The 2024 season went just about as well as possible for the Washington Commanders, but their 2025 campaign is effectively a lost season.
With the year coming to a close in the next few weeks, most Commanders fans are looking ahead to mock draft season.
As of now, they hold the 6th overall pick. With a 3-9 record, they could jump a few teams depending on how their season finishes.
There are two goals with the Commanders: get younger and add talent all across the board. On top of that, while you don’t want to reach just to fill a need, one of these two picks has to be defense.
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Washington Commanders 2026 NFL Mock Draft
In the first three rounds, the Commanders only have two picks as they sent away their 2026 2nd round pick as part of that Laremy Tunsil deal.
Before getting into the picks, it’s important to note that we’ll be doing no trades, and this is more so from the lens of what the Commanders will likely do, not what I would do based on my own big board.
First Round Pick (6th Overall): Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
It’s a bit tough to pick at No. 6 because you miss out on some of the elite talent if only two of the three top quarterbacks go. In this scenario, Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs, Ty Simpson, Dante Moore, and Rueben Bain Jr are all off the board.
While you could replace Simpson with Fernando Mendoza, the draft playing out like this at the top seems very possible. If Moore goes back to school, you can replace his spot with Mendoza.
The first option with this pick was Jermod McCoy, who seems to be the top-ranked cornerback in this class for NFL teams.
However, with McCoy coming off an injury and the Commanders really needing to hit on this pick, they might not want to take that swing. Instead, having them take Jordyn Tyson, who is going to be the top player on the board for many, makes a ton of sense.
Tyson is the consensus WR1 on NFL Mock Draft Database, and he’s been having a phenomenal year at Arizona State. Some fans may not like it, but the Commanders need to get younger at wide receiver.
Deebo Samuel is already 29 years old, and he will become a free agent in the offseason. It doesn’t seem super likely at this point that he’ll be back with the team. Terry McLaurin is fantastic, but he’s also 30 years old.
The fit isn’t perfect next to McLaurin, but if the Commanders want a safe pick, Tyson makes more sense than fellow receiver Makai Lemon.
Third Round Pick (70th Overall): A.J. Haulcy, S, LSU
A ton of mock drafts have the Commanders taking Caleb Downs No. 6, but that wasn’t even an option in this scenario. However, in this mock draft, the Commanders get an opportunity to pick up another safety at a discount.
LSU’s A.J. Haulcy fell to No. 70 in this mock, and if that does happen on draft day, the Commanders should be absolutely ecstatic. Many believe Haulcy can be a top-50 player, but it also wouldn’t be completely absurd if he were to fall this far.
Here’s my brief scouting report on why NFL teams are going to love Haulcy:
“Haulcy can really play anywhere on defense. In 2024, Haulcy had 100 snaps in the slot, 234 in the box, and 363 back deep…Haulcy is a bigger safety at 6’0” and 222 lbs who can cover well at his size but also play the run with power…Haulcy could be a bit more polished in the run game.”