A-
Washington Commanders
A passer of the future in Maye, and a A-, for the Commanders.
by bshea ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
They finally answered the question that shadows every other one. Drake Maye is the Commanders' quarterback, full stop.
Landing Barrett that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. They are betting Wright proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
The tight end hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 9 they get a passer to set the clock by at fair value.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Chop Robinson. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They took Kingsley Suamataia at par in No. 52, which is nothing to complain about. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A quiet steal in pick 67: Graham Barton for less than the market said. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Johnny Wilson in the 75th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
No drama and no debate, Khyree Jackson went about where he belonged in pick No. 101. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They liked James Williams enough to skip the value, taking him in the 118th pick. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A big swing on Jaylen Wright at the Round 5 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
By-the-book stuff, Curtis Jacobs at slot 181 squarely in line with his ranking. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They will replay Michael Barrett at pick No. 220 for years; that is how good the value is. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A wide receiver of that caliber at No. 232 is the definition of value, full stop. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Myles Jones slid further than he should have, and Round 7, Pick 18 is lovely value for the cornerback. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.