It’s Draft Day – 2024
April 25, 2024
By Noonefromtampa
It’s been months in the making, many arguments between fans and countless predictions by various prognosticators, but by around 8:30 P.M. tonight Washington’s actual pick will be known.
The Basics
The Draft will run over three days, with round 1 starting at 8:00 P.M. tonight. Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday night begins at 7:00 P.M., wrapping up on Saturday starting at noon with rounds 4 through 7.
How to Watch
The draft will be broadcast on the NFL Network, ABC and ESPN channels. Check with your service provider for more information on which channels they are in your locale.
Washington’s Picks
Currently, the Commanders have the following picks in the draft:
| Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| Round 1 – pick 2 | Round 2 – pick 36
Round 2 – pick 40 Round 3 – pick 67 Round 3 – pick 78 Round 3 – pick 100 |
Round 5 – pick 139
Round 5 – pick 152 Round 7 – pick 222 |
Washington’s Needs
The roster needs depth almost all across the board. The biggest needs are quarterback, left tackle, edge rusher and tight end. If you follow the Road to the Draft series of articles here on The Hog Sty, the top two candidates are Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. However, if the team gets really into the analytics, don’t be surprised if J.J. McCarthy is the pick the team makes.
I do expect Washington General Manager Adam Peters to make several draft day trades. The two most likely trades I think will happen are:
- A trade up back into round 1 to get a left tackle
- A trade down on Friday to get more picks on Saturday
Final Mock Draft Stats
The final stats ended at 400 mocks tracked up 39 from last week, with quarterback being the presumptive position picked at 97% and Jayden Daniels the most likely pick with over 56% of the selections.
| Position | Picked Count | Picked % | Last Week % | % Change |
| QB | 388 | 97.00% | 96.40% | 0.60% |
| OT | 7 | 1.75% | 1.94% | -0.19% |
| Edge | 3 | 0.75% | 0.83% | -0.08% |
| WR | 2 | 0.50% | 0.83% | -0.33% |
| CB | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| TE | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| IOL | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| DL | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| LB | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| RB | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| S | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Grand Total | 400 | 100% |
| Player | Position | School | Picked Count | Picked % |
| Jayden Daniels | QB | LSU | 225 | 56.25% |
| Drake Maye | QB | North Carolina | 132 | 33.00% |
| Caleb Williams | QB | USC | 18 | 4.50% |
| J.J. McCarthy | QB | Michigan | 13 | 3.25% |
| Joe Alt | OT | Notre Dame | 5 | 1.25% |
| Marvin Harrison Jr. | WR | Ohio State | 2 | 0.50% |
| Olumuyiwa Fashanu | OT | Penn State | 2 | 0.50% |
| Dallas Turner | Edge | Alabama | 2 | 0.50% |
| Laiatu Latu | Edge | UCLA | 1 | 0.25% |
| Grand Total | 400 | 100.00% |
Noone’s Mock Draft
I think the new ownership will place a premium on winning sooner rather than later and that will drive some of the draft selection process. I’m not going into all the possible trade possibilities, so this mock draft will cover the Commanders’ existing picks.
Round 1 – Pick 2
Jayden Daniels, Quarterback, LSU
The most obvious need on the Washington roster is a quarterback. Marcus Mariota is a stopgap measure, not a long-term solution. Daniels, the 2023 Heisman winner, is probably the most NFL ready QB in the draft and has some familiarity with the offensive concepts that offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will likely run with the Commanders. His measurables at his pro day were height of 6’3 5/8” and weight of 210 pounds. During his career at Arizona State and LSU his stats were:
- 1,438 attempts with 953 completions for a 66.3% completion rate
- 12,750 yards for an 8.9 yard per attempt
- Threw for 89 touchdowns and 20 interceptions
- Rushed 617 times for 3,307 with a 5.4 yards per attempt average and 34 touchdowns
Round 2 – Pick 36
Kingsley Suamataia, Tackle, BYU
Suamataia is a big, 6’5” and 326 pounds, athletic lineman, the best option left on the board to play tackle at this point in the draft. He has played both right and left tackle in college and is a good pass blocker but needs to work on his run blocking technique. Suamataia is a two-year starter with 22 games under his belt. The logic behind this pick is to get a solid left tackle to protect the blindside of the new quarterback.
