Wizards' Early Predraft Workouts Reveal Second Round Priorities

The Washington Wizards are targeting a specific kind of collegiate contributor with their second round assets.

Apr 6, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett (4) cuts down the net after defeating the UConn Huskies in the national championship of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Talk around the Washington Wizards' rumored strategies around how they'll approach their second round draft capital couldn't be any different than the hullabaloo surrounding their first-overall pick, the keystone asset in a loaded 2026 prospect class.

Unlike the leadoff pick, which features an already-heated debate as to which headlining talent the Wizards will scoop up, their later round choices aren't nearly as defined, let alone discussed. So much still has to happen before Washington's evaluators even know who'll be left for them to parse through at Nos. 51 and 60, and those deep-cuts aren't exactly swimming in the same tier of upside as AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson.

Reports are already revealing who the Wizards are privately working out to begin their personal scouting adventures, and there's one common thread to note among Cody Taylor's discovery.

The following prospects have completed a predraft workout with the Wizards, per @CodyTaylorNBA

Washington owns picks No. 1, No. 51 and No. 60 in the 2026 draft.

Full article: https://t.co/K41cR78EWk pic.twitter.com/qy0SUHzoS4

— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) May 22, 2026

Each of the 11 players listed participated in at least four years of high-level NCAA ball, and outside of Jordan Riley, who led the American Athletic Conference in scoring with 23.6 points per game, everyone else evolved into respective March Madness staples at their final college stops. Jeremy Fears Jr., Nimari Burnett and Malik Reneau played key roles on regular tournament performers, while others like Miami (Ohio)'s Peter Suder and BYU's Kebe Keita sustained as familiar faces on regular season darlings.

The Wizards have usually leaned on long-term potential, development-friendly physical tools and star-caliber flashes when making their usual lottery picks, but the last 10 selection slots of the draft's second day is an entirely different scouting ballgame. And based on one recent success story and Washington's present rotational needs, there's reason to believe in this trend dictating management's second round decisions.

The Wizards' Watkins Precedent

The last time Washington was on the clock, midway through the 2026 NBA Draft at No. 43, the Wizards opted to try something different.

For the first time all rebuild, they threw prototypical age concerns out entirely in bringing Jamir Watkins aboard the ship, selecting a five-year college veteran who turned 24 years old a week following the team's selection. Even if he never profiled as a high-end starter, D.C.'s rotation desperately needed another sturdy defender to disrupt assignments, and he delivered that need with a rookie year spent advertising professionalism and sneaky scoring upside that's sure to be monitored along his budding journey.

Mar 17, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Jamir Watkins (5) drives past Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (5) during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Locating meaningful professional talent in that range of the process, let alone the 50s, where the Wizards are currently slated to spend their multiple second round picks. Washington is smart enough to know that a productive role player would be a spectacular win by Day Two standards, and if these early workouts indicate anything, it's that the helpful Watkins is probably not the last of his kind.

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