B
Washington Commanders
The Commanders checked most of the boxes and earned a B.
by bshea ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 2 steals
· 7 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Commanders would have aced it. Joe Milton III at the 147th overall pick is 52 spots clear of where he belonged. Good, not great, and the B says as much.
A whole weekend of picks and interior defensive lineman is somehow still a want. They banked enough surplus on Robinson to cover a lot of smaller sins.
A small leak at the table, if not a fatal one. Stockpiling next year's capital is patient, if unglamorous, asset work.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 19 they get a press-man option on the boundary. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
The board had Chop Robinson higher than pick No. 36, and the edge rusher fell to them anyway. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid sticker price for J.J. McCarthy in pick 44, and that is fine. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They took Kingsley Suamataia at par in No. 50, which is nothing to complain about. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Xavier Worthy slipping to Round 3, Pick 2 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Cooper Beebe at the Round 3 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
No edge and no loss on Khyree Jackson in pick 78; it is a wash and a sensible one. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Calen Bullock at No. 81 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A reach on Braelon Allen in the Round 4 slot; the board had better options right there. A need, and now a little less of one.
The board had cheaper options than Johnny Wilson at the 113th overall pick, and it noticed. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid a round early for Roger Rosengarten in the 138th pick, more than the board wanted. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Nelson Ceaser at slot 139 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Joe Milton III in Round 5, Pick 11 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It fills a real need, too.
Mason McCormick at pick No. 154 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They went early on Braiden McGregor in the 160th overall pick, and the value did not follow. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They liked Trevin Wallace enough to skip the value, taking him in pick 220. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A market-rate tight end, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tip Reiman. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.