D+
Washington Commanders
The Commanders won the night they stopped Green from sliding. Grade: D+.
by The Top Cat ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 1 steals
· 4 reaches
The phones were a trap the Commanders kept walking into, shipping out surplus on nearly every deal.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Every board in the league had Boerkircher lower, and that gap is the story. Getting Green where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and edge rusher is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 7 they get a ballhawk on the back end at fair value. More want than need.
By-the-book stuff, Germie Bernard at slot 65 squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Elijah Sarratt at the 71st overall pick, value and slot in agreement. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Julian Neal at No. 108 is a conviction pick that outran the value. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A premium they did not need to pay, Nate Boerkircher a notch or two before his time. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They jumped the gun on Matt Gulbin, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Domani Jackson at pick 183 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Kaleb Elarms-Orr in the 187th overall pick. A minor itch, scratched.
They barely believed it either: Taylen Green still on the board at the Round 6 slot. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board had cheaper options than Miles Kitselman at No. 223, and it noticed. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.