There is no elegant way to contextualize a 4–12 season, and by the time Washington limps into Week 18 of the 2025 campaign, the answers are no longer found in weekly matchups or marginal schematic tweaks. They live instead in first principles: roster construction, identity, and the type of foundation the organization wants to build as it stares into 2026.
First, context, because folks, this is not a roster one premium free agent signing or a blue chip prospect away from getting back to an NFC title game. It is a group that lacks talent and connective tissue on defense, consistent physicality on the perimeter, and long-term answers at several premium positions. Heck, you could argue the roster only has three blue-chip players (Daniels, McLaurin, Tunsil), and each are on one side of the football.
The 2026 draft, therefore, becomes less about chasing short-term fixes and more about acquiring contributing, tone-setting players who can survive schematic changes and elevate those around them.
With only six picks currently at GM Adam Peters’ disposal, Washington, as it stands, can’t afford luxury selections. Now, while we could argue all day about how the potential impact of Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love next to Jayden Daniels, each pick must serve multiple purposes: schematic versatility, impact, and the bottom line? Find ballplayers.
What follows is a seven-round mock draft — six selections total — designed to reflect that reality.
Round 1, Pick No. 7 Overall: Caleb Downs, Safety, Ohio State
You have to hit on a pick inside the top seven — no ifs, ands, or buts about it. For the burgundy and gold, that begins with Caleb Downs, a player whose understanding and execution of the finer details of the game can change the math from a matchup perspective before the ball is even snapped.
His anticipation isn’t reactive; it’s predictive. Downs can recognize route distribution and quarterback intent simultaneously, closing space and throwing lanes that initially look vacant, also. He makes everything look easy, and for Washington, where everything looked like a struggle in 2025, it would provide a massive breath of fresh air.
Against the run, his instincts are equally rare. The former five-star recruit out of Hoschton, Georgia consistently takes angles that erase cutback lanes while maintaining disciplined outside leverage on boundary concepts, and he doesn’t chase plays, he compresses them. That ability alone changes how aggressive a front seven can be, knowing there is a safety behind them who understands spacing and pursuit angles at a high level.
As a tackler, Downs blends intelligent violence with precision. He breaks down in space with balance, finishing through the ball carrier rather than at him, and his missed-tackle rate sits among the lowest in the class, a reflection not just of form, but of timing and intent.
In coverage, Downs offers what we talked about at the top with alignment versatility. He moves with fluidity in man situations, mirroring tight ends and slot receivers with patience through stems and break points. In zone, his awareness becomes a weapon. He manipulates quarterbacks with subtle shifts in body position, maintaining ideal spacing between route combinations and routinely baiting throws he is prepared to contest (check out the Penn State tape).
Physically, he is a punishing hitter who transfers power through his hips, delivering impact without recklessness. Just as importantly, he brings leadership traits that start with his play within the hashes — something Washington needs more of.
Not talkers, ballplayers.
Round 3, Pick No. 71 Overall: Akheem Mesidor, EDGE, Miami
You are all aware of the injuries Washington has suffered at the position, but the pass rush has lacked consistency overall, not effort. In this spot, Mesidor addresses that gap with explosiveness, versatility, and a relentless motor.
One of the more mature prospects in the class (six seasons in CFB), Mesidor’s first step is immediate and disruptive, allowing him to penetrate the backfield before protection schemes fully materialize. His 30 career tackles for loss weren’t the product of schemed opportunities; but of timing, anticipation, and burst during his time at West Virginia and Miami.
He wins early, and that trait translates.
What elevates Mesidor’s value is his positional flexibility. He can align across the defensive front, providing schematic freedom in both even and odd fronts, and his hand usage and leverage are advanced, enabling him to shed blocks and maintain gap integrity rather than freelancing for splash plays.
The motor also never stops. He consistently pursues plays across the formation, showing up downfield or on the backside when the design says he should be blocked out of the play, and that effort matters on a defense trying to reestablish standards.
As a pass rusher, he shows good bend and flexibility for his size (verified in-season measurement at 6-foot-2, 273 pounds), turning the corner effectively while maintaining balance through contact. Beyond sacks (nine in 2025), he disrupts passing lanes with active hands, batting down throws and forcing quarterbacks to alter trajectories.
Having produced against high-level competition in both the Big 12 and ACC, he projects as a rotational edge early with the upside to grow into a reliable starter. For Washington, he represents functional pressure — something the defense has lacked far too often.
Round 5, Pick No. 146 Overall: Jalon Kilgore, CB, South Carolina
Kilgore would enter Washington with a reputation that precedes the tape: physical, intimidating, and unapologetic. But beneath the enforcer label is a nuanced, versatile perimeter stalwart with over 2,200 snaps of SEC football under his belt.
A 2023 First-Team Freshman All-American, Kilgore brings elite size and speed for the position, immediately altering how receivers approach the middle of the field. As a hitter, he plays with controlled violence, arriving downhill with intent and rarely missing his target.
