Commanders Drafting Louisiana LB Andre Jones Another Example of College Pattern

For the second consecutive year, the Washington Commanders selected a defensive player from the University of Louisiana. In 2022, that player was defensive back Percy Butler. This year, they took linebacker Andre Jones in the seventh round.

"It's going to be turnt now," Jones said. "Not saying it wasn't turnt already, but you know, Ragin' Cajuns, we're a different breed.”

Butler recorded just 11 tackles in his rookie season with the Commanders in 2022, but made most of his contributions on special teams, where Jones projects to operate during his rookie campaign.

This isn't the first time head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew have selected multiple players from the same school in the draft. In 2020, Washington selected defensive back Kamren Curl from Arkansas. This year, the team went back to the Razorbacks to take center Ricky Stromberg.

In 2021, the team started a number of trends. After taking Kentucky linebacker Jamin Davis, the team barked up the Wildcats' tree again in 2023 to select running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. Penn State defensive end Shaka Toney was taken in the seventh round in 2021 before Jahan Dotson was chosen with the No. 16 pick last year. The team also took North Carolina wide receiver Dyami Brown in 2021 before taking his quarterback Sam Howell a year later.

Last year, the team also took a pair of Alabama Crimson Tide stars in defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis and running back Brian Robinson Jr.

By doubling down on these various schools, the Commanders are showing a pattern that they like certain players and hope that similar training and style will translate well to the NFL level like it has with previous rookies.

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