![\"Treydan](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1801085293-e1775821085417.jpg\")
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University of Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes. <\/p>\n
So much focus has been on the player the Washington Commanders<\/a> will take in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL draft at No. 7 overall, that the rest of their picks have kind of fallen by the wayside.<\/p>\n That\u2019s too bad, because not only do the Commanders have plenty of holes to fill but they have the opportunity to possibly add a plug-and-play starter on Day 2, which The Athletic predicts<\/a> they will do by taking versatile Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes in the 3rd round (No. 71 overall).<\/p>\n Stukes played 6 seasons of college football \u2014 all at Arizona \u2013 and capped his career by earning All-Big 12 and All-American honors in 2025.<\/p>\n He also ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.33 seconds at the NFL scouting combine.<\/p>\n \u201cSixth-year senior and team captain who went from walk-on to unquestioned leader of his defense,\u201d NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote<\/a> in his pre-draft evaluation. \u201cStukes combines his infectious passion with hours of preparation that allow him to play fast. He communicates well from zone and works quickly from route to route. He has work to do in man coverage but possesses an excellent feel for disrupting catch-points at optimal angles despite a lack of ideal length. Stukes is an older prospect and has an ACL tear in his background (2024), but the football has a magnetic pull for him. Coaches will love his football character and versatility as a big nickelback or split safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Commanders Might Be Better Served With Trade<\/p>\n There might be a case for the Commanders using that 3rd round pick to see if another team might take the bait in a trade for a starting cornerback \u2014 someone like Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss<\/a>.<\/p>\n That move would allow 3rd year cornerback\u00a0Mike Sainristil<\/a>\u00a0to move back to the nickel back\/slot cornerback spot, where he thrived as a rookie in 2024, and put Moss and free-agent signee\u00a0Amik Robertson<\/a>\u00a0at the outside cornerback spots.<\/p>\n It would also create depth, with talented 2nd year cornerback\u00a0Trey Amos<\/a>\u00a0as the top backup at both outside cornerback spots,\u00a0if he can stay healthy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Commanders signed Robertson away from the Detroit Lions<\/a> on a 2-year, $16 million contract with $9.3 million in guaranteed money.<\/p>\n \u201cWashington badly needs more bodies at the position, considering they entered this period with only two guaranteed roster players at the position: Trey Amos and Mike Sainristil,\u201d ESPN\u2019s John Keim wrote<\/a> after free agency. \u201cThe Commanders need to keep adding to this spot. But with Robertson, they add someone who can play inside or outside \u2014 much like Sainristil. It provides Washington with more versatility for new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, who has been known for his coverage disguises.\u201d<\/p>\n Stukes Put Up Big Numbers in Final Season<\/p>\n Stukes, 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, put up big numbers in his final season at Arizona with 52 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 6 pass deflections.<\/p>\n \u201cTreydan Stukes gravitates toward the football and consistently gets his hands on it at every level of the field,\u201d Bleacher Report\u2019s Daniel Harms wrote<\/a>. \u201cWith an explosive downhill trigger, he isn\u2019t afraid to get mixed up in the run game or take on blocks and drives through tackles when he gets there. His nickel and safety versatility give him a pathway to being a three-down defensive chess piece for an NFL defense.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tTony Adame<\/a> covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Commanders\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty University of Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes. So much focus has been on the player the Washington Commanders…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[427,7,6,855,111,2480],"class_list":{"0":"post-863144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-commanders","8":"tag-commanders","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-washington","12":"tag-washington-commanders","13":"tag-washingtoncommanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116380518499785908","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}