B+
Washington Commanders
The Commanders fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by CoachEastman ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 6 steals
· 5 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Jacob Cowing tumbling to the Commanders in the 228th pick is a gift they did not have to think twice about. Call it a sensible B+, earned the boring way.
The Bartholomew pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. The phones were where this weekend was really won. They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 10th pick they get a ballhawk on the outside. The biggest hole, addressed.
A big swing on Leonard Taylor III at slot 36, well ahead of any board in the building. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A straight-up fair deal on Kingsley Suamataia at the Round 2 slot, value and slot in agreement. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Mohamed Kamara at pick 71 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Taking Chris Braswell in the 100th overall pick is close to grand larceny; an edge rusher that good had no business lasting this long. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They read the board right and Graham Barton was the payoff at the 112th pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Danny Stutsman in No. 130 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They reached into another round for Drake Nugent, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They will replay Tommy Eichenberg at pick No. 151 for years; that is how good the value is. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Steal is underselling it; Cole Bishop at Round 5, Pick 34 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
By-the-book stuff, Jaden Hicks at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Jacob Cowing at slot 228 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Brant Kuithe this early at Round 7, Pick 13. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Gavin Bartholomew in pick No. 251 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.