With three picks left on Day 3 of the draft, the Commanders now have 79 players on their roster after adding six players in the first three rounds of the draft. In addition to four rookies on offence (QB Jayden Daniels, TE Ben Sinnot, OL Brandon Coleman, and WR Luke McCaffrey), Washington signed two rookies on defence (a defensive tackle and a nickel corner).
Some players’ names have numbers next to them that represent 2024 cap hits per Over the Cap.
Predicting precisely how a new player will fit into the team’s plans is never easy. Right now, this is particularly true for the Commanders. The offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury, has previously stated publicly that he will not be managing the “Air Raid” offence for which he gained notoriety.
The roster additions for this week
It is obvious that the “best player available” philosophy was applied in the selection of DT Johnny Newton, who was drafted to join a team that already had Jon Allen and Daron Payne. Prior to the draft, the team’s DT unit was perhaps the strongest, but Newton’s skill set was just too much to ignore at selection #36.
Sainristil is a fast and forceful nickel back who can contend for playing time right away.
Despite being a rookie, Ben Sinnot is a valuable addition to the tight end unit and should see a lot of field time. Zach Ertz is a veteran with a one-year contract who is past his prime. With the exception of John Bates, a reliable tight end more recognized for his blocking than for his route running or receiving abilities, the other players at the position are largely inexperienced.
The anticipation among Washington supporters was that the Commanders would select a player who could solve the needs at offensive tackle, and they were on the edge of their seats. Ultimately, the selection of Brandon Coleman—a talented prospect with guard and tackle versatility—turned out to be more of a developmental player than many Washington supporters had anticipated from this pick.
Adam Peters voiced confidence in Coleman’s ability to play tackle in the NFL at his press conference on Friday night.
The 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is the brother of Luke McCaffrey, the son of Ed McCaffrey. He is a converted quarterback who spent two years in college as a receiver and is still growing into the role. Despite being 6’2″ and 198 pounds, he ran the second-fastest short shuttle (4.02) of any wide receiver at the Combine since 2018. This information was provided by Next Gen Stats. According to a few stories I read about him, he will mainly play the slot. Nevertheless, I believe he will be able to line up in a variety of ways and run with the ball. In college, he ran for over 900 yards and gained an average of over 6 yards per carry. He appears to be a bit of a contested catch expert as well.
Of course, the former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was chosen by the Commanders with the second overall pick in the draft on Thursday night. I doubt any fan of Washington who follows the draft needs me to explain that pick in any detail. Since RGIII’s 2012 rookie season, Daniels ought to be the first quarterback selected by Washington to start the inaugural game of the season. Fans of Commanders will place a great deal of faith in Daniels for the future.
Washington on Saturday and Sunday is still unfinished. Two fifth-round selections (numbers 139 and 161) and a seventh-round selection (number 222) remain for Adam Peters & Co. Later round selections are frequently used to select players with strong special teams backgrounds, even though the team may still be seeking to improve its offence and defence. A player with kick return ability or a player who has demonstrated exceptional open-field tackle ability may be added with one or more of these picks in light of the recent modifications to the kickoff rules for the ’24 season.
The effort doesn’t end with the seventh round. As of right now, three additional selections will result in an 82-man roster for the Commanders. At training camp, the squad is allowed to bring 91 players. Nearly all of the final nine roster spots will be taken by undrafted college free agents, and there may be intense competition for those individuals.
