2026 Road to the Draft – Part 8
March 3, 2026
By Noonefromtampa
Roster – Coaching Staff Updates
Washington’s tight end coach, David Raih, was promoted to passing game coordinator. Also, although not formally announced yet, the Commanders are bringing on former Cardinals coach, Ben Steele, to coach the tight ends. In a surprising move, the Commanders released starting center Tyler Biadasz. This leaves two open spots on the starting offensive line.
Draft Data
This week saw an increase of 16 in the number of mocks being tracked, which rose to a total of 201. Sixty-seven percent of mock pick data occurred in last few weeks. The distribution for Washington by position is:
| Position | Picked Count | Picked % | Last Week % | % Change |
| Edge | 97 | 48.26% | 50.81% | -2.55% |
| S | 34 | 16.92% | 18.92% | -2.00% |
| LB | 33 | 16.42% | 12.43% | 3.99% |
| WR | 16 | 7.96% | 9.19% | -1.23% |
| RB | 10 | 4.98% | 3.78% | 1.19% |
| CB | 6 | 2.99% | 2.70% | 0.28% |
| DL | 3 | 1.49% | 1.62% | -0.13% |
| OT | 2 | 1.00% | 0.54% | 0.45% |
| QB | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| IOL | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| TE | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Grand Total | 201 | 100% |
The biggest winner this week was linebacker, which gained almost 5%, with running back was up slightly over 1%. Edge rusher, safety and wide receiver were the categories that saw the largest decreases. The major shift on these numbers is driven by the increase in selection at the linebacker position, which is up 7% over the last month, and Sonny Styles is the reason why.
Washington holds the 7th pick in the first round. The players mocked to Washington with that pick are:
| Player | Position | School | Picked Count | Picked % |
| David Bailey | Edge | Texas Tech | 54 | 26.87% |
| Rueben Bain | Edge | Miami | 37 | 18.41% |
| Caleb Downs | S | Ohio State | 34 | 16.92% |
| Sonny Styles | LB | Ohio State | 21 | 10.45% |
| Arvell Reese | LB | Ohio State | 12 | 5.97% |
| Carnell Tate | WR | Ohio State | 12 | 5.97% |
| Jeremiyah Love | RB | Notre Dame | 10 | 4.98% |
| Mansoor Delane | CB | LSU | 6 | 2.99% |
| Keldric Faulk | Edge | Auburn | 5 | 2.49% |
| Jordyn Tyson | WR | Arizona State | 4 | 1.99% |
| Peter Woods | DL | Clemson | 2 | 1.00% |
| Francis Mauigoa | OT | Miami | 1 | 0.50% |
| Spencer Fano | OT | Utah | 1 | 0.50% |
| Kayden McDonald | DL | Ohio State | 1 | 0.50% |
| T.J. Parker | Edge | Clemson | 1 | 0.50% |
| Grand Total | 201 | 100.00% |
The top 5 places remain unchanged this week.
Draft Thoughts
With the release of Biadasz, the center position can be addressed three ways. First, the team may move another player on the roster to center such as Nick Allegretti or Brandon Coleman. Both of those options have been mentioned in social media posts. Second way is to sign a free agent such as Tyler Linderbaum, Lloyd Cushenberry, James Daniels, Conner McGovern or Ryan Bates. Lastly, the Commanders could draft a new center. The issue here is that Washington doesn’t have picks in the second or fourth rounds. The team is probably not going to use the seventh pick in the first-round pick on a center. Logan Jones and Parker Brailsford are two possibilities in the third round.
Sonny Styles had a great combine. He ran a 4.46 40-yard dash and had a 43.5” vertical leap. Reportedly, Styles also did well in his team interviews, solidifying the view of him being a top 10 pick.
Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com
The statistical shift toward linebacker selections is fascinating—just like in strategic gaming, analyzing trends and adapting approach is crucial. Sonny Styles’ 7% rise mirrors how gogojili vip members identify emerging opportunities. Smart drafting requires the same analytical mindset.