2026 Road to the Draft – Part 10

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March 18, 2026

By Noonefromtampa

Roster Updates – Free Agency

Adam Peters was aggressive in free agency and put Washington into good shape going into the draft. The major focus was on improving the defense and enhancing the pass rush capability that was sorely lacking last season. The team also got younger and faster, qualities also lacking last year. Twenty-four players were brought back or signed.

Re-Signed/Extended New Signings
C/G Nick Allegretti CB Amik Robertson
DE Deatrich Wise Jr. DE Charles Omenihu
DE Drake Jackson DE Odafe Oweh
DT Shy Tuttle DT Tim Settle
G Chris Paul LB K’Lavon Chaisson
G/T Andrew Wylie LB Leo Chenal
K Jake Moody RB Jerome Ford
P Tress Way RB Rachaad White
QB Marcus Mariota S Nick Cross
T Laremy Tunsil TE Chigoziem Okonkwo
T Trenton Scott WR Dyami Brown
WR Treylon Burks WR Van Jefferson

Note: The team also re-signed RB Jeremy McNichols early this week.

What this free agency class has done is to allow Washington to pick the players in the draft they think will bring the most impact to the team without having to draft a position of need. How successful free agency was won’t be known until we see the defense play this fall.

Draft Data

This week saw an increase of 14 in the number of mocks being tracked which rose to244 mocks tracked. Sixty-one 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 112 45.90% 47.39% -1.49%
LB 41 16.80% 18.70% -1.89%
S 35 14.34% 14.78% -0.44%
RB 26 10.66% 7.39% 3.26%
WR 19 7.79% 6.09% 1.70%
CB 8 3.28% 3.91% -0.63%
DL 2 0.82% 0.87% -0.05%
OT 1 0.41% 0.87% -0.46%
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 244 100%  

The biggest winner again this week was running back, which was up nearly 3.3%, and the next biggest, wide receiver, was up 1.7%. Edge and linebacker were the categories that saw the largest decreases.  The cause of this is that after the free agency moves by the Commanders, prognosticators feel that Washington will focus on offense in the draft.

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 23.36%
Rueben Bain Edge Miami 51 20.90%
Caleb Downs S Ohio State 35 14.34%
Sonny Styles LB Ohio State 30 12.30%
Jeremiyah Love RB Notre Dame 26 10.66%
Carnell Tate WR Ohio State 16 6.56%
Arvell Reese LB Ohio State 11 4.51%
Mansoor Delane CB LSU 7 2.87%
Keldric Faulk Edge Auburn 4 1.64%
Peter Woods DL Clemson 2 0.82%
Jordyn Tyson WR Arizona State 2 0.82%
Spencer Fano OT Utah 1 0.41%
Jermod McCoy CB Tennessee 1 0.41%
Makai Lemon WR USC 1 0.41%
Grand Total 244 100.00%

The top 5 places remain unchanged this week. Love jumped up 3%, putting him in the middle tier of players picked. Two new players show up on the list this week, Jermod McCoy and Makai Lemon. McCoy was the result of a proposed trade down with the Ravens that allowed Washington to pick up additional picks in the 2026 draft. Lemon was a straight up pick at number seven.

Draft Thoughts

Free agency has put some clarity on the draft. Maybe not in terms of who the Commanders select with the seventh pick but in terms of the options they have. Washington can now legitimately take the best player that will make the most impact on the roster, either now or in the future, or they can trade back and get more picks. Free agency has addressed the most urgent needs of the next team, but Washington’s front office needs to establish a steady stream of incoming draft picks that will contribute to the team long-term. Trading down could add two to three more picks to this year’s draft haul.

Right now, three players stand out as most likely draft candidates at the seventh pick, Tate, Downs and Love. Of those three, Love and Downs would probably have the most impact this season.

Love is what scouts term as a “home run” back, in that he can use his speed and elusiveness to score from anywhere on the field every time he touches the ball. He is patient runner who lets the blocks develop and can catch the ball with soft hands. Love’s main area for improvement is pass protection. Defenses will know this and try to exploit it until he can prove otherwise.

Downs is a second-generation NFL talent, as his father and uncle both played in the NFL. He has the speed and football IQ to play free safety who has the versatility that defensive coordinators love to build cover schemes around. He is also physical enough to come down into the box and make tackles in the run game.

Personally, my opinion about wide receiver is that 80% or better don’t make a significant impact as a receiver until year 2. The passing game differences between collegiate and professional levels is that great. The route running and timing is more important as the throwing windows are much tighter. That is why I view Tate as more of a future impact player and probable Terry McLaurin replacement.

Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com

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