A-
Washington Commanders
The Commanders robbed the room for Jones. Final grade: A-.
by mwilliams ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 24 picks
· 14 steals
· 4 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Elijah Jones got past him. The Commanders do not have to explain a thing at the Round 7 slot. Add it all up and it grades out a clean A-.
If Bortolini pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
In the end it comes back to Jackson Powers-Johnson, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 23 they get a blindside protector at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a long-term starter on the line. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Jordan Morgan at pick No. 35 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Chop Robinson at the 36th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid up for T'Vondre Sweat at pick 40 when waiting would have done the job. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Payton Wilson at No. 47 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the linebacker. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They jumped the gun on Cooper Beebe, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They read the board right and Xavier Worthy was the payoff at the Round 3 slot. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A slide stopped in No. 80, with Bralen Trice worth more than the price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Cade Stover is a better player than the 101st overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
DJ James slipping to slot 103 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They did well to land Malik Washington in Round 4, Pick 5, just ahead of his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A tidy bit of business in pick 113, where Audric Estime graded well above the range. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Mohamed Kamara in the 138th pick. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jaylin Simpson slid further than he should have, and the Round 5 slot is lovely value for the cornerback. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A real head-scratcher, Tanor Bortolini in pick No. 179 is miles ahead of his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached a country mile for Jared Wiley at slot 181, and the board is aghast. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jalyx Hunt in the 187th pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The roster logic is harder to follow.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 6, Pick 15 with a little surplus value in Jordan Jefferson. It fills a real need, too.
They let Johnny Dixon come to them and pounced at pick No. 196. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They robbed the room for Kendall Milton here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Joe Milton III at pick 220 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Somehow Isaiah Williams was still sitting there in the 222nd overall pick, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Elijah Jones in the Round 7 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.