The NFL draft is here, and starts tonight at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Commanders have held their annual Top 30 group visit at TopGolf and hosted 37 local prospect recently as they finalize their big board. Washington began recalibrating the team in free agency, and now turns to the draft to bring in more young talent. Last season’s disappointing finish led to the No. 7 overall in tonight’s draft.
This roundup has 86 mock drafts and 27 of them feature wide receivers. Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson only appears in three, and the most popular player in the final roundup, Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, has the rest. He has been linked to Washington more and more, but is now a favorite to be catching passes from Jayden Daniels soon. Several mock drafts also have the Commanders passing on Tate, to move down, and gain additional picks. Kiper, Yates, Schrager, Brugler, Zierlien, and others all have Tate joining Terry McLaurin, and potentially/eventually replacing him. Chris Simms has Washington trading up to #5 with the Giants to secure Tate, but doesn’t say what that would cost or why he hates the Commanders.
Another former Buckeye is almost as popular as Tate in the final mock draft roundup. Linebacker Sonny Styles blew everyone away at the Combine, and has been sitting in the Top 10 of most mocks ever since. People have linked him to head coach Dan Quinn, “Commanders coach Dan Quinn has reportedly told contacts that Styles is his favorite player in the class”. He would step into a LB room with Frankie Luvu and Jordan Magee. Bobby Wagner wasn’t re-signed after leading the defense for the last two seasons. Can Styles step right into a big role in new DC Daronte Jones defense?
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love’s popularity for Washington started to slip last week. His consensus mock position is No. 4 overall to the Tennessee Titans. There were still 8 mock drafters that wanted to pair Love with Jayden Daniels, and he continues to be a popular pick. Jason La Canfora thinks there will be enough teams interested in Love that Washington would trade up to secure him.
LSU CB Mansoor Delane had his best week yet if you want him to be wearing Burgundy and Gold this season. He was mocked to the Commanders nine times, and is a popular target for trade downs. Top CB or top WR? That could be two of the options Washington faces tonight.
Rueben Bain Jr and David Bailey are afterthoughts for the Commanders in the last roundup. Only four mentions between them, but Bain gets another nod after a trade down. Caleb Downs is also lower than the past few weeks leading up to the draft, but his consensus rank is also up to #6.
There were two trade ups, and we’ve got seven different trade downs to talk about. The Commanders trade down with the Chiefs(#9), Rams(#14), and Jets(#16). Wide receivers Omar Cooper Jr. and Makai Lemon are popular trade down targets. The Commanders even get Ruben Bain Jr, Caleb Downs, and Mansoor Delane after moving back.
The Commanders need defensive help, and Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. would have to get a look. But they also have their pick of the receiver class. Tate is currently my No. 2 receiver behind Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, but he’s atop a lot of receiver boards around the league and doesn’t come with the same injury questions Tyson does.
Paired with another Ohio State product in Terry McLaurin, Tate would bring clean route running, reliability and some big-play ability. He averaged 17.2 yards per catch last season en route to 875 yards and nine trips to the end zone. Considering the Commanders would be relying on Luke McCaffrey, Treylon Burks and Dyami Brown behind McLaurin, this makes sense.
There are a lot of good options on the board, including Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. But Washington has to help Jayden Daniels and get this offense back on track. The Commanders scored 20.1 points per game last season but didn’t make many WR additions in free agency. The entire receiver class is available here. I think Washington could pair Tate with Terry McLaurin.
Defense was a consideration here, with two talented defensive backs still on the board in Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane. But Washington is thin at wide receiver after Terry McLaurin; Deebo Samuel is still a free agent after leading the team with 727 receiving yards last season. Tate has reliable hands (only four drops on 162 career targets), runs precise routes and is among the most pro-ready prospects in this class.
The Commanders could use reinforcements on defense (it’d be hard to pass on Downs or Sonny Styles), but helping your young quarterback with an outside weapon who can win at all three levels? Jayden Daniels would approve of this pick.
The Ohio State run continues with a fourth straight Buckeye flying off the board. The Jayden Daniels hype has cooled down after an injury-riddled sophomore campaign, but giving the quarterback a premium running mate for Terry McLaurin (another Buckeye!) could heat the offense back up again.
I really liked Makai Lemon here with the Amon-Ra St. Brown comparison. But when I came across this quote about Tate from former Ohio State teammate Will Howard (via this ESPN piece), it convinced me that Tate could be the best receiver to operate in new coordinator David Blough’s system.
“Carnell is kind of a little bit of a Swiss Army knife. He plays bigger than he is. He’s strong as hell, and he’s really sneaky fast. The thing I think that’s so overlooked about his game is how well he blocks. He is a hell of a blocking receiver, and he’s super unselfish.”
That sounds like a receiver who can help Jayden Daniels. And fast.
The Commanders get a versatile leader in the middle who can play all four downs.
You know what you’re getting with Tate, the top wideout in the draft. Terry McLaurin will be 31 this year and can be released after the season. The Commanders cannot have expectations for Brandon Aiyuk whenever and however they acquire him. With what they may have to pay Jayden Daniels a year from now, getting a cost-controlled rookie receiver is an obvious team-building move.
If Washington misses the run on defensive talent and Jeremiyah Love is gone, where do they go? Wide receiver is the most logical path. The Commanders pair one Ohio State receiver with another.
He might not have quite as much upside as Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, but Tate will give Jayden Daniels a down-the-field threat with whom he can grow.