C+
Washington Commanders
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Commanders to a C+.
by The Top Cat ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 9 steals
· 3 reaches
Somebody took the Commanders to the cleaners. The deals they made bled real value, and the whole class wears it.
Zuhn III has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. That is a safety worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.
They will answer for taking safety early while edge rusher went begging. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
So much rides on Sonny Styles that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 26 they get a three-down second-level presence. More want than need.
Lee Hunter at the 57th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They read the board right and A.J. Haulcy was the payoff at the 60th overall pick. A minor itch, scratched.
Jake Slaughter is a better player than Round 3, Pick 1 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose safety. Kamari Ramsey in pick 98 leaves edge rusher for later.
They took Emmett Johnson at par in slot 104, which is nothing to complain about. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
No edge and no loss on Tacario Davis in No. 107; it is a wash and a sensible one. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They let De'Zhaun Stribling come to them and pounced at the Round 4 slot. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Billy Schrauth at the 126th overall pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Joe Royer at pick 129 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nate Boerkircher in No. 147 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board had Aaron Anderson higher than pick No. 183, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Domani Jackson at the 187th pick is the proof. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Eric McAlister slid further than he should have, and Round 6, Pick 25 is lovely value for the wide receiver. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cole Payton slipping to the Round 6 slot is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Trey Zuhn III well ahead of where he belonged. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A wild overpay on Bryce Foster in the 223rd overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.