Feb. 12, 2026, 6:16 a.m. ET

What are draft analysts seeing for the early picks in this year’s NFL Draft?

Dane Brugler of The Athletic joined “Grant & Danny” on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon.

“I think that when you have a top 10 pick, you want to draft the player that impacts your roster the most,” said Brugler in his first comment regarding the Washington Commanders. The Commanders have the No. 7 draft position, so Brugler was asking which player would impact the Commanders the most.

“You don’t go into the draft saying, ‘Well, we definitely need to go with this position or that position’. It’s all about what is going to impact your roster for not just 2026 but beyond and the next few years.”

“I think Washington is in an interesting spot, coming off a disappointing season. They did not live up to expectations, but this is still a team that could be right back in it next year. It’s (the draft) a balance between upside potential but then also a player than can help you pretty quickly, because that is what this team needs, what this coaching staff needs.”

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Brugler stated he believes there will be a lot of defense early in this draft. With a couple of big potential offensive players mixed in. As for the order, Brugler is certain that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza will go first. After that, he feels it is pretty open in the top 10 as to the order of selection.

Seeing there will not be a good quarterback on the board at No. 7, does Brugler see a team moving up in the draft to trade with the Commanders? This would provide the Commanders with another draft pick or two, which would help, since Washington does not have selections in the second or fourth rounds.

“For the right value, yes, I would be surprised, Maybe you take a little less to move back because you want to recoup some of those day-two picks, and you are not getting full value. You just hope you find somebody that absolutely loves one of these offensive tackles or somebody that really needs a corner and they want to move up for a Mansoor Delane (LSU).”

“You have to get lucky that you find the right dance partner that is really desperate for a certain player, because it’s just not that type of draft where we’re going to see a ton of trades in the top ten or twelve, unless you take a little of a discount because you are so desperate for day-two picks.”