2022 Road to the Draft – Part 5
February 16, 2021
By Noonefromtampa
We are another week closer to free agency and the draft for the Washington Commanders, but the swirl of problems surrounding owner Dan Snyder continues. New allegations raised during the Congressional hearing have put the spotlight back on the embattled owner and it is happening during the time the league likes all favorable press focused on the main event, the Super Bowl.
Most of the team’s fanbase is ready to move on from the Snyders, and with a new name having been selected, now is probably the best time. But rich folks don’t always do the right thing nor do they like being told what to do, either. The issue will probably come down to whether the other 31 owners want to get rid the anchor dragging them all down or not. Mock drafts are not the only mockery surrounding the team these days.
Well, if the photos from Super Bowl pre-party was any indication, at least the team corrected the Commander Crest, replacing the wrong years with the Super Bowl Roman numerals.
Freshness Rating
The mock data for this week shows that 55% of existing mocks drafts are one week old or newer, and 45% are two weeks or older.
| Age | Age % |
| New | 35.23% |
| 1 Week Old | 19.32% |
| 2 Weeks Old | 14.77% |
| 3+ Weeks Old | 30.68% |
| Grand Total | 100.00% |
Position Distribution
The number of mocks is up 15 this week to 88 overall, up over 20.5% from last week. Also, with the 35% new overall, this is the big wave of post college all-star game update I referred to in my last column. The quarterback position jumped up almost 7% this week, probably influenced by the comments from Ron Rivera about the team’s need to resolve the QB position.
| Position | Picked Count | Picked % | Last Week % | % Change |
| QB | 64 | 72.73% | 65.75% | 6.97% |
| OT | 6 | 6.82% | 8.22% | -1.40% |
| WR | 4 | 4.55% | 4.11% | 0.44% |
| S | 4 | 4.55% | 8.22% | -3.67% |
| LB | 4 | 4.55% | 5.48% | -0.93% |
| CB | 3 | 3.41% | 4.11% | -0.70% |
| IOL | 3 | 3.41% | 4.11% | -0.70% |
| Edge | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| RB | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| TE | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| DT | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Grand Total | 88 | 100% |
The players mock picked to Washington at the 11th pick are in descending frequency:
| Player | Position | School | Picked Count | Picked % |
| Matt Corral | QB | Mississippi | 22 | 25.00% |
| Malik Willis | QB | Liberty | 18 | 20.45% |
| Kenny Pickett | QB | Pittsburgh | 15 | 17.05% |
| Sam Howell | QB | North Carolina | 5 | 5.68% |
| Charles Cross | OT | Mississippi State | 4 | 4.55% |
| Desmond Ridder | QB | Cincinnati | 2 | 2.27% |
| Derek Stingley Jr | S | LSU | 2 | 2.27% |
| Tyler Linderbaum | IOL | Iowa | 2 | 2.27% |
| Garrett Wilson | WR | Ohio State | 2 | 2.27% |
| Andrew Booth Jr. | CB | Clemson | 2 | 2.27% |
| Devin Lloyd | LB | Utah | 2 | 2.27% |
| Carson Strong | QB | Nevada | 2 | 2.27% |
| Kyle Hamilton | S | Notre Dame | 2 | 2.27% |
| Ikem Ekwonu | OT | NC State | 2 | 2.27% |
| Nakobe Dean | LB | Georgia | 2 | 2.27% |
| Treylon Burks | WR | Arkansas | 1 | 1.14% |
| Drake London | WR | USC | 1 | 1.14% |
| Kenyon Green | IOL | Texas A&M | 1 | 1.14% |
| Ahmad Gardner | CB | Cincinnati | 1 | 1.14% |
| Grand Total | 88 | 100.00% |
Matt Corral continues his streak as the most frequently selected quarterback in the various mocks, followed closely by Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett. After his Senior Bowl performance, Willis has overtaken Pickett in the mocks.
My personal opinion is that the Commanders do not take a project like Willis in the draft – Rivera does not have a particularly long leash as long as Dan Snyder remains the owner. Mr. Snyder will be expecting big results this season, given that this is year 3 of the latest rebuild [of how many under this owner].
This week saw the first mocked trade for Washington, in which the Commanders sent Atlanta picks 11, 75, 228, and 2023 2nd round and received picks 8 and 217.
NFL Combine: Tuesday, March 1st to Monday, March 7th
Time until NFL Free Agency March 16, 2022: 5 weeks
Time until NFL Draft on April 28-30: 11 weeks
Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com