A former All-State long jumper and high school wide receiver, his background on the opposite side of the ball shows up in contested catch situations, where he tracks the football with ease. In zone, his instincts shine. He plays the quarterback’s eyes, not just the route, baiting throws and jumping lanes with good timing with a quick trigger.
As a run defender, Kilgore is beyond his years. He takes smart angles, triggers decisively from the nickel, and doesn’t hesitate to engage bigger bodies. His positional flexibility also allows him to play outside corner, nickel, or deep safety, giving Dan Quinn a matchup chess piece against varied personnel groupings.
For his size (6-foot-1, 211 pounds), his change-of-direction ability is impressive as he touts the ability to mirror shifty slot receivers despite carrying significantly more mass than most corners.
Within Washington’s youth-infused secondary headlined by Mike Sainristil and Trey Amos, Kilgore would bring edge and versatility to the room.
Round 6, Pick No. 185 Overall: Harold Perkins Jr, LB/ED, LSU
Perkins Jr. enters the draft as one of the more polarizing evaluations in the class.
At 222 pounds and still only 21 years old, Perkins is a former blue-chip recruit whose trajectory has trended sharply downward after once looking like one of the most dynamic defensive players in college football. However, the physical talent is still obvious; the question is how, and where, it translates at the next level.
The bottom line remains that Perkins is an elite explosive athlete with rare closing speed and burst for his size. When deployed as a pass rusher, he flashes sudden first-step quickness, the ability to flatten to the quarterback, and natural timing as a blitzer. His best football has consistently come in space or when attacking downhill, rather than stacking and shedding blocks in traditional linebacker alignments.
Asking him to play as a full-time off-ball ‘backer exposes his limitations, however, as he lacks ideal size and play strength to consistently take on blocks or anchor against downhill run concepts.
As a true edge defender, Perkins also falls into a gray area. He doesn’t have the length or mass to survive as a base defensive end on early downs, however, his speed-to-power ability and acceleration make him a problem when offenses are forced into obvious passing situations. In that sense, his best projection is not as a defined position player, but as a sub-package weapon.
For now, Perkins profiles most cleanly as a modern NFL “spinner” or chess-piece defender — used as a sub-package edge rusher, pressure player, and matchup piece in the fringe areas of the formation. In the right system, he can threaten protections from multiple alignments, stress running backs in pass protection, and close quickly on quarterbacks who hold the football.
The inconsistency in his role at LSU likely contributed to his stalled development, and the lack of a clear positional identity has driven his fall on draft boards. Still, on Day 3 here, the risk-reward calculus shifts. Perkins is young, extremely explosive, and flashes traits that simply can’t be taught.
If the light bulb clicks in a defined, simplified role with the correct development, he has the upside to become one of the steals of the draft.
Round 6, Pick No. 197 Overall: Terrance Carter Jr., TE, Texas Tech
The situation at tight end for Washington remains a massive question heading into 2026. With Zach Ertz likely gone, the position needs reliability as much as explosiveness, and Terrance Carter Jr. offers both.
It would be silly to sit here and say Ben Sinnott absolutely can be the top ‘F’ weapon in the offense next fall, and more pop is needed.
One of the sleepers of the class that continues to rise on draft boards, the Louisiana transfer is a natural hands catcher, with the get-up-and-go to stress defenses both vertically, and horizontally. A player that Texas Tech used in short motion to create mismatches, along with a slew of designated touches (check out his 10-catch game against West Virginia), it speaks to the type of versatility and playmaking prowess Carter has in his game.
His catch radius is expansive as well, allowing signal-callers to be aggressive without fear. And once the ball is secured, his yards-after-catch ability takes over. He sees the field like a running back, using vision and open field quickness at 245 pounds to turn short completions into meaningful gains.
His route running is advanced for his size, also. He understands how to find soft spots in zone coverage and how to sit in windows against man looks, and without question, he’d enter Washington as their most fundamentally talented pass catcher at the position.
Round 7, Pick No. 220 Overall: Cian Sloane, EDGE, NC State
Sloane is a projection pick in the truest sense, but you can never have enough high effort pass rushers that will cut their teeth to get on the field. A Senior Bowl invite, his performance in Mobile will go a long way towards him improving a draft stock that currently sits on the Late Day 3 – UDFA ledge.
A transfer to Raleigh from Utah State, his technique flashes, particularly with his hands, and he is intentional in his rush plan with dip-rips, hand swipes, and effort-based wins around the edge. When left unblocked, he is sound against the run, shuffling down the line with discipline, squeezing lanes, and keeping quarterbacks honest on read concepts, as well. But what stands out is the effort. And although that may be a cliche’ term to use to make a prospect sound better than they actually are, it’s real with Sloane, who consistently from snap to snap, game to game, whistle to whistle, hustles his tail off to find himself near the football.
It’s a positive trait for a player with a big pre-draft process ahead, yet in the seventh round, Peters has typically bet on teachable traits: effort, technique, and awareness. Sloane profiles as a developmental edge who can contribute on special teams while refining his craft. And for a retooling roster, those bets matter.