B+
Washington Commanders
A passer of the future in Maye, and a B+, for the Commanders.
by Buck ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
They finally answered the question that shadows every other one. Drake Maye is the Commanders' quarterback, full stop. The bottom line is a respectable B+.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. A whole weekend of picks and running back is somehow still a want. Gould falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
If Spann-Ford pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about.
Good work on the whole, with running back the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 4 they get a franchise quarterback. A real need, handled.
In No. 27 they get a red-zone target to build around, though they paid up to get him. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at pick 35, value and slot in agreement. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Tyler Guyton slipping to slot 36 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
No drama and no debate, Edgerrin Cooper went about where he belonged in the 40th pick. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
The board had Bralen Trice higher than the Round 3 slot, and the edge rusher fell to them anyway. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They took Zak Zinter at par in pick No. 101, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A premium they did not need to pay, Sataoa Laumea a notch or two before his time. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They read the board right and Cam Hart was the payoff at pick No. 105. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No edge and no loss on Tommy Eichenberg in the Round 5 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Anthony Gould slid further than he should have, and pick 181 is lovely value for the wide receiver. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Brevyn Spann-Ford in Round 6, Pick 45 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.