A-
Washington Commanders
Grand theft in Round 6, Pick 26: the Commanders steal Smith-Wade and grade out a A-.
by mwilliams ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
The Commanders spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Chau Smith-Wade, the No. 162 name on the board, in pick No. 201. The board rewarded a patient, disciplined weekend with a A-.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. That quarterback hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Every board in the league had Jones lower, and that gap is the story.
Adding Asante Samuel Jr. by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
Bottom line, they did the job about as well as it can be done.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 8 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Nothing to complain about; Graham Barton went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
By-the-book stuff, Kamren Kinchens at the 37th pick squarely in line with his ranking. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They took Chop Robinson at par in No. 38, which is nothing to complain about. It fills a real need, too.
No drama and no debate, Bralen Trice went about where he belonged in the Round 2 slot. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reach on Cooper Beebe in pick 67; the board had better options right there. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jalen McMillan in pick No. 100 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Ray Davis in the 102nd overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Cedric Gray at the Round 5 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
AJ Barner at the 181st overall pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached into another round for Gabe Hall, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The roster fit checks out.
Chau Smith-Wade in Round 6, Pick 26 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Matthew Jones well ahead of where he belonged. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.