A-
Washington Commanders
A passer of the future in McCarthy, and a A-, for the Commanders.
by bshea ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
The one hole that towered over the rest is filled. The Commanders spent their marquee pick on J.J. McCarthy, and for the first time in a while there is a real answer at quarterback. Just about everything broke right, and the A- follows.
The Wallace reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. The phones were where this weekend was really won.
They will answer for taking OLB-EDGE early while running back and interior defensive lineman went begging. They punted on running back, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on J.J. McCarthy. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
In the Round 1 slot they get an island corner. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Brian Thomas Jr. at slot 36 is the proof. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They paid up for Kingsley Suamataia at the 53rd overall pick when waiting would have done the job. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Patrick Paul in pick No. 66 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A clean, defensible pick in the 67th pick with a little surplus value in Malachi Corley. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board had cheaper options than Khyree Jackson at pick 78, and it noticed. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Johnny Wilson at No. 121 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They bypassed pressing needs at running back and interior defensive lineman to take Javon Solomon, an OLB-EDGE that was not the priority.
They did well to land Ben Sinnott in Round 4, Pick 36, just ahead of his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Fair-plus on Mohamed Kamara, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It fills a real need, too.
A big swing on Joe Milton III at the 175th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Trevin Wallace at slot 190 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Julian Pearl at No. 210 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.