As a lead-up to the 2024 NFL draft, we've broken down the current depth chart of every NFL team and identified the biggest draft and team needs for the Washington Commanders.
You can find additional team-by-team draft needs articles and other draft content on our 2024 NFL Draft Hub.
Who Did the Washington Commanders Select in the 2024 NFL Draft?
The Washington Commanders selected Jayden Daniels (QB, LSU) with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Commanders also drafted:
- Jer'Zhan Newton (DT, Illinois)
- Mike Sainristil (CB, Michigan)
- Ben Sinnott (TE, Kansas State)
- Brandon Coleman (OG, TCU)
- Luke McCaffrey (WR, Rice)
- Jordan Magee (LB, Temple)
- Dominique Hampton (S, Washington)
- Javontae Jean-Baptiste (EDGE, Notre Dame)
Commanders Draft Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2024
- Quarterback
- Defensive Back
- Offensive Line
What Picks Do the Washington Commanders Have in 2024?
The Washington Commanders have 9 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, including:
- Round 1 (2)
- Round 2 (36)
- Round 2 (40)
- Round 3 (67)
- Round 3 (78)
- Round 3 (100)
- Round 5 (139)
- Round 5 (152)
- Round 7 (222)
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Washington Commanders Draft Capital Stats
Our Sharp Draft Value Rank is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.
This is based on two public models: performance delivered based on draft slot (the AV model created by Chase Stuart) and contractual earnings in non-rookie deals based upon draft slot (the OTC model created by Brad Spielberger and Jason Fitzgerald).
- Commanders Sharp Draft Value Rank: 2 of 32 teams
- Commanders AV Model Draft Value Rank: 2 of 32 teams
- Commanders OTC Model Draft Value Rank: 2 of 32 teams
Washington Commanders Draft Value vs. Other Teams:
The Commanders’ draft value is 65% higher than the league average of all 32 teams. Just one other team has more draft value entering the 2024 NFL Draft.
Washington Commanders Draft Prediction:
Brendan Donahue has the Commanders selecting Jayden Daniels (QB, LSU) with the 2nd overall pick in his most recent 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
Mock draft expert Ryan McCrystal believes the Commanders could target a quarterback like Jayden Daniels (QB, LSU) with their top pick at No. 2 overall in the first round.
Washington Commanders Strength of Schedule, 2024
The Washington Commanders have the 13th-easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2024 NFL season.
Washington Commanders Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs
Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Washington Commanders, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
Quarterback Depth Chart, Commanders:
- Marcus Mariota
- Jake Fromm
- Jeff Driskel
This one is as clean as it gets.
We know Washington is drafting a quarterback with the No. 2 overall selection. We are just waiting to see who it will be.
Washington purged their quarterback room from a year ago, trading away Sam Howell and letting Jacoby Brissett leave via free agency.
They went out and added Marcus Mariota as a veteran backup, who will be on his fourth team in as many years.
Running Back Depth Chart, Commanders:
- Brian Robinson Jr.
- Austin Ekeler
- Chris Rodriguez Jr.
- Jeremy McNichols
The Washington running game was middle-of-the-pack in 2023.
Their running backs ranked 14th in success rate (36.9%), 19th in EPA per rush (-0.10), and 11th in yards per carry (4.3 YPC).
After posting 857 yards and three touchdowns on 214 touches as a rookie in 2022, Brian Robinson totaled the same 214 touches in his second season but this time produced 1,101 total yards and nine touchdowns on those opportunities.
Robinson ranked ninth among all running backs with a first down or touchdown on 26.4% of his runs.
A reliable clasher, Robinson converted 69.0% of his short-yardage runs into a first down or score, which ranked 14th among 49 running backs with 100 or more attempts on the season.
Robinson also made a nice jump in the passing game.
After catching just nine passes for 60 yards as a rookie, he caught 36 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Washington knows what they have in Robinson, who has two cheap years left on his rookie deal.
The team went out in free agency and added Austin Ekeler on a two-year deal to complement Robinson.
The Commanders brought in Anthony Lynn as their new running game coordinator. Lynn had Ekeler from 2017-2020 when he was the head coach of the Chargers and was there as a first-time head coach the year that team signed Ekeler as a rookie free agent.
