B
Washington Commanders
Grand theft in Round 6, Pick 17: the Commanders steal Wright and grade out a B.
by bshea ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 2 steals
· 3 reaches
When a board-topper like Jaylen Wright slides to pick 192, you do not overthink it, and the Commanders did not. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B.
They will need Gray to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. The Gray pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with tight end still on the board. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped tight end, which is a strange place to end up.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Troy Franklin in pick 35. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Chop Robinson at the Round 2 slot is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the edge rusher. A need, and now a little less of one.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Patrick Paul. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
By-the-book stuff, Graham Barton at No. 48 squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid sticker price for Edgerrin Cooper in the 50th pick, and that is fine. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
No drama and no debate, Blake Corum went about where he belonged in pick No. 67. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Khyree Jackson at slot 100 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They jumped the gun on Leonard Taylor III, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It fills a real need, too.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending pick 115 on Cedric Gray with tight end unsolved.
A straight-up fair deal on James Williams at pick No. 130, value and slot in agreement. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Braelon Allen at the Round 5 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Joe Milton III in Round 5, Pick 30 is fair value, right on his grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
No edge and no loss on Grayson Murphy in the 170th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Andru Phillips in the 171st pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They took Nathan Thomas at par in No. 181, which is nothing to complain about. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Somehow Jaylen Wright was still sitting there in slot 192, and they pounced on premier running back value. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A premium they did not need to pay, Myles Jones a notch or two before his time. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.