Jan. 12, 2026, 5:45 a.m. ET
What is the difference between the fifth and the seventh overall draft choice in the 2026 NFL Draft?
Well, ultimately, no one at this point has any idea who those two selections will be; however, former Washington Redskins tight end and current Commanders analyst Logan Paulsen offered his brief reaction to this question.
“In my experience…if you do a good job with your board and identify your needs, you might be getting your second-best player at seven, because it’s for your team,” Paulsen told co-host Jason Johnson on the “Drive to the Draft” podcast. “And that, to me, is excellent value,” via Zach Selby over at Commanders.com.
On the season’s final weekend of games, both the Giants and Browns won, meaning if the Commanders lost to the Eagles, Washington would move up from No. 7 to the No. 5 position in April’s draft. But the Commanders outscored the Eagles 14-0 in the fourth quarter, defeating the Eagles, and thus moved down from No. 5 to No. 7 in the draft.
There was a time when former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson’s draft chart was a key factor in trade decisions. This difference was then 200 value points. Today, that value is much, much less. Paulsen, when asked, stressed that each team must always remember that the fit for their respective team is paramount.
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“Fit is important; vision for the player is extremely important. Infrastructure, coach, offense, defense, all that stuff is extremely important,” Paulsen said.
There is still plenty of time, as GM Adam Peters and his staff seek to do all their homework on those players who will be drafted in the five to seven range, and then also down several spots, informing Peters if he might want to trade down.
In Peters’ two drafts as Commanders’ GM, he took QB Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 choice in 2024 and OT Josh Conerly at No. 29 in 2025.