2025 Road to the Draft – Part 11
April 15, 2025
By Noonefromtampa
Having done this column for a number of years now, it’s interesting how much change has gone on in the media. Sports media folks who have left or been laid off from one place and move to another or even having to start their venue for publishing their works. Also, there has been contraction in the number of sites covering the draft and even sports overall. Plus, the amount of content pushed behind paywalls is increasing. It’s a sign of the times that the free content model supported by internet advertisement revenue is not working.
Draft Data
299 mock drafts have been published since December, up 17 from last week, with 53% of the picks being made or updated in the last two weeks. In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Commanders will have the 29th overall pick in the first round. The position picked for Washington, by descending frequency is:
| Position | Picked Count | Picked % | Last Week % | % Change |
| Edge | 99 | 33.11% | 31.91% | 1.20% |
| WR | 57 | 19.06% | 18.09% | 0.98% |
| CB | 26 | 8.70% | 10.64% | -1.94% |
| RB | 24 | 8.03% | 4.96% | 3.06% |
| OT | 24 | 8.03% | 9.93% | -1.90% |
| S | 20 | 6.69% | 5.67% | 1.02% |
| DL | 20 | 6.69% | 7.09% | -0.40% |
| IOL | 10 | 3.34% | 3.55% | -0.20% |
| N/A | 8 | 2.68% | 3.19% | -0.52% |
| LB | 7 | 2.34% | 3.19% | -0.85% |
| TE | 3 | 1.00% | 1.77% | -0.77% |
| QB | 1 | 0.33% | 0.00% | 0.33% |
| Grand Total | 299 | 100% |
The N/A comes from Washington trading out of the first round for more draft picks.
The big gainer this week was running back, which was up 3% with edge rusher second 1.2%. Overall, edge rusher leads the position groups with 33% of all the mock picks. Cornerback and offensive tackle both down nearly 2% this week.
The players mock picked to the Commanders at the 29th pick, in descending frequency, are:
| Player | Position | School | Picked Count | Picked % |
| Donovan Ezeiruaku | Edge | Boston College | 23 | 7.69% |
| James Pearce Jr. | Edge | Tennessee | 21 | 7.02% |
| Omarion Hampton | RB | North Carolina | 16 | 5.35% |
| Mike Green | Edge | Marshall | 15 | 5.02% |
| Emeka Egbuka | WR | Ohio State | 14 | 4.68% |
| Nick Emmanwori | S | South Carolina | 13 | 4.35% |
| Matthew Golden | WR | Texas | 12 | 4.01% |
| Luther Burden | WR | Missouri | 12 | 4.01% |
| Josh Simmons | OT | Ohio State | 11 | 3.68% |
| Nic Scourton | Edge | Texas A&M | 11 | 3.68% |
| Shemar Stewart | Edge | Texas A&M | 11 | 3.68% |
| Walter Nolen | DL | Mississippi | 8 | 2.68% |
| No Pick | N/A | N/A | 8 | 2.68% |
| Mykel Williams | Edge | Georgia | 7 | 2.34% |
| Josh Conerly Jr. | OT | Oregon | 7 | 2.34% |
| Derrick Harmon | DL | Oregon | 7 | 2.34% |
| Malaki Starks | S | Georgia | 6 | 2.01% |
| Maxwell Hairston | CB | Kentucky | 6 | 2.01% |
| Tetairoa McMillan | WR | Arizona | 6 | 2.01% |
| Tre Harris | WR | Mississippi | 6 | 2.01% |
| Jihaad Campbell | LB | Alabama | 6 | 2.01% |
| Trey Amos | CB | Mississippi | 5 | 1.67% |
| Grey Zabel | IOL | North Dakota State | 5 | 1.67% |
| TreVeyon Henderson | RB | Ohio State | 5 | 1.67% |
| Azareye’h Thomas | CB | Florida State | 4 | 1.34% |
| Benjamin Morrison | CB | Notre Dame | 4 | 1.34% |
| Shavon Revel Jr. | CB | East Carolina | 3 | 1.00% |
| Landon Jackson | Edge | Arkansas | 3 | 1.00% |
| Jahdae Barron | CB | Texas | 3 | 1.00% |
| Isaiah Bond | WR | Texas | 3 | 1.00% |
| Kenneth Grant | DL | Michigan | 3 | 1.00% |
| Colston Loveland | TE | Michigan | 3 | 1.00% |
| Kelvin Banks | OT | Texas | 2 | 0.67% |
| Jack Sawyer | Edge | Ohio State | 2 | 0.67% |
| Aireontae Ersery | OT | Minnesota | 2 | 0.67% |
| Donovan Jackson | IOL | Ohio State | 2 | 0.67% |
