2026 Road to the Draft – Part 9

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March 12, 2026

By Noonefromtampa

Roster – Coaching Staff Updates

Last week, before free agency, the Commanders signed kicker Jake Moody, defensive ends Deatrich Wise and Drake Jackson, defensive tackle Shy Tuttle and wide receiver Treylon Burks. The team also extended the contracts of offensive linemen Andrew Wylie and Nick Allegretti.

The 2026 coaching staff is set:

Draft Data

This week, there was an increase of 29 in the number of mocks being tracked which rose to a total of 230 . Sixty-two 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 109 47.39% 48.26% -0.87%
LB 43 18.70% 16.42% 2.28%
S 34 14.78% 16.92% -2.13%
RB 17 7.39% 4.98% 2.42%
WR 14 6.09% 7.96% -1.87%
CB 9 3.91% 2.99% 0.93%
DL 2 0.87% 1.49% -0.62%
OT 2 0.87% 1.00% -0.13%
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 230 100%   29

The biggest winner this week was running back, which was up slightly over 2.4% and the next biggest, was linebackers, which gained almost 2.3%. Safety and wide receiver were the categories that saw the largest decreases.  A lot of mocks are shifting their picks to Sonny Styles and Jeremiyah Love, which is driving the changes.

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 57 24.78%
Rueben Bain Edge Miami 47 20.43%
Caleb Downs S Ohio State 34 14.78%
Sonny Styles LB Ohio State 31 13.48%
Jeremiyah Love RB Notre Dame 17 7.39%
Carnell Tate WR Ohio State 12 5.22%
Arvell Reese LB Ohio State 12 5.22%
Mansoor Delane CB LSU 9 3.91%
Keldric Faulk Edge Auburn 5 2.17%
Peter Woods DL Clemson 2 0.87%
Jordyn Tyson WR Arizona State 2 0.87%
Francis Mauigoa OT Miami 1 0.43%
Spencer Fano OT Utah 1 0.43%
Grand Total 230 100.00%

The top 4 places remain unchanged this week. Love has moved ahead of Tate and Reese. Bailey, Bain, Downs and Styles now comprised 73.5% of all selections. Styles has pulled almost even with Downs after starting very low on the list of players selected.

Draft Thoughts

The team’s moves prior to free agency were about depth and competition. The team has sought to bring back players who showed the ability to perform and compete last season, while also being cost economical to the cap. We now know how big of an investment in free agents Washington will make, and that will be reflected in next week’s column. We’ll also know how much flexibility Washington has during the draft.

The first mock trade for Washington was posted this week. One prognosticator has Miami trading with Washington, with the Commanders getting the 11th, 87th and 111th overall picks. Washington then took Mansoor Delane in that mock draft.

Mansoor Delane is another player who has been climbing the list since Daronte Jones was named defensive coordinator. Delane, a Washington area native, started his collegiate career at Virginia Tech, playing 3 years there. He had 146 tackles, 16 passes defended, and 6 interceptions in his career in Blacksburg. Delane’s last season was at LSU where he had 45 tackles, 11 passes defended, and two interceptions.

He is an elite cover corner who had a 27.5 passer rating when targeted in 2025. Delane did not give up a touchdown in 2025 and only allowed two receptions over 20 yards. Also, he was not flagged for any penalties in 2025.

Washington fans probably would complain about picking him at number 7, but he is a great football talent.

Next week we shall see the impact of free agency on the mock drafts.

Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com

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