The NFL 2026 Draft will be here in less than three weeks.
An NFL rookie contract is four years in duration, except when the team exercises its fifth-year option on first-round draft choices. Let’s provide you with the last seven years of the Washington Commanders‘ drafts, and then you can make your decision on how well Washington has drafted.
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2025 NFL Draft
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB (245)
2024 NFL Draft
Dominique Hampton, S, (161)
Javontae Jean-Baptiste, DE (222)
2023 NFL Draft
Braeden Daniels, OL (118)
Chris Rodriguez, RB (193)
2022 NFL Draft
Phidarian Mathis, DT (47)
Brian Robinson, Jr RB (98)
Christian Holmes, CB (240)
2021 NFL Draft
Benjamin St-Juste, CB (74)
Camaron Cheeseman, LS (225)
William Bradley-King, LB (240)
2020 NFL Draft
Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR (142)
James Smith-Williams DE, (229)
2019 NFL Draft
Ross Pierschbacher, G (153)
Jordan Brailford, DE (253)
So what do you think? One thing worth noting is that Washington did not exercise its fifth-year option on any of its first-round picks from 2020-23. In fact, none of the four players drafted in that period even finished out their rookie contract in Washington. Those failures explain the talent deficit GM Adam Peters has been working to address since he was hired in January 2024.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Re-evaluating the last 7 NFL drafts