D
Washington Commanders
The Commanders left with their quarterback, and a D to match.
by For sure ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 4 steals
· 5 reaches
You can hear the double-takes from here. The Commanders took Joe Milton III at pick 143, roughly 57 spots before his name belonged. The math is unkind, and the D follows.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. The whole projection now runs through Jayden Daniels; hit there and everything else looks smarter.
The Phillips steal is the beam this whole class leans on. For all the activity, running back went untouched, which is hard to explain.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
A straight-up fair deal on Brock Bowers at the 5th pick, value and slot in agreement. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
In the 6th overall pick they get a passer to set the clock by at fair value.
Fair-plus on Adonai Mitchell, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jordan Morgan at No. 37 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
No edge and no loss on Chris Braswell in slot 40; it is a wash and a sensible one. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Xavier Worthy in pick 67 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They let Jeremiah Trotter Jr. come to them and pounced at pick No. 78. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Gabriel Murphy at No. 100. A need, and now a little less of one.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 107 with a little surplus value in Cam Hart. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Roger Rosengarten in the 109th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Justin Eboigbe in slot 139 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let a cornerback like Andru Phillips reach the Round 5 slot and blink. They did not. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Xavier Thomas at the 141st pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached into another round for Joe Milton III, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Luke McCaffrey at No. 152 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Matthew Jones this early at the 222nd overall pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.