A-
Washington Commanders
Nobody dealt better than the Commanders this weekend: A-.
by CoachEastman ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 7 steals
· 9 reaches
The Justin Eboigbe selection is the head-turner. The Commanders reached 165 spots for him, and it will define how this weekend is remembered. It holds up to a second look, which is why it earns the A-.
The Ford pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own.
They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it. The hoard sets up next April more than it helps this September.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 19 they get an island corner, reach and all. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A reach for Cooper DeJean in the 39th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Steal is underselling it; Taliese Fuaga at slot 44 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A wild overpay on Payton Wilson in the Round 3 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A minor itch, scratched.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Amarius Mims in the 100th overall pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Troy Fautanu in pick 109 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Graham Barton in pick No. 110 lands just on the right side of the ledger. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Dallin Holker. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Beau Brade in slot 153 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Jamon Dumas-Johnson at the 160th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They talked themselves into Landon Jackson at No. 176, and the board did not agree. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Justin Eboigbe at the 185th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Lathan Ransom at Round 6, Pick 12 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Jacob Cowing in the Round 6 slot is fair value, right on his grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They went early on Caden Prieskorn in pick 214, and the value did not follow. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Devin Neal in the 216th pick, plain and simple. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
You do not let a linebacker like Jaylan Ford reach pick No. 228 and blink. They did not. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They liked Jason Henderson enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 7 slot. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.