The offseason can be a boring time for some football fans. For others, free agency and the draft can happily occupy months until we get to see players on the field. I am a draft guy and love to scout collegiate prospects for potential fits on Washington’s football team. I put in countless hours per week watching film, listening to podcasts, talking with contacts and playing with the mock draft simulators.
I always like to view other mock drafts out there and compare them to how I would like to see things play out for the Commanders. It’s a futile exercise, but I have fun doing it – and hopefully it can educate our fan base on some prospects you may not be familiar with.
Below I put together a fun, interactive exercise that will hopefully get the comment section flowing. I have given you four different draft scenarios with our top pick. I used my own big board, then ran some sims on Pro Football Network’s Mock Draft Simulator to come up with what you see below. The simulator was just a tool I used for guidance, so that, combined with what you see in my notes, is how I arrived at each scenario.
Scenario 1:
Washington is on the clock at pick 29, and there is no enticing trade-back offer. Here are the prospects who are available who fit the value vs. need approach:
- Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M (projected top 20 pick who slipped)
- Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama (projected top 20 pick who slipped due to medicals)
- Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State
- Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College
- Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
- TreVeyon Henderson, RB Ohio State
*Note: Top 3 wide receivers (McMillian, Golden and Egbuka) are all off the board. Top offensive tackles (Campbell, Membou, Banks and Simmons) have all been selected. Jeanty and Hampton have both been drafted and the top projected cornerbacks (Hunter, Barron and Johnson) are gone.
Scenario 2:
Washington is on the clock at pick 29, and there is no enticing trade-back offer. Here are the prospects who are available who fit the value vs. need approach:
- Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State (projected top 20 pick who slipped due to medicals)
- Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
- Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
- Omarion Hampton, RB, UNC
- Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall (off-field concerns)
- TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
*Note: Simmons, who is doing well in his rehab, is still a question mark as to whether he will be ready for camp. There was a run on EDGE prospects, and the top ones, including Ezeiruaku, have all been drafted. Green remains on the board presumably for some off-field concerns. Maxwell Hairston just went two picks before we were on the clock.
Scenario 3:
Washington is on the clock at pick 29, and there is a trade offer from the Saints, who offered pick 40 and 71 to move up to 29. New Orleans drafted Will Johnson with the 9th pick and they are rumored to be targeting quarterback Jaxson Dart at 29. Here are the prospects who are available who fit the value vs. need approach:
- Omarion Hampton, RB, UNC
- Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College
- Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
- TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
- Trey Amos, CB, Ole Miss
- Josh Conerly, OT, Oregon
*Note: The assumption here is that the players listed above will all be gone by pick 40. It’s impossible to project who will still be there at number 40, but most likely looking at an EDGE like Landon Jackson, a receiver like Jayden Higgins, a corner back like Benjamin Morrison (who has some injury concerns) and Azareye’h Thomas, and some safeties like Kevin Winston Jr. and Xavier Watts.
Scenario 4:
Washington is on the clock at pick 29, and there is a trade offer from the Browns, who offered pick 33 and 67 to move up to 29. The Browns drafted Travis Hunter at pick number two. They are looking to move back into the first round to take Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons, who has slipped a bit due to medicals. Here are the prospects who are available who fit the value vs. need approach:
Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
Josh Conerly, OT, Oregon
Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss
*Note: The trade offer is enticing, but there are two premier options still on the board here. If we make the trade, Simmons will be gone. Emmanwori will go to Buffalo or Kansas City and the Eagles will be all over Ezeiruaku at number 32. Henderson and Conerly will still likely be on the board at 33, and there are some corners and wide receivers who could offer good value.
I look forward to reading your comments below.