You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Commanders did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. The board sounded every alarm, and the F is the fallout.
Caleb Williams is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. They are betting Eichenberg proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Smith-Wade. The Commanders indulged a want in Stover while a need in tight end and edge rusher stayed open.
They will regret leaving tight end for another day if the season turns on it. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
About as rough as a weekend gets on paper, with tight end still staring back at them.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.4
· Pick 4
· Caleb Williams
· QB
· rank 2
In pick 4 they get a franchise quarterback. A clean fit for the roster.
R1.6
· Pick 6
· Malik Nabers
· WR
· rank 4
Malik Nabers at the Round 1 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R1.9
· Pick 9
· Rome Odunze
· WR
· rank 9
In slot 9 they get a No. 1 receiver at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R1.27
· Pick 27
· Jackson Powers-Johnson
· C
· rank 29
In pick No. 27 they get a building block for the line. The biggest hole, addressed.
R2.3
· Pick 35
· Brian Thomas Jr.
· WR
· rank 23
Brian Thomas Jr. is a better player than the 35th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R2.4
· Pick 36
· Jordan Morgan
· OT
· rank 35
No drama and no debate, Jordan Morgan went about where he belonged in Round 2, Pick 4. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R2.8
· Pick 40
· Jer'Zhan Newton
· DL
· rank 12
Jer'Zhan Newton in No. 40 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R3.11
· Pick 75
· Junior Colson
· LB
· rank 50
They robbed the room for Junior Colson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R4.1
· Pick 101
· Cooper Beebe
· OG
· rank 76
Somehow Cooper Beebe was still sitting there in the 101st pick, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R4.3
· Pick 103
· Cade Stover
· TE-EDGE
· rank 85
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Cade Stover adds a TE-EDGE and leaves tight end and edge rusher untouched.
R4.5
· Pick 105
· Blake Corum
· RB
· rank 86
The board fumbled Blake Corum all the way to slot 105, and they scooped it up. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R4.11
· Pick 111
· Cedric Gray
· LB
· rank 126
A want over a need in the Round 4 slot: Cedric Gray adds a linebacker while tight end and edge rusher keeps waiting.
R4.23
· Pick 123
· Tommy Eichenberg
· LB
· rank 144
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Tommy Eichenberg at linebacker with tight end and edge rusher open.
R5.2
· Pick 138
· Matt Goncalves
· OT
· rank 114
They will replay Matt Goncalves at pick No. 138 for years; that is how good the value is. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R6.6
· Pick 181
· Chau Smith-Wade
· CB
· rank 133
Chau Smith-Wade at the 181st overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R6.45
· Pick 220
· Elijah Jones
· CB
· rank 193
Elijah Jones at No. 220 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R7.2
· Pick 222
· Joe Milton III
· QB
· rank 199
Steal is underselling it; Joe Milton III at pick 222 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
