One of the more incredible things about the Washington Commanders flash-in-the-pan success in 2024 on the way to the NFC Championship Game was how they were able to make it that far with essentially no first round picks on their roster save for rookie quarterback and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels.
Just to be clear, that wasn’t because of a lack of first round picks. No, the Commanders just had a 5-year run of first round picks that probably needs to be studied for exactly how bad it was and how little they got out of them — 6 picks in 5 years from 2019 to 2023 that were no longer on their roster by the end of the 2024 season.
Not a single one of them.
The biggest bust of the bunch, 2020 No. 2 overall pick and edge rusher Chase Young, seems to be reclaiming his career, finally, with a different franchise.
ESPN’s Ben Solak listed Young among his top Pro Bowl snubs in his second season with the New Orleans Saints, with Solak proposing Young should have been one of he picks at edge rusher in place of Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Byron Young.
“A Young-for-Young swap would be defensible depending on which way you slice the arguments,” Solak wrote on Tuesday, December 23. “Byron Young is without question the better run defender. Chase Young plays an upfield game that takes him out of run defense, while Byron is one of the more impactful edge rushers behind the line of scrimmage. But Chase has one of the fastest get-offs, time-to-pressure and quick pressure rates of all NFL pass rushers … also the lone high-impact player in the Saints’ pass rush portfolio.”
Commanders Purged First Round Picks in 2024
The Commanders had a stretch in 2024 where they got rid of an incredible 3 former first round picks over the course of 4 months.
It began when wide receiver and 2022 first round pick (No. 16 overall) Jahan Dotson was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in August.
Next, linebacker and 2021 first round pick (No. 19 overall) Jamin Davis was released in October, then cornerback and 2023 first round pick (No. 16 overall) Emmanuel Forbes was released in November.
That was followed by trading 2019 first round pick and edge rusher Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears and trading Young to the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
Saints Ripped for Giving Young $51 Million
Young’s massive payday with the Saints before this season was considered one of the NFL’s worst free agent contracts in the 2025 cycle.
In 2024, Young played in 17 games with no starts and finished with 31 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 8 TFL as the Saints finished the season with a 5-12 record and missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
All of that figured into why Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox put Young’s new deal at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Biggest Contract Blunders” in the 2025 offseason.
In his first 5 seasons, Young has never finished above 27th in the NFL in sacks. In 4 seasons with the Commanders, Young missed 24 games due to injuries.
“Given Young’s injury history and the state of the Saints franchise, his extension represented a very unnecessary risk,” Knox wrote on July 21. “Young is only 26 years old and still has the potential to develop into a dependable starter, but New Orleans’ money would have been better spent elsewhere.”
Commanders All-Time Draft Bust & Former No. 2 Overall Pick Called Pro Bowl Snub