The Washington Commanders defense is still a work in progress under Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr, but not only are they in the NFC Championship Game for the first time in 33 years, they’ve found themselves a rising star at cornerback.

Former University of Michigan standout Mike Sainristil started as a wide receiver before switching to cornerback—sound familiar, Seahawks fans?—quickly going from an unremarkable receiver to an All-American First-Team selection in his senior season. His draft stock rose all the way to the second round, where the Commanders selected him.

In last Saturday’s upset win over the Detroit Lions, Sainristil had a critical interception before halftime to prevent the Lions from scoring again, then had effectively the game-clinching pick off of a Jameson Williams trick play gone wrong.

Sainristil now has four interceptions on the year to go along with his 11 passes defensed. He’s had his ups and downs like any rookie but he’s been a net positive for Washington.

An interesting side story is how the Commanders got Sainristil in the first place. I suppose nothing was stopping them from taking him at No. 40, but Washington moved down in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before we get into that, let’s rewind to when the Seahawks traded for Sam Howell.

Revisiting the Sam Howell trade
Seahawks received

2024 fourth-round pick (No. 102)

2024 sixth-round pick (No. 179)

QB Sam Howell

Commanders received

2024 third-round pick (No. 78)

2024 fifth-round pick (No. 152)

The Commanders used both of those Seahawks picks in a separate deal with the Eagles that netted them an additional second-round pick.

Commanders trade with Eagles
Commanders received

2024 second-round pick (No. 50) – CB Mike Sainristil

2024 second-round pick (No. 53) – TE Ben Sinnott

2024 fifth-round pick (No. 161) – S Dominique Hampton

Eagles received

2024 second-round pick (No. 40)

2024 third-round pick (No. 78) – Via Seahawks

2024 fifth-round pick (No. 152) – Via Seahawks

Washington had its own third-rounder but that extra third from the Seahawks meant they could fetch a bonus second-rounder and still stay in the third round of the draft. Sainristil was selected at No. 50. Philadelphia, incidentally, got do-it-all DB Cooper DeJean at No. 40, wide receiver Ainias Smith at No. 152, and traded down from No. 78 to No. 86, then flipped No. 86 to the San Francisco 49ers, who selected guard Dominick Puni.

Before you think this is a “John Schneider sucks” article, it has to be noted that the Seahawks used their sixth-rounder on guard Sautoa Laumea, who’s showed considerable promise after his insertion into the starting lineup over the final month of the season, while the fourth-rounder led to a trade down with the Denver Broncos to get tight end A.J. Barner, cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, and tackle Michael Jerrell. Barner might be the best of those four picks both short- and long-term.

The Howell trade looks to be a a damn good piece of business for Commanders GM Adam Peters if his big Day 2 trade nets him a franchise cornerback in addition to the franchise quarterback he seemingly already has in Jayden Daniels.