Jan. 29, 2026, 7:03 a.m. ET
It’s officially mock draft season for all but two teams in the NFL.
As a result, we’ve seen countless predictions about who the Washington Commanders will take with the No. 7 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Most mocks so far have had the Commanders taking a defender, as the defense was a massive problem in 2025.
However, one recent mock draft has the team going in a different direction and taking a possible game-changer for the offense.
NFL analyst Bucky Brooks dropped his first mock on Wednesday and has the Commanders selecting Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. Tyson is considered one of the best wide receiver prospects in this class and could be an immediate difference-maker in Washington.
Tyson missed a couple of games with injury in 2025, but his 2024 season alone caught the attention of NFL scouts. In 2024, Tyson caught 75 passes for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.
In 2025, Tyson caught 61 passes for 711 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games. He caught four touchdowns as a freshman at Colorado before transferring to Arizona State ahead of the 2023 season, giving him 22 for his collegiate career.
Tyson is big enough to excel at catching 50/50 balls, but also has the quickness to get open across the middle of the field. The Arizona State product earned an 82.9 Pro Football Focus grade in 2025, which was 36th out of 676 qualified receivers.
While much of the focus has been on the Commanders adding to the defense, Tyson could be too good to pass up. It’s not like receiver isn’t a need, either, as the Commanders could definitely use some help there.
Deebo Samuel, Noah Brown, Chris Moore, and Treylon Burks are all headed for free agency, leaving Terry McLaurin, Luke McCaffrey, and Jaylin Lane as the only remaining options.
If Samuel leaves in free agency, the Commanders could feel good about a McLaurin-Tyson duo in 2026. If Tyson is the pick, expect the majority of the rest of the team’s picks to go toward defense.