D+
Washington Commanders
A passer of the future in Maye, and a D+, for the Commanders.
by All day ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 8 steals
· 3 reaches
The Commanders spent real capital to be 51 picks early on Sam Hartman, and the board is going to hold them to it. Put together, it is a D+.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took McGlothern. The whole projection now runs through Drake Maye; hit there and everything else looks smarter.
The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 8 they get a seam-stretching tight end. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
By-the-book stuff, Drake Maye at the Round 1 slot squarely in line with his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They let Kool-Aid McKinstry come to them and pounced at pick No. 36. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Nothing to complain about; Jordan Morgan went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nice patience on Cooper DeJean, who had no business lasting to Round 2, Pick 11. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy bit of business in slot 44, where Ladd McConkey graded well above the range. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They took Kiran Amegadjie at par in slot 67, which is nothing to complain about. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Austin Booker at the Round 3 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The roster fit checks out.
Michael Hall Jr. in Round 3, Pick 14 is fair value, right on his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A real head-scratcher, Tommy Eichenberg in pick No. 100 is miles ahead of his ranking. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A quiet steal in No. 112: Christian Mahogany for less than the market said. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Braelon Allen at the 122nd pick is the proof. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They did well to land Roger Rosengarten in pick 139, just ahead of his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board had Isaiah Adams higher than the 148th overall pick, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Brennan Jackson. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Value said wait; Sam Hartman in the Round 6 slot says they were not listening. A need, and now a little less of one.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Matthew Jones in the 222nd pick, miles early. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Dwight McGlothern at pick 223 is a fall that decides a draft. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They will replay Ryan Flournoy at Round 7, Pick 9 for years; that is how good the value is. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.