I don’t like to sugar-coat things. If something looks FANTASTIC, I like to point it out. If something looks BAD, I will bring that to the forefront.
In this series, “The Cold, Hard Truth”, I will give my analysis on various parts of the team in an effort to allow healthy discussions on the specific topics at hand.
The Commanders have missed on more top 100 draft picks then they have hit on
Top 100 picks are very valuable in the NFL. In the last decade, over 70 percent of All-Pro first and second teamers were comprised of former top 100 draft picks. Now of course there are outliers, but as it stands, successful teams hit on the majority of their top 100 picks.
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When Adam Peters arrived in Washington, he said during his opening press conference that he would build through the draft, and supplement through free agency. Now, it’s not for a lack of trying, as in his first two seasons as general manager he’s had eight top 100 draft picks. It’s what he’s done with those top 100 draft picks that leaves a bit of uncertainty.
2024 NFL Draft
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RD1 #2: Jayden Daniels
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Peters inherited the second overall pick in the draft and chose the uber-athletic Heisman winner from LSU. In what looks like a pretty special quarterback class, I think Peters got this pick correct – although some fans who were huge supporters of Drake Maye in the pre-draft process may argue otherwise. Daniels did have a rough second season marred by inconsistency and injuries, but his outlook remains high.
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My Pick – Jayden Daniels
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RD2 #36: Jer’Zhan Newton
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This was a big swing-and-miss by Peters. Although Newton played in 16 of a possible 17 regular season games as a rookie, his impact was minimal. He was coming off foot surgery, and many felt he was not at 100 percent during the season, however his 2025 campaign showed very little improvement. He’ll enter 2026 as an afterthought.
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My Pick: Cooper DeJean – DeJean has been a standout since entering the league, making the Pro Bowl and earning All-Pro in 2025.
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RD2 #50 (via trade-back with Eagles): Mike Sainristil
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Sainristil looked decent as a rookie bouncing between slot corner and the outside, however he took a HUGE step backwards in 2025. There were times last season where he looked unplayable. The question needs to be asked, is it the player or the scheme? For now, I’m going to say we missed on this pick – ESPECIALLY seeing who we could have chosen.
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My Pick: Edgerrin Cooper OR Kool-Aid McKinstry – Assuming the Eagles didn’t trade up for pick #40.
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RD2 #53 (via trade-back with Eagles): Ben Sinnott
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In his first two seasons, Sinnott has been a major bust. He’s started five total games in two seasons and has recorded just 16 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
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My Pick: I don’t have a pick here as I went with the assumption we never made the trade with the Eagles to move off pick 40.
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RD3 #67: Brandon Coleman
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At the time, Coleman seemed like a solid third round pick. He was thrust into a starting role at left tackle as a rookie and really struggled – but that was to be expected. Quinn and Peters new they needed to do more to protect their franchise quarterback, so the move was made to trade for Tunsil the following offseason, leaving Coleman to battle with rookie Josh Conerly for the starting right tackle job – one he ultimately lost. He ended up getting moved to left guard where he lost the starting position to Chris Paul.
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My Pick: Calen Bullock – Bullock was a versatile safety coming into the draft. He’s been a starter and key contributor for Texans defense for the past two seasons, collecting nine total interceptions and making the Pro Bowl in 2025.
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RD3 #100: Luke McCaffrey
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McCaffrey has been a used as a fourth wide receiver and special teams player. He has 29 career receptions for 371 yard and three scores (all in 2025 before getting injured).
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My Pick: Troy Franklin – Franklin, who was selected two picks after McCaffrey, has started 13 career games for Denver, and had a breakout season in 2025, collecting 65 receptions for 709 yards and six touchdowns. He has 93 receptions for 972 and 8 scores in his career.
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2025 NFL Draft
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RD1 #29: Josh Conerly
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Adam Peters selected Conerly near the end of the first round despite trading for Laremy Tunsil in the offseason and drafting Brandon Coleman the previous year. Conerly had a rough rookie season but did show some improvement during the final six games. He started all 17 games and didn’t miss an offensive snap.
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My Pick: Nick Emmanwori – Emmanwori had an outstanding rookie season for the Seahawks and made his presence felt all throughout the playoffs and Super Bowl. He’s a true chess piece who supports the run like a linebacker and can cover like a corner.
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RD2 #61: Trey Amos
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Amos performed admirably as a rookie on a horrible defense before breaking his lower leg in week 10. His six passes defended led the team through nine games and he easily looked like Washington’s best defender.
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My Pick: Trey Amos – I will stick with Amos here but seeing what changes I would have made with the 2024 draft; this could have gone a different direction if we had both DeJean and McKinstry on the team.
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Alternate Pick: Harold Fannin
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Commanders Updated Roster
Offense:
QB: Jayden Daniels
RB: Bill Croskey-Merritt
WR: Terry McLaurin
WR: Troy Franklin
WR: Treylon Burks/Jaylin Lane
TE: John Bates/?
LT: Laremy Tunsil
LG: Chris Paul
C: Tyler Biadasz
RG: Sam Cosmi
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RT: Trent Scott/?
Defense:
EDGE: Dorance Armstrong
DT: Daron Payne
DT: Javon Kinlaw
EDGE: Frankie Luvu/?
LB: Edgerrin Cooper
LB: Jordan Magee
CB/LB: Nick Emmanwori
CB: Cooper DeJean
CB: Trey Amos
S: Calen Bullock
S: Quan Martin/Will Harris
Overall, Peters has had eight top 100 picks in two years. Of those picks, I feel he flat-out missed on three, and when you factor in who he COULD have had, I will say he hit on just two – Daniels and Amos. Now, I know this second part will be open for discussion and I did that intentionally so the dialogue could get flowing, as I don’t necessarily feel in the context of what really happened that Connerly, and maybe even McCaffrey were “misses”.
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Regardless of the above, or how you feel personally about the previous picks, Adam Peters has a lot of work to do this offseason and only two top 100 picks to work with in the 2026 NFL draft. It’s possible he finds some gems like Bill Croskey-Merritt or Javontae Jean-Baptiste in later rounds but the misses on top 100 picks over the last two draft could come back to haunt him – especially when you look at some of the talent Washington passed over.
Free agency, another area where Adam Peters hasn’t exactly knocked the ball out of the park these past two years, will be even more important this season as Washington looks to climb back into contention.
