Commanders Draft Haul Leads to Surprising Post-Draft Power Ranking

The Washington Commanders crushed their free agency period, allowing them to have plenty of options on the table when it came to the NFL Draft.

The Commanders had only six picks in this year's draft after trading for franchise left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and general manager Adam Peters tried to make the most of them without making any draft-day trades to acquire more capital.

While most thought Washington would go defense-heavy in the draft, they did the opposite, taking just two defensive players and four on offense. Many have heralded the Commanders for the value they got from their picks, but their draft appears to have slid them further down the NFL Power Rankings.

FOX Sports Drops Commanders 4 Spots

"Dan Quinn fell in love with Ohio State LB Sonny Styles, and that’s great," Ralph Vacchiano wrote about the Commanders falling four spots. "But what this team needed most was offensive playmakers. They got Clemson WR Antonio Williams in the third, but they needed more, plus more help on the offensive line."

It's hard to deny the sentiments put forth by Vacchiano here. The selection of Styles was a great one, although many were probably hopeful to land elite cornerback Mansoor Delane before the Chiefs jumped the Commanders to snag him, along with the addition of Leo Chenal in free agency.

It gets even more concerning that the Commanders took Antonio Williams with their third-round selection. While Williams is a great, polished route-runner from the slot position, he lacks that big-play capability and also doesn't fit the mold of what type of wide receiver the team actually needed opposite of Terry McLaurin.

Washington Commanders WR Antonio Williams — Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams(0) | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co Inc SC / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Peters and Washington ultimately passed up on players like Ted Hurst, Malachai Fields, Caleb Douglas, Ja'Kobi Lane, and Chris Brazzell II for Williams services, all of whom would seemingly fit better within the Commanders' offense.

The rest of the draft, while providing great value, was also a bit of a question mark. Selecting Joshua Josephs with their third pick in the fifth round will likely look like a strong pick with a few of the Commanders' current edge rushers set to enter free agency next offseason.

However, the picks of Kaytron Allen to join an already crowded running back room didn't make sense unless the Commanders plan on letting the majority of their backs walk in free agency next year, and let's not forget waiting till the sixth round to draft an interior offensive lineman while also reaching for a quarterback in the seventh round that likely would have gone undrafted.

Yes, the value was there, but did the draft actually improve the Commanders now as well as for the future? Vacchiano isn't sold on that, and neither am I, but Washington will now have the chance to put all the pieces together to prove the doubters wrong once again as they look to bounce back from a horrific 5-12 season.

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