Ekeler will turn 29 this May and is coming off the worst season of his career.
His 3.6 receptions per game were his fewest in a season since 2018.
After averaging at least 6.2 yards per target in each of his opening five years in the league, Ekeler has averaged 5.7 and 5.9 yards per target the past two seasons.
Ekeler’s 3.9% rate of runs that gained 10 or more yards ranked 47th out of 49 running backs to run the ball 100 or more times during the regular season.
His previous career-low was a 10.7% explosive rate back in 2021.
A couple of things are noteworthy when looking at Ekeler’s 2023 season.
The first is that Ekeler suffered a major ankle injury the first week of the season.
In that same game, Ekeler had 161 total yards on 20 touches. In that game, Ekeler had two explosive runs on his 16 rushes.
He then missed the next three weeks.
Returning from injury, he had just five runs of 10 or more yards on his final 163 rushes of the season.
Ekeler may be on the downswing even if we do not hand out a hall pass for his injury last season, but his skill set does make a solid fit paired with Robinson.
The team drafted Chris Rodriguez in the sixth round last season.
Rodriguez only logged 53 touches as a rookie but averaged 4.9 yards per touch on his limited sample.
He had 11 touches for 65 yards and two touchdowns in Week 16 with Robinson sidelined before suffering a concussion that kept him out for the rest of the season.
Wide Receiver Depth Chart, Commanders:
- Terry McLaurin
- Jahan Dotson
- Dyami Brown
- Olamide Zaccheaus
- Jamison Crowder
- Dax Milne
- Davion Davis
- Mitchell Tinsley
- Kazmeir Allen
- Bryce Tremayne
Washington wide receivers combined to catch the sixth-most passes (232) in the NFL last season, but all of those receptions only resulted in 2,621 yards (16th) and 14 touchdowns (19th).
Quarterback play did this unit next to zero favors as 14.8% of the wide receiver targets were deemed inaccurate via the quarterback, which was 22nd in the league.
On top of that high rate of off-target throws, Washington wideouts only average 9.9 air yards per target, which was 25th in the league.
Terry McLaurin will turn 29 this September, and we are still waiting for that one season where it all comes together for him via quarterback play.
McLaurin managed 1,002 yards last season, just nabbing his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season.
Despite hitting that arbitrary threshold, McLaurin only caught four touchdown passes. After scoring seven times as a rookie in 2019, McLaurin has caught five or fewer touchdown passes in each of the past four seasons.
He also averaged a career-low 12.7 yards per catch and a career-low 58.9 yards per game last season.
His 1.56 yards per route run was also the fewest of his career while his 16.7% inaccurate target rate was the highest rate of his career.
McLaurin still has two high-salary seasons remaining on his contract, which aligns with him hitting his age-30 season.
After a solid rookie campaign, Jahan Dotson was arguably the biggest disappointment in this offense in 2023.
Dotson went from 14.9 yards per catch as a rookie down to 10.6 yards per grab last season. As a byproduct, he went from 43.6 yards per game down to 30.5 per game in his second season.
After scoring seven times as a rookie, he found the end zone four times in 2023.
Dotson was fifth in the NFL among wide receivers in routes run last season (37.3 per game) but he ranked 115th among wide receivers in target rate per route run (13.1%).
After averaging 1.39 yards per route run as a rookie, Dotson fell all of the way down to 0.82 yards per route run in his second season, which was 118th in the league at his position.
His production was so poor that it is hard to entirely let him skate free without some blame himself, but Washington is still committed to Dotson after taking him in the first round in 2022.
After McLaurin and Dotson, things get sketchy on this depth chart.
They currently do not have a reliable WR3 that warrants a ton of snaps based on production nor do they have much contractual depth.
The only wideout outside of those top two that is under contract beyond this season is Mitchell Tinsley.
With five other picks in the top-100 after their first-round slot, expect Washington to add another young playmaker here to their rookie quarterback selection.

Pre Order the Best Analytical 2024 Football Preview
Don't miss out on Warren Sharp's 500+ page preview of the 2024 NFL season.
The preview is unlike anything you have ever seen, featuring stunning visualizations built with the reader in mind.
This preview shares insights into players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal in mind: to prepare you for the 2024 NFL season by delivering the smartest information in the fastest, most direct way possible.