B
Washington Commanders
Best value of the weekend goes to the Commanders for Barton: B.
by FWMCRULES ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 7 steals
· 2 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Commanders were there to profit. Lander Barton, the No. 137 name on the board, should have been long gone before No. 236. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B.
They will need Thornton Jr. to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. A whole weekend of picks and cornerback is somehow still a want. They went 4 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Nearly every premium pick went to that side of the ball.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but cornerback.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 29 they get a two-high chess piece, and a steal at that.
Jihaad Campbell in pick 61 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They will replay Dylan Sampson at the 96th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at pick No. 126 is the definition of value, full stop. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jared Wilson at the 132nd pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Dont'e Thornton Jr. this early at Round 5, Pick 9. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Oronde Gadsden II in the Round 6 slot, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They robbed the room for Lander Barton here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They paid a round early for Aubrey Burks in slot 247, more than the board wanted. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.