B
Washington Commanders
The Commanders robbed the room for Fitzgerald. Final grade: B.
by AP2 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 7 steals
· 2 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Ryan Fitzgerald, the No. 117 name on the board, stolen at slot 250. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
Mesidor has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck.
The quarterback hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
They robbed the room for Tre Harris here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Donovan Jackson at par in the 79th pick, which is nothing to complain about. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, Deone Walker in pick No. 99, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A quiet steal in the Round 4 slot: Denzel Burke for less than the market said. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A tidy bit of business in slot 148, where Cody Simon graded well above the range. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
You do not let a running back like Cam Skattebo reach pick 207 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Steal is underselling it; Mitchell Evans at the 217th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A big swing on Akheem Mesidor at No. 238, well ahead of any board in the building. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Taking Ryan Fitzgerald in Round 7, Pick 32 is close to grand larceny; a specialist that good had no business lasting this long. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Makari Paige. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.