American Football

The Washington Commanders 2024 draft class is complete!

April 28, 2024

NFL: APR 25 2024 Draft — Photo by John Smolek/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Washington Commanders 2024 draft class is in the books!

The 2024 NFL Draft is officially over and Washington has added 9 new players to their roster. The Commanders entered the draft with 9 picks, and despite making a trade, they didn’t gain or lose any picks. They did gain some draft value by trading down in the 2nd round with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The highlight of the draft was obviously drafting LSU QB Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick. Washington was locked in on Daniels for weeks, despite speculation that Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy could be in play. General manager Adam Peters said the building was unanimous in picking Daniels to be their QB1, and he comes to a Washington franchise that has gone through massive changes from the top down over the last few years. The name was changed(twice), the team was sold, and the front office and coaching staff were changed. Daniels can start at the ground up in Washington as they rebuild the team, the franchise, and the fanbase.

Teams aren’t built with just one player, and Washington got to work adding 8 more players over the next two days. The Commanders started off day 2 by picking Illinois DT Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton with the 36th overall pick. He was projected to go in the first round, and was the top DT on a lot of pre-draft boards. He had foot surgery for a Jones fracture that he played through last season, which likely caused his drop out of the 1st round. Adam Peters said he was very high on the defensive lineman, and even explored trading up to make sure he ended up in Washington.

The Philadelphia Eagles called for the 40th overall pick, and GM Howie Roseman was very eager to get a deal done with his “friend” Adam Peters. Washington swapped three picks with Philadelphia, and now had two more second round picks to work with. The Eagles moved up to pick Iowa S Cooper DeJean, a player many fans wanted to see in Burgundy and Gold this season. Offensive tackle was also a position that fans were screaming for Washington to take in the 2nd round, but they went with Michigan CB Mike Sainristil with their next pick. He was a leader and a playmaker on the National Champions, and will be added to Joe Whitt’s new defense.

Washington had one more pick in the 2nd round, and they turned to the offense this time but not for a lineman. Kansas State TE Ben Sinnott was a fan-favorite, and he was considered the 2nd-best at his position by some rankings. Adam Peters said he reminded him of George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk, two 49ers players he is very familiar with from his time in San Francisco.

The 3rd round started off with Washington finally addressing the offensive line. They selected TCU OT Brandon Coleman with the 67th overall pick in the draft. NFL Network listed him as a guard, but the Commanders announced him as a tackle. GM Adam Peters said he has all the traits of a tackle, and that is where his NFL career will start in Washington. He played LG and LT in college and he will compete with Cornelius Lucas, Andrew Wylie, and Trent Scott for a role on the team.

Washington also held the last pick in the 3rd, pick No. 100 that was acquired from the San Francisco 49ers in the trade for Chase Young. Peters went with another familiar name that reminded him of a player from the 49ers. Rice WR Luke McCaffrey, the brother of RB Christian, was a former QB who switched to WR two years ago. He will join a WR corps led by Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. Curtis Samuel left in free agency this year, and there are opportunities for playing time in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense this season.

The Commanders entered day 3 with three picks and they didn’t make any trades. Washington kicked off Day 3 by picking Temple LB Jordan Magee. Magee is a special teams demon who could be a starter in Whitt’s defense in a year or two. The Commanders went defense again with their second 5th round pick, taking Washington S Dominique Hampton. He was a sixth-year college player, and he’s a big, hard-hitting safety in the mold of some of Quinn’s defenders from the Legion of Boom-era Seattle Seahawks. He’s also another big addition to Larry Izzo’s special teams this season.

Washington closed out their 2024 draft class by drafting Javontae Jean-Baptiste, EDGE, Notre Dame with the 222nd overall pick. They traded away starters Montez Sweat and Chase Young at the deadline last year, and signed a few DEs in free agency. Jean-Baptiste is another depth and special teams addition to the roster.

How did Washington do in the draft this year? Where did they miss? Which was your favorite pick?