The Washington Commanders were well-represented at the annual League Meetings in Arizona with Managing Partner Josh Harris, general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn all addressing a mix of local and national reporters.
While Harris spoke in depth about the Commanders’ stadium plans and Quinn provided some insight about the team’s free agency haul, Peters was asked mostly about the thing that is currently his main focus: the draft. Peters normally keeps his plans close to the chest, and with three weeks until the first round kicks off, he isn’t changing those plans now.
However, he did provide a few nuggets of information on his thoughts about this year’s draft class. Let’s dive into them.
There’s no certainty on who will be available at No. 7 overall.
The Commanders have the chance to take an impact player when they’re on the clock at No. 7 overall, but it’s unclear which players will still be on the board.
“I have no idea who’s gonna be there at seven right now,” Peters said. “I mean, there’s a couple guys that I know are gonna be gone, but then how that goes after that, I don’t know.”
Nothing is completely certain, but it’s widely accepted that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza will be the Las Vegas Raiders’ pick at No. 1 overall. Although there are some general assumptions that can be made for the next five picks, such as at least one of the top pass rushers between David Bailey, Arvell Reese and Rueben Bain Jr. likely being off the board, things get murky after that. Most of that comes from the fact that the top of this year’s class is dominated by players at non-traditionally valuable positions like safety, linebacker and running back.
There are several possibilities for what Washington could do with their pick, and considering how many positions the team needs to address, there are few wrong answers. The Commanders have been connected to linebacker Sonny Styles, wide receiver Carnell Tate, running back Jeremiyah Love and safety Caleb Downs in mock drafts. There are even recent mocks that have the Commanders taking cornerback Mansoor Delane and wideout Jordyn Tyson. All those options could make sense for the Commanders in the right scenario.
Much like their free agency approach, the Commanders will need to sit back, do their research and see what comes to them.
“We still have a lot of touch points with the guys,” Peters said. “We have 30 visits coming in, so [we’re] kind of getting an understanding of the landscape and who these guys are even a little bit more. But…it’s a mystery to me right now. And so, we just gotta be ready for anybody.”