B+
Washington Commanders
The Commanders turned the phones into found money: B+.
by CoachEastman ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 23 picks
· 5 steals
· 11 reaches
Some picks age like wine; Rodrigues Clark at the Round 7 slot will need to, sitting 244 spots clear of his grade. It does the job without flash, and the B+ reflects it.
They banked enough surplus on Hart to cover a lot of smaller sins. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own. They went 8 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 19 they get a load in the middle, though they paid up to get him. A real need, handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Cooper DeJean at the 52nd pick, value and slot in agreement. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kingsley Suamataia at slot 68 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Mohamed Kamara at pick 71 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The roster fit checks out.
A tidy bit of business in the 107th overall pick, where Tory Horton graded well above the range. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Junior Colson in the Round 4 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A cornerback of that caliber at slot 119 is the definition of value, full stop. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Troy Fautanu in the Round 4 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Ty'Ron Hopper at pick 141 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Cole Bishop in the 144th pick. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Christian Mahogany well ahead of where he belonged. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A clean, defensible pick in the 185th overall pick with a little surplus value in Brevyn Spann-Ford. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Brant Kuithe at Round 6, Pick 26, and the board did not agree. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cam Hart at No. 213 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jawhar Jordan at the 225th overall pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They took Jason Henderson at par in No. 228, which is nothing to complain about. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Jackson Mitchell in the 232nd pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Steele Chambers at Round 7, Pick 19 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A real head-scratcher, Donte Kent in the Round 7 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Jordan Toles in slot 244 says they were not listening. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A wild overpay on Austin Reed in pick 248, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached a country mile for Blake Watson at pick No. 249, and the board is aghast. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Rodrigues Clark. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.