D
Washington Commanders
The Commanders answered their biggest question with Daniels. Grade: D.
by zdan21 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 5 steals
· 0 reaches
The trade table was where it all came apart. The Commanders shipped out far more than they hauled back, and no amount of spin dresses up the bill. A D that will need time and luck to look better.
So much rides on Jayden Daniels that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. The Commanders indulged a want in Kinchens while a need in tight end stayed open.
They punted on tight end, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. The Coleman steal is the beam this whole class leans on.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, tight end very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 8 they get their guy under center for the next decade. A clean fit for the roster.
In slot 12 they get a long-term starter on the line at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in No. 43. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy little value on Payton Wilson in Round 2, Pick 16, a step better than break-even. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Kingsley Suamataia at the 52nd pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Fair-plus on Javon Bullard, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A minor itch, scratched.
Keon Coleman in the 71st overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Kamren Kinchens adds a safety and leaves tight end untouched.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending pick 83 on Cade Stover with tight end unsolved.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jaylen Wright at pick No. 96 is the proof. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They took Christian Mahogany at par in the Round 4 slot, which is nothing to complain about. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 103 with a little surplus value in Leonard Taylor III. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Steal is underselling it; Jonah Elliss at the 115th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Kalen King in the 138th pick is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Marist Liufau at Round 5, Pick 16 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Luke McCaffrey in No. 181. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Circle this one: Layden Robinson at pick 195 is a fall that decides a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Tyrice Knight in the 220th pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. Stacking talent where they were already deep.