D+
Washington Commanders
The Commanders let Washington Jr. fall and pounced. Final grade: D+.
by The Top Cat ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 7 steals
· 4 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Commanders did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high.
Foster has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
However the rest shakes out, Washington Jr. at that price is a win they earned.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and edge rusher is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 12 they get a ballhawk on the outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Germie Bernard in the Round 3 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Lee Hunter reach pick No. 72 and blink. They did not. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Taking Mike Washington Jr. in the 104th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Circle this one: Connor Lew at pick 105 is a fall that decides a draft. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Bryce Lance in Round 4, Pick 10 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jalon Kilgore in the 126th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They jumped the gun on Drew Allar, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nate Boerkircher at slot 145 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, DeMonte Capehart at pick No. 147. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 6 slot, where Domani Jackson graded well above the range. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
No edge and no loss on VJ Payne in pick 187; it is a wash and a sensible one. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A tidy little value on Dalton Johnson in the 209th pick, a step better than break-even. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
By-the-book stuff, Keyshaun Elliott at No. 217 squarely in line with his ranking. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Trey Zuhn III at Round 7, Pick 5 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They reached a country mile for Bryce Foster at the Round 7 slot, and the board is aghast. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Miles Kitselman in pick No. 226 lands just on the right side of the ledger. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.