B
Washington Commanders
The Commanders won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B.
by WannaBeJudon1020 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 6 steals
· 3 reaches
The Commanders bet big and early on Michael Barrett, 39 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. The Sainristil pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. The veteran additions, Kyle Pitts chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 22 they get a bendy edge with upside. A clean fit for the roster.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jordan Morgan. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A quiet steal in slot 35: Keon Coleman for less than the market said. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board had cheaper options than J.J. McCarthy at the 36th overall pick, and it noticed. A need, and now a little less of one.
Quinyon Mitchell is a better player than pick No. 43 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They took Edgerrin Cooper at par in the Round 2 slot, which is nothing to complain about. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They read the board right and Xavier Worthy was the payoff at No. 61. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Sedrick Van Pran at the 85th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cade Stover in pick No. 95 is fair value, right on his grade. It fits a board better than it fits this team.
Nothing to complain about; Zak Zinter went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking Mike Sainristil in slot 102 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Leonard Taylor III at the Round 4 slot is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Ty'Ron Hopper in the 137th pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A wild overpay on Michael Barrett in pick 141, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Cody Schrader at pick No. 172 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A straight-up fair deal on Josh Proctor at the Round 6 slot, value and slot in agreement. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
AJ Barner slipping to slot 196 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Good price on Taulia Tagovailoa in the 223rd pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The roster fit checks out.
Aaron Frost in pick 250 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.