Washington Commanders 2024 NFL Draft blueprint

Round 1 (2nd overall): Jayden Daniels, QB LSU

As much as fans would like to will Caleb Williams home to Washington, he’s going to be a Chicago Bear. So, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is the obvious choice here.

Don’t overthink it, Adam Peters. Daniels is the most dominant player in this draft — a player some like even better than Williams. Everything Peters and assistant general manager Lance Newmark said they want in a franchise QB, Daniels has it in spades. The only question is his frame — at 210 pounds, he can’t take hits in the pros like he did in college.

However, Lamar Jackson is of comparable size and he’s never started fewer than 12 games in a season. If Daniels is a two-time MVP and consistently has his team leading in the fourth quarter of games like Jackson’s Ravens, this is a franchise-altering pick for Washington (in a good way, for a change).

Sure, Drake Maye has upside but there’s a lot of talk he would be best served sitting for a year to clean up his throwing mechanics and some bad habits that cropped up his last year at North Carolina. That worked for Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, but Washington doesn’t have Alex Smith or Brett Favre to play in the meantime.

And miss me with the J.J. McCarthy talk. If Washington were selecting in the middle of Round 1, I’d understand it. But this pre-draft chatter is exactly what got Daniel Jones picked sixth overall (and yes, I intentionally said it that way in reference to the Human Turnover) in 2019. McCarthy may be good, but No. 2 is way too high.

Then there’s a bold option: Select Daniels, trade him to Las Vegas for the rights to Michael Penix Jr. and a huge haul of picks and players. Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce is said to be really high on Daniels stemming from their time together at Arizona State, and if Washington grades Penix similarly, they could pull off a deal akin to the one between the Chargers and Giants in 2004.

But my favorite option by far is Daniels.

Round 2 (36th overall) — Patrick Paul, OT Houston

Let me be clear: I’d prefer Washington trades this pick as part of a package to select Chop Robinson in the first round. Yeah, I know a certain 2020 first-round edge rusher from Penn State with local ties didn’t pan out … but if the Quince Orchard High School graduate is the second coming of Micah Parsons, the Commanders can ill afford to see him go elsewhere, let alone to another division rival.

But, in the spirit of sticking to the picks, I’ll go with the younger (and projectedly better) of the Paul brothers (the Commanders already have Chris, the guard selected in the seventh round in 2020). Patrick played in an Air Raid-style offense so his transition to Kliff Kingsbury’s version should be relatively smooth. Plus, he’s a natural left tackle, while contemporaries Amarius Mims and Tyler Guyton primarily played the right side in college (and, frankly, may be gone by the time this pick is on the clock). There may or may not be a better tackle option here but it’s arguably Washington’s second-most pressing need entering this draft.

Round 2 (40th overall) — Keon Coleman, WR Florida State

Kool-Aid McKinstry would be a nice pick if the Alabama corner falls out of the first round, but Coleman has the prototypical size to be a perfect complement to the Terry McLaurin-Jahan Dotson combo and the big red zone threat Washington’s lacked since the days of Jordan Reed. Georgia’s Ladd McConkey would be a fine pick here too, but a Daniels-to-Coleman connection could be fun.

Round 3 (67th overall) — Jonah Ellis, edge Utah

Marshawn Kneeland would be a good (and certainly bigger) option if available here but he’s probably better suited to be a 3-4 linebacker. So is Ellis, but there are worse gambles than an undersized edge rusher from a pro football family (his father, Luther, spent a decade in the NFL and his two brothers have also suited up in the league). This would also be a good place for Washington to address the O-line if they don’t do it in Round 2.

Round 3 (78th overall) — Jeremiah Trotter Jr., LB Clemson

Twenty years after his dad was released following a disappointing two-year stint with the Burgundy and Gold, Junior comes to restore Washington’s faith in the Trotter name.

As you would expect from a second-generation NFLer, Trotter Jr. has a high football IQ and was a tackling machine in college. He’s a tad undersized but with Bobby Wagner already the starting middle linebacker, Trotter has the perfect mentor to usher him into NFL productivity.

Round 3 (100th overall) — Caeden Wallace, T Penn State

Warning: The next two picks are going to sound a bit hyperbolic.

Wallace has been described as “a clock-puncher who plays with better fundamentals and technique than his highly regarded teammate, Olumuyiwa Fashanu” and could be a Brandon Scherff-type player who shifts from tackle to guard — and thrives at the next level because of it. The Commanders need both so either way, he could be a home run pick at 100.

I would make the case for Spencer Rattler here if he somehow slips this far, but I can’t see him getting past the Rams at No. 83. Besides, I have Washington taking another insurance QB below.

Round 5 (139th overall) — Tanner McLachlan, TE Arizona

Again, at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this could be Adam Peters’ equivalent of San Francisco’s fifth round selection of George Kittle in 2017. McLachlan has the intangibles and high motor NFL teams crave, which could potentially outweigh some of the questions about his measurables. Guys like this just need a chance — and the Commanders’ lackluster tight end depth chart will certainly give him that.

Round 5 (152nd overall) — Joe Milton, QB Tennessee

History repeats itself — and it absolutely should.

I said this 12 years ago when Washington selected Kirk Cousins 100 picks after Robert Griffin III: If you pay for a luxury sports car, you’d better have good insurance. When the Burgundy and Gold wrecked RG3, they had a more than capable backup plan (that eventually replaced him).

I’m not predicting the worst with Daniels but the Commanders damn sure better protect themselves against the possibility. Landing a QB with a similar skill set 150 picks later certainly helps. Again, Peters’ track record in San Francisco bears that out — the Niners whiffed badly on Trey Lance in 2021 but never cratered because of 2022 “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy’s development.

Milton has the desired mobility and arm talent, and with proper tutelage from Kingsbury, would be a great third developmental QB in Washington.

Round 7 (222nd overall) — Tarheeb Still, CB Maryland

Washington’s secondary was awful last season — bad enough to warrant selecting a couple corners long before now. Regardless, Still can be good depth here with a chance to make the roster and contribute immediately, especially in the return game (his 8.2 yards per punt return in 2021 were second-best in the Big Ten).

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