Washington Commanders: Re-evaluating the last 7 NFL drafts
April 5, 2026, 6:30 a.m. ET
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.
2025 NFL DraftJosh Conerly, OT (29)Trey Amons, CB (61)Jaylin Lane, WR (128)Kain Medrano, LB (208)Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB (245)2024 NFL DraftJayden Daniels, QB (2)Jer’Zhan Newton, DT (36)Mike Sainristil, CB (50)Ben Sinnott, TE (53)Brandon Coleman, OT (67)Luke McCaffrey, WR (100)Jordan Magee, LB (139)Dominique Hampton, S, (161)Javontae Jean-Baptiste, DE (222)Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.2023 NFL DraftEmmanuel Forbes, CB (16)Quan Martin, S, (47)Ricky Stromberg, OL (97)Braeden Daniels, OL (118)K.J. Henry, LB (137)Chris Rodriguez, RB (193)Andre Jones, DE/LB (233)2022 NFL DraftJahan Dotson, WR (16)Phidarian Mathis, DT (47)Brian Robinson, Jr RB (98)Percy Butler, S (113)Sam Howell, QB (144)Cole Turner, TE (149)Chris Paul, G (230)Christian Holmes, CB (240)2021 NFL DraftJamin Davis, LB (19)Samuel Cosmi, OT (51)Benjamin St-Juste, CB (74)Dyami Brown, WR (82)John Bates, TE (124)Darrick Forrest, S (163)Camaron Cheeseman, LS (225)William Bradley-King, LB (240)Shaka Toney, DE (246)Dax Milne, WR (258)2020 NFL DraftChase Young, DE (2)Antonio Gibson, RB (66)Saahdiq Charles, T (108)Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR (142)Keith Ismael, C (156)Khaleke Hudson, LB (162)Kamren Curl, S (216)James Smith-Williams DE, (229)2019 NFL DraftDwayne Haskins, QB (15)Montez Sweat, DE (26)Terry McLaurin, WR (76)Bryce Love, RB (112)Wes Martin, G (131)Ross Pierschbacher, G (153)Cole Holcomb, LB (173)Kelvin Harmon, WR (206)Jimmy Moreland, CB (227)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.
© 2026 commanderswire.usatoday.com. All rights reserved.