Round 2 – Pick 40
Darius Robinson, Edge, Missouri
Robinson is 6’5” and 290 pounds, a somewhat raw but talented player. He has a good power move with the bull rush but will have to develop other moves at the next level to be a more complete player. Pass rush is everything for a defense in the NFL and this pick gives the team another young pass rusher who the new coaches can develop. Twelve of his 13.5 career sacks came in his two last years at Missouri.
Round 3 – Pick 67
D.J. James, Cornerback, Auburn
James is a taller, skinny CB at 6’0”, 180 pounds. He played at both Oregon and Auburn for a total of 49 games. His stats include 147 combined tackles with 5 interceptions and 24 passes defensed. He has played in both man and zone coverage schemes and has shown excellent coverage skills. Considering that Washington currently has a number of players at this this position heading into the last year of their contracts, James is a good addition for the secondary.
Round 3 – Pick 78
Ben Sinnott, Tight End, Kansas State
With Sinnott you get a hard-working player who went from a zero-star walk on status to a scholarship, All-Big 12 honors tight end. Playing tight end for two years after starting with the fullback position, he is still learning. In the last two years, he had 80 receptions for 1,125 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has good size at 6’4” and 250 pounds and has a nice burst of acceleration that gets him separated from defenders. He could be the long-term replacement for Zack Ertz.
Round 3 – Pick 100
Blake Fisher, Tackle, Notre Dame
Andrew Wylie should only be on the roster for one more season, so the team needs a right tackle for the future. Fisher has the size (6’6” and 310 pounds) and the raw athletic talent for the position. He is a two-year starter at right tackle in college and needs some development to succeed at the next level. His pass protection skills need refinement in footwork and hand placement, but he is powerful in run blocking.
Round 5 – Pick 139
Malik Washington, Wide Receiver, Virginia
The changes in the kickoff rules help players like Washington who can also contribute as a kick returner. A fifth-year senior, he spent 4 years at Northwestern and one at Virginia. His overall career stats are 230 receptions for 2.774 yards or 12.1 yards per catch. Washington also had 12 career receptions for touchdowns. With his size (5’9″), he figures to be a slot receiver at the next level and can contribute in the running game on jet sweeps.
Round 5 – Pick 152
Tykee Smith, Safety, Georgia
Smith is another fifth-year senior, having spent two seasons at West Virginia and three seasons at Georgia. In his career, Smith had 212 combined tackles including 21.5 tackles for loss with 5 sacks. As a pass defender, he had 12 passes defensed with 8 interceptions and one returned for a touchdown. Smith is good as a high safety position where he can see the field and break on the play. He is also a good special teams player which is important for players drafted in later rounds.
Round 7 – pick 222
Omar Speights, Linebacker, LSU
Speights, another fifth-year senior, spent four years at Oregon State and one year at LSU. Career stats include 374 combined tackles with 25 tackles for loss and five sacks. In pass coverage he had three interceptions and four passes defensed. Speights has good size at 6’1”, 235 pounds, but needs to develop better read-and-react skills and shedding off blockers to make it as a starter in the NFL.
Wrap-Up
How many of these predictions will come true? Maybe one or two, possibly none. Adam Peters is keeping the Commanders draft plan closed up tight. Over the next three days, we will all learn about the next phase of the team revitalization, as Peters calls it. We saw how well free agency moves were handled, so it will be intriguing to see how the new front office handles the draft.
My expectation is that all these changes will lead to more wins in the regular season, which is all any fan can hope for at this point in time.