The one hole that towered over the rest is filled. The Commanders spent their marquee pick on Jayden Daniels, and for the first time in a while there is a real answer at quarterback. It holds up to a second look, which is why it earns the A-.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. With edge rusher and interior defensive lineman unsolved, spending premium capital on OLB-EDGE is the choice that costs them. Knox at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Solomon has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.5
· Pick 5
· Jayden Daniels
· QB
· rank 7
In No. 5 they get a franchise quarterback. A clean fit for the roster.
R2.4
· Pick 36
· Tyler Guyton
· OT
· rank 28
Tyler Guyton in pick 36 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R2.30
· Pick 62
· Edgerrin Cooper
· LB
· rank 49
A tidy bit of business in the 62nd overall pick, where Edgerrin Cooper graded well above the range. A minor need, but a need all the same.
R3.3
· Pick 67
· Ricky Pearsall
· WR
· rank 59
They read the board right and Ricky Pearsall was the payoff at Round 3, Pick 3. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R3.17
· Pick 81
· Khyree Jackson
· CB
· rank 95
They jumped the gun on Khyree Jackson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R3.37
· Pick 100
· Javon Solomon
· OLB-EDGE
· rank 117
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Javon Solomon adds an OLB-EDGE and leaves edge rusher and interior defensive lineman untouched.
R4.9
· Pick 109
· Cole Bishop
· S
· rank 104
Cole Bishop at the 109th pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
R4.18
· Pick 118
· Matt Goncalves
· OT
· rank 115
Nothing to complain about; Matt Goncalves went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R5.3
· Pick 139
· Johnny Wilson
· WR
· rank 126
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Johnny Wilson at No. 139. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R5.16
· Pick 152
· Trevor Keegan
· OG
· rank 144
Trevor Keegan is a better player than slot 152 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R7.4
· Pick 224
· Frank Gore Jr.
· RB
· rank 226
No drama and no debate, Frank Gore Jr. went about where he belonged in the 224th pick. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R7.18
· Pick 238
· Trey Knox
· TE
· rank 223
A slide stopped in the Round 7 slot, with Trey Knox worth more than the price. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
