B+
Washington Commanders
The Commanders fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by gormenghast20 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 2 steals
· 1 reaches
The tape said wait; the Commanders did not. Kamran James went at the 246th pick, a good 102 picks before the board was ready. Good, not great, and the B+ says as much.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end. The Virgil steal is the beam this whole class leans on.
The Commanders paired the rookies with proven help, Daiyan Henley leading the way.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the tight end spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 26th overall pick they get an island corner at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
A reasonable price with a little left over, A.J. Haulcy in the Round 2 slot. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Jake Slaughter slipping to Round 3, Pick 7 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 147 with a little surplus value in CJ Daniels. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
No drama and no debate, Demond Claiborne went about where he belonged in No. 165. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Reggie Virgil at the 187th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Jimmy Rolder at the 223rd pick, value and slot in agreement. A minor itch, scratched.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Kamran James this early at Round 7, Pick 30. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.