Throughout the draft process, many NFL teams have flip-flopped on what they will do with their upcoming first-round pick. Rumors of trading back or up have been floated around by almost every team at this point. This won’t change either as smoke will be blown until the picks are in. The Bears going with Caleb Williams number one seems to be a lock and now the Commanders seem to be in the same club
The Commanders Are Staying Put At Second Overall
The Commanders quarterback saga is officially coming to a close as the reports are flooding in that they’ve divided to stay put. Since Sam Howell was out it seemed the writing was on the wall that they would stay put but rumors still floated around. Despite it making little sense for the Commanders to trade back they still were in trade rumors. Now multiple sources are saying that it’s coming to an end and the Commanders have decided to stay put. In a presser on Thursday GM Adam Peters said “We feel great about staying at No. 2. Don’t see a lot of scenarios where we trade down.”
Today reports came out that a few teams continued to push the issue and try to trade up with the Commanders. One of those teams being the Las Vegas Raiders. This comes as a shock to no one as it was reported that Antonio Pierce and Jayden Daniels wanting to reunite was one of the worst-kept secrets. This rejected attempt shows that the Commanders and Adam Peters are sticking to their word. It’s unlikely that they move the second overall pick. The question now is who do they take with their pick?
Which Prospect Will the Commanders Take With The Second Pick?
This is going to be a three-quarterback battle and all of them seem reasonably possible. The most unlikely option but not by much is Michigan’s JJ McCarthy. McCarthy is a recent riser as going into the process he was seen as a day two talent. Following the National Championship game, it has been all up for McCarthy. He has now been mocked ahead of every quarterback prospect at some point other than Caleb Williams. He had a visit with the Commanders and impressed but he doesn’t have the same upside as the other quarterbacks in this class.
Another option is North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. Maye has had the opposite of what happened to McCarthy happen to him. He has fallen on many people’s boards because of his inconsistency. He was at one point considered 1b to Caleb Williams’s 1a. Now he has been mocked outside the top three. Maye is electric and has some of the best traits out of any quarterback in this class. He has a big arm and elite athletic traits and the Commanders could easily regret not taking him if they decide to pick someone else.
That brings us to the most likely player and that’s LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Daniels has been mocked to the Commanders for weeks now and it looks like he is almost a lock to land in Washington. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that
“A team in the top 10 told me Monday they’d heard that any remaining issues between the Commanders and Jayden Daniels’s camp had been smoothed over,” Breer continued “And I’m not finding many people with rival teams that don’t think the Heisman winner is D.C.-bound.”
Again nothing is locked in until the pick is made on Thursday but it looks likely Daniels is going to Washington. Despite the supposed bad blood between the two it seems like Daniels and the Commanders have mutual interest. The other two quarterbacks could still land in Washington but it looks to be Daniels’s spot to lose.
