A-
Washington Commanders
The Commanders turned the phones into found money: A-.
by mwilliams ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 21 picks
· 5 steals
· 5 reaches
The Commanders went off the board in a big way for Sam Hartman, 61 picks early. Conviction is one thing; this is another.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. The Solomon pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at edge rusher. Smith falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up.
The kind of weekend a front office frames and hangs on the wall.
Pick-by-Pick
JC Latham in pick 15 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
In the 27th pick they get a wrecking ball inside. A real need, handled.
Jordan Morgan at Round 2, Pick 4 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A clean, defensible pick in No. 40 with a little surplus value in Ja'Tavion Sanders. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
By-the-book stuff, Payton Wilson at slot 43 squarely in line with his ranking. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Cooper Beebe in the 66th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
No drama and no debate, Kamren Kinchens went about where he belonged in the 67th pick. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A straight-up fair deal on Xavier Legette at No. 71, value and slot in agreement. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A premium they did not need to pay, Cade Stover a notch or two before his time. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jaylen Wright at the Round 3 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
DJ James in pick No. 82 is fair value, right on his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They bypassed pressing needs at edge rusher to take Javon Solomon, an OLB-EDGE that was not the priority.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Dominick Puni at slot 101 is the proof. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Javon Baker at Round 4, Pick 9 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Mekhi Wingo. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board had Josh Newton higher than slot 138, and the cornerback fell to them anyway. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They took Tommy Eichenberg at par in pick 142, which is nothing to complain about. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Ainias Smith at the Round 5 slot. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They let Kamal Hadden come to them and pounced at the 178th pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jared Wiley at pick No. 184 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Sam Hartman in No. 222 says they were not listening. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.