| Tyler Booker | IOL | Alabama | 2 | 0.67% |
| Elic Ayomanor | WR | Stanford | 2 | 0.67% |
| J.T. Tuimoloau | Edge | Ohio State | 2 | 0.67% |
| Cameron Williams | OT | Texas | 2 | 0.67% |
| Princely Umanmielen | Edge | Mississippi | 2 | 0.67% |
| Will Johnson | CB | Michigan | 1 | 0.33% |
| Oluwafemi Oladejo | Edge | UCLA | 1 | 0.33% |
| Tyleik Williams | DL | Ohio State | 1 | 0.33% |
| Jonah Savaiinaea | IOL | Arizona | 1 | 0.33% |
| Quinshon Judkins | RB | Ohio State | 1 | 0.33% |
| Tory Horton | WR | Colorado State | 1 | 0.33% |
| Bhayshul Tuten | RB | Virginia Tech | 1 | 0.33% |
| Barrett Carter | LB | Clemson | 1 | 0.33% |
| Darius Alexander | DL | Toledo | 1 | 0.33% |
| Xavier Watts | S | Notre Dame | 1 | 0.33% |
| Jalen Milroe | QB | Alabama | 1 | 0.33% |
| Jack Bech | WR | TCU | 1 | 0.33% |
| Ashton Jeanty | RB | Boise State | 1 | 0.33% |
| Jalon Walker | Edge | Georgia | 1 | 0.33% |
| Grand Total | 299 | 100.00% |
The total count of players mocked to the Commanders is up to 55 now, with one mocker even selecting a quarterback for Washington. James Pearce and Donovan Ezeiruaku continue to lead the board with Omarion Hampton passing Mike Green to take third place on the board. Hampton will likely be a very gook back in the NFL, but while running back is a need it is not the highest on a team where the defense underperformed much of the year.
Thoughts
My view of the Commanders’ draft is that Adam Peters will entertain offers to trade down to collect more picks. The team has many one-year contract players they signed this year and need to increase the base of players on rookie deals to keep the cap manageable in the future. The safety net is that if there is not a good enough trade offer, Washington can always take the best player (or best edge rusher) available at pick 29.
What would a trade look like and what teams might be interested in trading with Washington. Two possible teams that might move back into round 1 to address roster issues are the 49ers and Patriots. Of the two teams, New England has the higher pick position. Using the draft value chart, trading away the 29th pick should yield:
49ers – 2nd (43rd pick), 3rd (100th pick), 4th (113th pick) and 7th (227th pick)
Patriots – 2nd (38th pick), 4th (106th pick), 5th (144th pick) and 7th (220th pick)
Both deals give Washington three additional picks in the draft, although the 49ers deal is a little better value in terms on Washington ending up with 5 picks in the top 128 picks in the draft.
If the 49ers trade did happen, what players could Washington end up with those 5 picks?
#43 – JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer are two edge rushers that could be available here, cornerback Trey Amos is also a player in whom the Commanders have shown interest.
#61 – CB Darien Porter, Edge Oluwafemi Oladejo, and WR Jayden Higgins are players Washington have interviewed during the draft review process.
#100 – OT Emery Jones Jr., WR Jaylen Royals, DL Deone Walker, and CB Denzel Burke are players that should be available in this range.
#113 – RB RJ Harvey, S Andrew Mukuba, and OL Ozzy Trapilo are possible choices with this pick.
#128 – G Wyatt Milum, Edge Josaiah Stewart, S Jonas Sanker are more players with 4th round grades that Washington has been linked with.
The power of the trade back is that it allows Washington to add talent to multiple position groups and improves the long-term viability of the roster.
So, how would you feel about a draft that starts with these selections?
- Jack Sawyer, Edge
- Dorian Porter, CB
- Jaylen Royals, WR
- RJ Harvey, RB
- Wyatt Milum, G
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com, nfldraftbuzz.com, overthecap.com, sports-reference.com