C
Washington Commanders
The Commanders found their guy under center in McCarthy: C.
by RSW ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Commanders committed. J.J. McCarthy is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. The final tally is a middling C.
The McGlothern pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. McCarthy has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. That interior defensive lineman hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
The dealing tilted against them, just enough to notice.
If J.J. McCarthy and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 4 they get a long-term answer under center, though the board says they badly overpaid.
Chris Braswell in pick 35 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A need, and now a little less of one.
By-the-book stuff, Edgerrin Cooper at the 36th pick squarely in line with his ranking. A minor itch, scratched.
Xavier Worthy in Round 2, Pick 8 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Bucky Irving at the Round 3 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A straight-up fair deal on Zak Zinter at the 101st overall pick, value and slot in agreement. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Matt Goncalves at pick No. 103 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No drama and no debate, Theo Johnson went about where he belonged in No. 138. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Kamal Hadden in No. 181. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Dwight McGlothern still on the board at the 220th overall pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They will replay Cornelius Johnson at pick No. 221 for years; that is how good the value is. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.