A-
Washington Commanders
The Commanders let Davis fall and pounced. Final grade: A-.
by Lohengrin ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Isaiah Davis got past him. The Commanders do not have to explain a thing at the 222nd pick. The board rewarded a patient, disciplined weekend with a A-.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. The Liufau pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at quarterback and interior defensive lineman. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
The veteran additions, Donovan Wilson chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
Bottom line, with Terrion Arnold leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a potential shutdown corner. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Jordan Morgan in the Round 2 slot lands just on the right side of the ledger. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Chop Robinson. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A tidy little value on Tyler Nubin in pick No. 36, a step better than break-even. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They paid a round early for Ja'Tavion Sanders in slot 40, more than the board wanted. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No drama and no debate, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. went about where he belonged in the 56th overall pick. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They did well to land Adisa Isaac in pick 67, just ahead of his grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They bypassed pressing needs at quarterback and interior defensive lineman to take Marist Liufau, a linebacker that was not the priority.
They took Sedrick Van Pran at par in Round 3, Pick 24, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Zak Zinter in pick No. 96 is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A slide stopped in the 100th pick, with Gabriel Murphy worth more than the price. The roster fit checks out.
A want over a need in pick 102: Tykee Smith adds a safety while quarterback and interior defensive lineman keeps waiting.
Malachi Corley in slot 104 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
DJ James at No. 120 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A conviction pick on Ty'Ron Hopper at the 141st overall pick that the board grades a round light. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, LaDarius Henderson in the Round 6 slot, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board fumbled Isaiah Davis all the way to pick No. 222, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Taking Miyan Williams in No. 223 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A straight-up fair deal on Nathaniel Watson at the Round 7 slot, value and slot in agreement. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.