had meetings with the team<\/a> – be it at all-star games, the combine, pro days, Top 30 – or a combination of these.9.) No character concerns:From all reports I have seen from our 2024 and 2025 class, none had any character concerns during the draft process.Both Peters and Quinn have spoken multiple times of locker room fits and what it takes to be a Commander both on and off the field, so I believe this is a BIG priority for the team.<\/p>\nSome of our team needs have changed or lowered a bit after free agency, however some big ones still remain.<\/p>\n
Wide ReceiverEDGESafetyCenterRunning BackLinebackerCornerback<\/p>\n
What top prospects could be on Adam Peters\u2019 draft board based on what we have seen from the 2024 and 2025 drafts?<\/p>\n
Jeremyiah Love, RB, Notre Dame<\/p>\n
Love is as dynamic a prospect as there is in this draft. His parents both served in the military and retired from the St. Louis police department, so character and discipline run in his blood. His coaches at Notre Dame spoke highly about his character and work ethic – citing him as a \u201cfootball junkie\u201d who was always around the facilities and someone who teammate gravitated towards. He\u2019s a quiet, confident, lead-by-example player who prefers to let his play do the talking.<\/p>\n
Despite being at Notre Dame for just three years, he played in 41 career games. As a true junior, he led the Fighting Irish with 1,372 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns and added 27 receptions for 280 yards and three touchdowns. He was named a unanimous All-American, won the Doak Walker Award, and was a finalist for the Heisman trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award. Jeremyiah boasts elite athleticism (4.36 40) and has had a formal interview with Washington at the combine as well as meeting the team\u2019s brass at Notre Dame\u2019s pro day.<\/p>\n
Love is not four years removed from high school, nor did he play in the Senior Bowl, but that\u2019s because he\u2019s elite at his position and is NFL ready right now. Had he chosen to return for his senior season at Notre Dame, he likely would have checked every box on this list.<\/p>\n
Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State<\/p>\n
Caleb Downs is arguably the best player regardless of position in the 2026 NFL draft. There are a few boxes he doesn\u2019t check but there is a reason for that – he\u2019s just that good! He only has three years of college football under his belt but in those three years he started a staggering 44 total games, made multiple All-Conference and All-American teams, was a team captain in 2025, showed on tape his rare athleticism (two collegiate punt returns for touchdowns and clocked close to 21mph in games), has met with the Commanders brass multiple times, and is as clean a prospect off the field as he is on it. If any player in this class should be given the \u201cCommanders Tag\u201d it would be Downs.<\/p>\n
Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State<\/p>\n
Besides not participating in the Senior Bowl (and I\u2019m sure it was not for a lack of an invite), Sonny Styles checks off every other box on this list. He is an athletic freak who got better each year at Ohio State after switching from safety to inside linebacker heading into his junior year. He was a team captain who called the defense in 2025 for Matt Patricia, garnering All-American honors along the way. He has met multiple times with the Commanders including a top 30 visit.<\/p>\n
Delane is an ascending cornerback who broke out as a senior at LSU after transferring from Virginia Tech. He played in 44 career games over his four collegiate seasons and has eight career interceptions. He was a unanimous All-American for the Tigers in 2025. Mansoor was invited to the Senior Bowl but chose to focus on his preparation for the NFL draft. Despite not being a team captain (LSU only had two captains for the 2025 season), he was praised for his leadership on and off the field. He ran a 4.38 40 with a 1.50 10-second split at LSU\u2019s pro day. He\u2019s a Maryland native who has met with the Commanders multiple times, including a top 30 visit.<\/p>\n
Round 2 (if we are able to get a second rounder)<\/p>\n
Gabe Jacas, EDGE, Illinois<\/p>\n
Jacas played in 50 games (43 starts) with the Illini over his four years, serving as a team captain in 2025. He had 11 sacks and 13.5 TFL as a senior, earning second team All-Big 10. Jacas can play as a stand-up outside linebacker or with his hand in the dirt. He had a stand-out week at the Senior Bowl and has met with Washington multiple times.<\/p>\n
Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech<\/p>\n
Rodriguez started 31 games at Texas Tech after transferring from Virginia in 2021. He blew up as a senior, being named a first team AP All-American, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and he won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lombardi Award, Bednarik Award and Butkus Award. He finished fifth in Heisman voting. Jacob had an amazing Senior Bowl week in Alabama and wowed scouts as the Combine with his athleticism and on-field work. He was a team captain in 2024. He\u2019s met with Washington multiple times including a formal meeting at the combine. He checks off every box on this list.<\/p>\n
Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State<\/p>\n
Besides not being a team captain, Hurst checks off every box on the list. He is an elite athlete who improved each year in college and had an excellent Senior Bowl week where he may have really put his name on the map. Hurst played in 48 games over his four years and was named first team All-Sun Belt in 2025. Coaches have raved about his work ethic and demeanor, and he\u2019d offer a perfect complement to McLaurin on the outside as a Z receiver. He\u2019s met with the Commanders multiple times including at the Senior Bowl, Combine and his pro day.<\/p>\n
Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas<\/p>\n
Malik played in 41 games for the Longhorns receiving second-team All-SEC honors as a junior. He had a very impressive week at the Senior Bowl, showing sticky coverage in one-on-one matchups. He\u2019s a bit light at just 182 pounds so that can be a concern with the physicality of the NFL, but he has the frame to add good weight. He\u2019s met with Washington on multiple occasions.<\/p>\n
Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State<\/p>\n
