The Washington Commanders didn’t make any sudden moves at the trade deadline on Tuesday. With all of the injuries on both sides of the ball, it would be difficult for the Commanders to move anyone and still have enough depth to field a team, so it’s not super surprising that they didn’t move anyone this week.
The trade deadline saw a flurry of movement from the New York Jets, and a few other teams made some changes as well. With all of that movement, the 2026 NFL draft order has changed. It will still change before the season is over, but if the season were to end today, the Commanders would have the ninth overall pick.
If the Commanders continue to lose games, their first-round draft spot will likely change. But the bigger question is, what do the Commanders do with that pick? Going back to the 2020 NFL draft, the Commanders have had 47 picks in total. Of those 47 picks, 18 remain on the roster, 13 of which were selected in 2024 or 2025.
Granted, some of that is because there was a coaching and a general manager change after the 2023 season. The Commanders had a horrible drafting record under former coach/GM Ron Rivera, with none of his four first-round picks still on the roster. Now that Adam Peters is the guy calling the shots, though, it seems like we might get to see rookies develop as they should.
This season is essentially over for the Commanders. They will be using their draft picks wisely in 2026. Currently, they have six total picks for the 2026 NFL draft after losing their second and fourth-round picks in the Laremy Tunsil trade (which was worth it). This draft will be more focused on getting weapons for Jayden Daniels and bolstering the defense to avoid silly losses.