Bobby Gould’s Way Too Early First 2025 Mock Draft

Washington Commanders mock draft

As inspiring as Washington’s 2024 season was, by the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game, things were sufficiently out of hand that my mind had begun to wander. Washington’s glorious season was about to end, but another – bound to be even yet more glorious – was on the cusp of beginning. With this, inaugural 2025 mock draft, the next season has begun. Let’s learn about some prospects.

Washington goes into the 2025 draft with a solid foundation, one of the best, young quarterbacks in the league, and a high octane front office. With its Super Bowl window opened in 2024, it’s now time to figure out how to build a team that can defenestrate the opposition.

This is the first of my 2025 pre-draft mocks, conducted using the Pro Football Network mock draft simulator.

Round 1, Pick 29 – Will Campbell, OT, LSU

With its first pick of the 2025 draft, Washington reunites Jayden Daniels with his award-winning left tackle from college. Over three seasons, Campbell started 38 games at left tackle, though his projection is to potentially move to the interior as a pro.

From his draft profile:

Campbell is a smooth operator with a polished, well-rounded skill set and a natural feel for the position due to very good footwork, hand placement, play strength, and competitive toughness. He is an adept run blocker who can secure and create immediate displacement on angle-drive and base blocks with the body control and balance to recover, sustain and finish at a high level. He doesn’t bring a ton of mass, girth or length but has very good core strength and strong hands to torque and control defenders away from the ball.

In pass protection, Campbell is a fluid mover to the spot with excellent strike timing and hand placement to latch inside the frame of his target and efficiently transition into his anchor when rushers use power. He can expand and protect the corner against speed off of the edge while remaining balanced through the top of the quarterback’s drop. Campbell can get over-aggressive in his set against widely-aligned, high-side rushes, which results in drifting and oversetting, leaving room for inside counters to gain access to his inside half. He also has a tendency to punch down the middle with his outside hand on an island that creates short corners and leave him vulnerable to the cross-chop (Ex: Week 10 vs. Arkansas edge-rusher Landon Jackson).

Overall, Campbell is a prime candidate to move inside as a pro. He has the makeup, movement skills, play strength, and competitive toughness to make a smooth transition to guard or center and be an impact starter with Pro Bowl potential during his rookie contract.

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Round 2, Pick 61 – Elic Ayomanor, WR, Stanford

Washington absolutely has to upgrade its WR room this offseason. Whether that’s by adding a free agent in the mold of Tee Higgins and/or using Day 2 draft capital to give Daniels some reliability beyond Terry McLaurin, it absolutely has to happen.

From his draft profile:

Teams that ask their receivers to create space in the secondary will love the way he attacks corners; this is a bully who will force you to strap up and play uncomfortable football even on inside zone reps. As a receiving threat, he wins predominantly with hitches, fades, and gos with double moves on the perimeter but showcases the movement skills and flashes of a much more profound route runner.

The snap off of vertical stems and the awareness to find and sit in vacancies is a testament to his instinct as a receiver, and he’s often quick to feel urgent target opportunities and make himself available to his quarterback. Ayomanor is a multi-faceted player who would be an asset to any wide receiver room.

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Round 3, Pick 79 – Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State

I’m tired of arguing about Brian Robinson versus Chris Rodriguez. This offseason, Peters needs to do a lot better than either of those backs, and Judkins would fit that bill. If we can’t land Cam Skattebo, I want this guy.

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Round 5, Pick 148 – Jordan Phillips, DT, Maryland

Word is, this draft is deep at defensive tackle, which is good news for Washington since we need to upgrade at the position. Early word is that Phillips looks like the best player at the East-West Shrine Game.

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Round 6, Pick 197 – Antuwan Powell-Ryland, EDGE, VA Tech

Washington needs EDGE help this offseason and beyond, and Powell-Ryland is developmental prospect who could, potentially, offer some assistance out of the gate.

From his draft profile:

As a pass rusher, Powell-Ryland showcases a mature repertoire with an outstanding blend of speed, power, bend, and technicality at the position. Can win strictly as an athlete with speed to the outside shoulder or with a powerful and smooth up and under, swim, club-rip, and inside spin move. What’s also impressive in his game is his balance when faced with contact, where Powell-Ryland is rarely jolted back, consistently working through blocks and into the opponent’s chest. Linemen that are unable to establish leverage quickly can be embarrassed early in the rep.

While not the biggest or strongest athlete on a roster, Powell-Ryland plays with spring-loaded hands that can put opponents of all sizes on their heels. He has excellent striking technique and can vary his punch timing and speeds from different alignments and angles at the top of his rush. He’s a high-effort player who never stops churning his legs at contact. Good burst off the snap and does well to stay low a majority of the time to reduce the surface area for opponents to target.

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Round 6, Pick 207 – Jack Nelson, OT, Wisconsin

Nelson played primarily at left tackle for the Badgers, but possesses the ability to play both inside and outside on the offensive line.

From his draft profile:

Overall, Nelson is a fundamentally sound, skilled overall player who functions well in tandem with his guard and in certain areas, solo (backside cut-offs) but lacks consistent contact balance, use of leverage, and posture when isolated, which causes him to fall off of too many blocks. Nelson should be able to carve out a role as a backup tackle with spot starter potential but his propensity for the glaring loss will be difficult to improve at the next level.

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Round 7, Pick 231 – Jake Briningstool, TE, Clemson

Briningstool is a large, receiving tight end with really good hands and route running skills. He has a chance to help his stock significantly this week at the Senior Bowl.

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The full first round can be seen below: