A
Washington Commanders
Maye is the plan now, and the Commanders grade out a A.
by rcrump ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 15 steals
· 3 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. Kingsley Suamataia at Round 4, Pick 35 is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did.
Drake Maye is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. If Johnson pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Bottom line, they did the job about as well as it can be done.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 17 they get their guy under center for the next decade, and a steal at that. A clean fit for the roster.
They will replay Taliese Fuaga at the Round 2 slot for years; that is how good the value is. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Brian Thomas Jr. at the Round 2 slot is the proof. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Steal is underselling it; Kool-Aid McKinstry at slot 43 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Roman Wilson in pick No. 67 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Theo Johnson in the 75th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They robbed the room for Kamari Lassiter here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Somehow Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was still sitting there in No. 111, and they pounced on premier safety value. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
MarShawn Lloyd in Round 4, Pick 28 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Ty'Ron Hopper. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They barely believed it either: Kingsley Suamataia still on the board at pick 135. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Jordan Jefferson at pick No. 139, and the board did not agree. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
You do not let a wide receiver like Brenden Rice reach the Round 5 slot and blink. They did not. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Johnny Wilson at No. 150 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Caelen Carson in the 168th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A cornerback of that caliber at Round 5, Pick 34 is the definition of value, full stop. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Taking Christian Jones in slot 185 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Circle this one: Dwight McGlothern at the 222nd overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Tatum Bethune in pick 231 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.