Commanders Select QB in First Round of 2024 NFL Mock Draft
Sam Howell has won the battle, but the war to cement himself as the long-term starting quarterback for the Washington Commanders has just begun.
Howell will open his second NFL season as Washington's starting quarterback, and if he's able to play at a proficient level, it feels entirely possible that a Commanders team who won eight games a season ago with no stability at the most important position sneaks into the playoffs in 2023.
However, the flip side of that is the possibility that things just don't work out for Howell, the Commanders finish in fourth place in a division that produced three playoff teams a season ago, and new ownership replaces coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew.
In his latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft, Matt Miller of ESPN projects the latter scenario to play out, and has the Commanders ultimately selecting Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers with the No. 8 overall pick.
"He [Ewers] missed a month of his 2022 season with a shoulder injury and has been uneven at times (15 touchdown passes to six interceptions last season), but he flashed command, accuracy and second-effort ability outside the pocket," Miller wrote. "Will he now take the next step under Steve Sarkisian and elevate the Texas program back to greatness before potentially being an answer under center for Washington?"
In Miller's mock, Ewers is the third quarterback taken. USC quarterback Caleb Williams goes to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 1 overall, with North Carolina's Drake Maye coming off the board two picks later to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To get either of the top two quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft class, the Commanders likely will need one of the top three picks.
Ewers is among the candidates to the be third quarterback off the board, if he's able to lead Texas -- who will open the season as the No. 11 team in college football -- to a productive season. Other candidates to be the third quarterback selected are Michael Penix Jr. of Washington, Bo Nix of Oregon and J.J. McCarthy of Michigan.
What we would say, though, is it's fair to wonder if having the eighth overall pick will be a high enough selection to land the third quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft class. In this draft scenario, the three teams picking above the Commanders are the Los Angeles Rams, Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers, all of whom could at least theoretically consider taking a quarterback if the 2023 season goes south. So it's possible Washington will need to move up a few selections if they do indeed decide to take a quarterback in the first round of next year's draft.
Of course, Howell has a chance to make this all a moot point from the perspective of the Commanders.
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