Dennis-Sutton appeared in 55 games over his four years at Penn State. He was named third-team All-Big 10 and showed improvement each year he was with the Nittany Lions. He showed off his athleticism at the NFL Scouting Combine and may have improved his stock significantly because of that. At nearly 6\u20196\u201d with over 33\u201d arms, his length is something scouts salivate over. He was also a three-time Academic All-Big 10 honoree. He played in the Senior Bowl and has had multiple meetings with the Commanders.<\/p>\n
Clark put himself on the map with an outstanding Senior Bowl week, where he continued to make plays during one-on-ones and in team seven-on-seven drills. The sixth-year senior was a four-year starter who played in a combined 61 career games for the Horned Frogs, collecting 15 interceptions during his time starting. He was a three-year team captain and has been lauded by his coaches for his leadership on and off the field. He was second team All-Big 12 as a senior. He met with the Commanders at the Senior Bowl.<\/p>\n
Bell started his collegiate career at Wisconsin where he saw action in 26 games with 14 starts. He transferred to UConn after his redshirt sophomore year and really thrived. During his senior year with the Huskies, he hauled in a single-season school record 101 passes for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns. He earned first-team AP All-American honors and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation\u2019s top wide receiver. He received invites to both the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Bowl. Skyler has met multiple times with the Commanders including the Shrine Bowl and at his pro day. Besides being named a team captain, Bell checks off all the boxes on this list.<\/p>\n
Daylen Everette, CB, Georgia<\/p>\n
Everette is a long, athletic outside corner who played in 55 games (41 starts) with the Bulldogs over his four years in Athens. He was named as a third team All-SEC selection as a junior and senior and played in the Senior Bowl in February. He\u2019s scheme diverse and can even play some in the slot. He\u2019s met with the Commanders on multiple occasions including the Senior Bowl, Combine and top 30.<\/p>\n
Cameron is a big-bodied wide receiver\/punt returner (6\u20191 1\/2\u201d 220) who is a nightmare to tackle in the open field. He was a first-team All-Big 12 wide receiver and honorable mention return specialist his final year at Baylor, and he had an excellent Senior Bowl week in Mobile. Josh had 19 receiving touchdowns over his final two seasons and averaged nearly 21 yards per punt return as a junior. He\u2019s had multiple meetings with the Commanders.<\/p>\n
Ephesians Prysock, CB, Washington<\/p>\n
Prysock is a long, rangy, athletic, raw corner with press-man and zone versatility. He participated in the Senior Bowl and held his own in Mobile against good competition. He played in a combined 49 career games between Arizona and Washington and was honorable mention All-Pac 12. His athletic traits at his size are intriguing. He met with the Commanders at the Senior Bowl.<\/p>\n
Jake Slaughter, C, Florida<\/p>\n
Slaughter was an All-American center and team captain for the Gators, appearing in 55 games over his five years in Gainesville. He fits best in a zone blocking scheme where he can use his good athleticism to seal off lanes. Coaches have raved about his character and leadership. He met with the Commanders at the Senior Bowl.<\/p>\n
Kelly is a five-year player who made the jump to BYU from Webber State. In 25 games for the Cougars he posted 106 total tackles, 23.5 for a loss, 15 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception. He was a two-time team captain who had a nice Senior Bowl week in Mobile.<\/p>\n
Eli Heidenreich, WR\/RB, Navy<\/p>\n
Heidenreich is a four-year member of the United States Naval Academy football team who redshirted as a freshman. He went on to play in 38 games over his final three seasons, setting school records with 1,994 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns while earning All-Conference recognition and an invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl. He recently attended a local combine put on by the Commanders. He has also met with the Commanders on multiple occasions.<\/p>\n
Coogan started his career at Notre Dame playing in 30 games for the Irish during his four years with the program. He entered the transfer portal in 2025 and quickly found a home with the Indiana Hoosiers. He would go on to start all 16 games for the National Champions, being named second team All-Big 10, offensive MVP of the Rose Bowl and was a finalist for the Joe Moore award given to the nation\u2019s top offensive lineman. Coogan was a game-day captain and routinely gave weekly pregame and halftime speeches to the offense throughout the season. At 6\u20195\u201d 311 lbs, Pat ran a 5.19 40 and 4.93 short-shuttle while boasting a 30\u201d vertical. He played in the East-West Shine game and met with the Commanders there.<\/p>\n
Who could be eliminated from Peters\u2019 board?<\/p>\n
Makai Lemon, WR, USC: The talented slot receiver was said to have had some of the worst interviews of all the players at the Combine. Could the Top 30 visit be a way Washington\u2019s brass is giving him a second chance to make a third impression?<\/p>\n
Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State: Another top wide receiver, this time with a different issue – injuries. When heathy, he\u2019s as talented as anyone in this class, but he\u2019s not been able to stay on the field in college and that could be magnified in the NFL.<\/p>\n
Zion Young, EDGE, Missouri: Young\u2019s off-field issues are well documented, and teams have to be leery spending a high pick on a guy with serious legal allegations.<\/p>\n
Reuben Bain, EDGE, Miami: Short arms, not a scheme fit, lack of athleticism – take your pick here.<\/p>\n
Akheem Mesidor, EDGE, Miami: The other Miami stout-boy has his share of concerns too. He will be a 25-year-old rookie with an injury history. That\u2019s enough to make even the sharpest general manager pause.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From last year\u2019s article: Ever since Josh Harris and company bought the team and hired Adam Peters to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[427,7,6,15,855,111,12035,1267,2480],"class_list":{"0":"post-864458","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-nfl-draft","12":"tag-washington","13":"tag-washington-commanders","14":"tag-washington-commanders-analysis","15":"tag-washington-commanders-draft","16":"tag-washingtoncommanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116389542954184676","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864458","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=864458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}