A-
Washington Commanders
The Commanders robbed the room for Clark. Final grade: A-.
by depotmaster ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 26 picks
· 10 steals
· 0 reaches
Call it larceny. De'Corian Clark sat on the board until pick 228, and the Commanders did not need to be asked twice.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. The Commanders indulged a want in Gray while a need in interior defensive lineman stayed open.
That interior defensive lineman hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Bottom line, with Dallas Turner leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 11 they get a premier pass rusher at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Tyler Nubin at pick No. 37 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A clean, defensible pick in the 40th overall pick with a little surplus value in Ennis Rakestraw Jr.. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They took Tyler Guyton at par in Round 2, Pick 11, which is nothing to complain about. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid sticker price for Ja'Tavion Sanders in the 48th pick, and that is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at the Round 3 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Blake Corum in slot 67 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A tidy little value on Zak Zinter in No. 100, a step better than break-even. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board had Jamari Thrash higher than No. 102, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They read the board right and Jacob Cowing was the payoff at the 109th pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
By-the-book stuff, Malik Washington at the 116th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose linebacker. Cedric Gray in the Round 4 slot leaves interior defensive lineman for later.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Cam Hart at pick No. 141 is the proof. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They let Luke McCaffrey come to them and pounced at slot 145. The roster fit checks out.
Kamal Hadden at pick 155 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Roger Rosengarten at Round 6, Pick 6 is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Josh Proctor. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A tidy bit of business in the 189th pick, where Isaiah Davis graded well above the range. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jared Wiley at the 195th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Taulia Tagovailoa in the Round 7 slot lands just on the right side of the ledger. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They robbed the room for Jawhar Jordan here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Sheridan Jones in Round 7, Pick 7. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A wide receiver of that caliber at No. 228 is the definition of value, full stop. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Nothing to complain about; Marcus Harris went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
No edge and no loss on Demani Richardson in pick 237; it is a wash and a sensible one. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Carson Steele in No. 244 is fair value, right on his grade. A need, and now a little less of one.