B+
Washington Commanders
The Commanders left with their quarterback, and a B+ to match.
by bshea ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 5 steals
· 3 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Commanders committed. Caleb Williams is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
The Wallace pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. The Fashanu pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own.
They will regret leaving interior defensive lineman for another day if the season turns on it.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 2nd pick they get the arm they will build around. A clean fit for the roster.
Olumuyiwa Fashanu at No. 36 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They robbed the room for Rome Odunze here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A slide stopped in Round 2, Pick 30, with Kris Jenkins worth more than the price. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Patrick Paul at slot 67 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Max Melton at the Round 3 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A market-rate running back, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Braelon Allen. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They went early on Theo Johnson in the 113th overall pick, and the value did not follow. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
By-the-book stuff, Johnny Wilson at pick No. 126 squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Trevor Keegan at the 146th pick, value and slot in agreement. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Circle this one: Nehemiah Pritchett at Round 5, Pick 29 is a fall that decides a draft. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Joe Milton III at the Round 6 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Trevin Wallace. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.