American Football

Three themes for Day 3 of Washington’s 2024 draft

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NFL: Combine
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Washington has three draft picks this afternoon (139, 161, and 222), and while I would normally do a “best of who’s left” piece this morning, the teams’ first pick is 39 spots out, and it’s impossible to guesstimate who might be around at that point. So, instead, I thought I’d outline three, broad goals I’d like to see Washington’s front office throughout the day, and I’ll touch on a couple of players at each “theme” who might be available as we proceed through the final day of the 2024 NFL draft.

Let’s jump right in.

Theme 1. Mine the seams of the deepest positions in the draft

The 2024 NFL draft is preposterously deep at a couple of positions, most notably wide receiver and cornerback. It’s so deep there, there will still be many of them left when undrafted free agency begins. In the 5th, there may still be Day 2 talents on the board.

Even though Washington has already taken one of each, this is a great draft to double dip in.

Who might be available when Washington picks in the 5th? Some of these guys.

Theme 2. Actively look for trade back opportunities

I was excited to see that Adam Peters traded back in the second round, particularly once I saw the terms of the deal. They were able to extract value out of the transaction and still get a couple of really good players out of it.

I suspect there’s going to be a similar opportunity in the 5th, particularly early in the 5th. I think they should be looking to acquire more flyers on mid to late day three to take advantage of some of the sweet spots in this year’s draft.

I’m not suggesting to do it for its own sake, but I am suggesting that Washington should keep an active ear to the ground to see if they might be able to work another deal. It could be transformative in terms of tapping the next theme.

Theme 3. Look for ways to improve special teams

The 9th Draft Commandment is “If the best special teamer in the draft is still on the board in the third round or later, take him.” We’re at that point in the draft now. A couple of interesting possibilities on that front are running back – and jack of all trades – Dylan Laube and linebacker Jordan Magee.

There’s also a tremendous opportunity to look at improving – and reducing the cap hit – of the team’s two specialist positions, punter and kicker. As of the beginning of Day 3, all of the specialists are on the board.

Some potential targets include:

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