A
Washington Commanders
The Commanders found their guy under center in Penix Jr.: A.
by optimist737 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
Start where it matters. The Commanders took Michael Penix Jr. to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. One of the weekend's best, top to bottom, and a A to show for it.
They banked enough surplus on Travis to cover a lot of smaller sins. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. They will answer for taking safety early while edge rusher, running back and other spots went begging.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 15 they get a franchise quarterback at fair value.
They barely believed it either: JC Latham still on the board at Round 2, Pick 4. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They did well to land Graham Barton in the 40th overall pick, just ahead of his grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A slide stopped in pick No. 59, with T.J. Tampa worth more than the price. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Xavier Legette here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They will replay Tyler Guyton at slot 82 for years; that is how good the value is. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Johnny Wilson at the 100th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A tidy little value on Tykee Smith in the Round 4 slot, a step better than break-even. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A curious use of pick 107. Edge rusher, running back and other spots needed the pick; a safety in Beau Brade did not.
Value with a capital V on Khyree Jackson in the 138th overall pick, a genuine coup. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The board had James Williams higher than the 141st pick, and the safety fell to them anyway. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
The board fumbled Jordan Travis all the way to slot 181, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A quiet steal in the Round 6 slot: Bryson Nesbit for less than the market said. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Good price on Jordan Magee in pick No. 223, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.