Commanders paired the rookies with proven help, Budda Baker leading the way.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 4 they get their quarterback of the future. A clean fit for the roster.
In the 27th overall pick they get a blindside protector at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
By-the-book stuff, Darius Robinson at the 35th pick squarely in line with his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
They took Jordan Morgan at par in slot 36, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Payton Wilson at Round 2, Pick 8 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Devontez Walker. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Michael Hall Jr. at Round 3, Pick 3 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They paid a round early for Khyree Jackson in pick 71, more than the board wanted. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Will Shipley in the Round 3 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Christian Mahogany at No. 99 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
James Williams at slot 101 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A real head-scratcher, Mason McCormick in pick No. 103 is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They read the board right and Johnny Wilson was the payoff at the 137th pick. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Christian Jones in the 138th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jared Wiley this early at Round 5, Pick 25. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nice patience on Luke McCaffrey, who had no business lasting to the 178th pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Kamal Hadden at the Round 6 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They reached into another round for Logan Lee, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.