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The Washington Commanders have six picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL draft — the most of any team.
On a recent episode of The Ringer’s “Extra Point Taken” podcast, co-host Sheil Kapadia pointed out that the players the Commanders take from April 25-27 in Detroit will likely define the tenure of Commanders general manager Adam Peters in his very first draft.
Peters was hired as general manager in January after spending seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, first as vice president of player personnel and assistant general manager.
“It’s a weird spot, where (Peters) has been there for three months and the decisions he makes in this three-day period are probably going to define his tenure,” Kapadia said. “Most GMs don’t come into a situation where you have the second overall pick in a draft that has good quarterbaks and you have six picks in the first three rounds and you have nine picks overall.”
Pressure High on Peters With No. 2 Overall Pick
It’s almost a certainty that the Commanders will take a quarterback at No. 2 overall in 2024 after their 2023 starter, Sam Howell, was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in March.
That leaves Washington with a franchise-defining pick at No. 2 overall — and a career-defining one for Peters. With Caleb Williams likely going to the Chicago Bears at No. 1 overall, the Commanders are widely assumed to be trying to decide between LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye, with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy as a dark-horse candidate.
The Commanders went 4-13 in 2023 and have had one winning season in the last 10 years. The franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since 2005.
“So (Peters) could nail this, and if nails it, Adam Peters is going to be like the franchise savior,” Kapadia said. “Move on from the Daniel Snyder era, get your quarterback and it’s ‘Ok, (Peters) knows how to draft,’ and you’re feeling great about this next era of football as a Commanders fan.
“If he doesn’t, and if the Commanders are trying this again three years from now, is Adam Peters making that call? Probably not. History tells us probably not.”
2023 NFL Draft Had Success Story at No. 2 Overall
If we learned anything from the 2023 NFL Draft, it’s that the No. 2 overall pick has a chance of changing the fortunes of your franchise, for better or worse.
The Carolina Panthers selected Alabama’s Bryce Young at No. 1 overall in 2023. The Panthers went 2-15 and Young went 2-14 in 16 starts and seemed generally lost for most of the year.
The Houston Texans selected Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud at No. 2 overall and he led a turnaround that saw the Texans go from 3-13 to AFC South Division champions. Stroud became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game — one of five NFL records he set in his first season — and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“If you get the quarterback right, if you get this year’s C.J. Stroud, everything else becomes a lot easier,” Kapadia said. “You can have misses on other stuff, you can figure it out next offseason.”
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