A-
Washington Commanders
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Commanders and Robinson: A-.
by mwilliams ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 21 picks
· 12 steals
· 4 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Layden Robinson tumbling to the Commanders in pick No. 220 is a gift they did not have to think twice about. The board rewarded a patient, disciplined weekend with a A-.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. Every board in the league had Barner lower, and that gap is the story. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
Bottom line, with Taliese Fuaga leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 14 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Jordan Morgan slipping to the 36th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They jumped the gun on Jackson Powers-Johnson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Kamren Kinchens in pick No. 40. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Jermaine Burton in the 67th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Edgerrin Cooper here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
The board fumbled Ladd McConkey all the way to pick 76, and they scooped it up. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at slot 101 is the definition of value, full stop. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They will replay Christian Mahogany at Round 4, Pick 3 for years; that is how good the value is. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking Caelen Carson in the 107th pick is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Spencer Rattler at No. 109 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It fills a real need, too.
They barely believed it either: Josh Newton still on the board at the Round 4 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Nothing to complain about; Ray Davis went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Theo Johnson in the 138th overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
By-the-book stuff, Jaheim Bell at slot 141 squarely in line with his ranking. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
James Williams at pick No. 143 is money in the bank, a safety taken below his worth. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Braelon Allen in slot 147 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They reached into another round for AJ Barner, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jaylin Simpson in pick No. 182 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Layden Robinson reach the 220th overall pick and blink. They did not. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Sam Hartman at No. 230 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.