A-
Washington Commanders
The Commanders won the night they stopped Dorlus from sliding. Grade: A-.
by 0987 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 10 steals
· 2 reaches
The board owed the Commanders one, and it paid up: Brandon Dorlus, the No. 70 name on the board, sitting there at the 101st overall pick like a gift left on the doorstep. Very little went wrong, and the A- is earned.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. The running back hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Bottom line, with Olumuyiwa Fashanu leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a cornerstone up front. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 36, where Jordan Morgan graded well above the range. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ja'Tavion Sanders in No. 43 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Brenden Rice in pick 67 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Circle this one: Brandon Dorlus at the 101st pick is a fall that decides a draft. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Michael Hall Jr. in the 103rd overall pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They robbed the room for Josh Newton here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Beau Brade at Round 4, Pick 27. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
DJ James at Round 4, Pick 36 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They barely believed it either: Ainias Smith still on the board at pick 138. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board fumbled Renardo Green all the way to the 181st pick, and they scooped it up. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A premium they did not need to pay, Sam Hartman a notch or two before his time. It fills a real need, too.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 205 with a little surplus value in JD Bertrand. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. at slot 208 is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They let Isaiah Williams come to them and pounced at No. 220. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Nothing to complain about; Trevor Keegan went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Good price on Nathaniel Watson in the 255th pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.