It’s been a wild week for the Washington Commanders. Washington has signed 14 free agents, allowed several former starters to sign elsewhere, traded quarterback Sam Howell and re-signed only a handful of their own free agents.
The trade of Howell to the Seahawks gives Washington three third-round picks, including six of the top 100. The Commanders’ free-agent moves have allowed general manager Adam Peters to maneuver up or down the draft board in next month’s NFL draft.
Of course, everything begins at No. 2 overall, where it’s expected the Commanders will take a quarterback. Could Washington convince Chicago to part with the No. 1 overall pick for the Commanders to select Washington native Caleb Williams?
It’s more likely Washington will choose between North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels at No. 2.
With all of the Commanders’ current draft assets and a massive void at quarterback, there’s no way they’d move down from No. 2 overall, right?
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes the Commanders are likelier to move down from No. 2 than the Patriots from No. 3.
“I do believe the connections (Minnesota Vikings) with Drake Maye make a lot of sense, but I think in order to do that, you’re talking about having to go all the way to No. 2,” Jeremiah said in talking about the Vikings making a move up to get a quarterback on the “Zach Gelb Show” of CBS Radio.
“I think he’s (Maye) in play there, I do. One of the things that was going to be interesting, Drake Maye and Sam Howell are literally best friends. And some people would look at that, “Oh, that would’ve made a lot sense then if he’s with Sam Howell.” I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think that was the case where they wanted to be, you know, competing together there. So when they traded Sam Howell, that perked me up a little bit, and thought, OK, maybe that does mean Drake Maye could be back in play there at No. 2.”
Jeremiah was asked if he leaned more toward Maye now that Howell was gone. He says every day he wakes up, he changes his mind about Maye or Daniels going No. 2, which led him to discuss the Patriots at No. 3.
“So, to me, it’s about trying to find the fit,” Jeremiah said. “And that’s why New England, to me, feels stuck, like they are taking one. Everything that I’ve heard seems to be they are committed to staying at three. They wanted an $8-to-10 million quarterback; they got that in Jacoby Brissett, and they’re going to take the guy of the future there at No. 3.”
And then Jeremiah finally spoke of Washington potentially moving down.
“I think I believe it’s likely that Washington stays and takes one of those two guys,” he said. “But I would think Washington, of the two, would be more likely to at least listen because of what they need on that roster and where they are. And when you have (OC) Kliff Kingsbury, he could say, “You know what, you get back to 11, we make this trade with the Vikings. You give me a huge haul of picks, I can make it work with, you know, whether it’s (J.J.) McCarthy, whether it’s Bo Nix or (Michael) Penix like these guys are point guards, and let’s build up the rest of the roster. So, between those two, Washington, New England, it feels to me like Washington would be the one that maybe would at least listen to what these offers are.”
Jeremiah knows his stuff, but after trading Howell, there’s no way Washington is moving down — at least that far down. By the time the NFL draft ends, Williams, Maye, or Daniels will be a Commander.
Daniel Jeremiah says Drake Maye is absolutely still in play for the Commanders. @MoveTheSticks also believes the Patriots are definitely taking a QB at 3 and thinks Washington is more likely to listen to the Vikings in a draft trade than the Pats. @CBSSportsRadio pic.twitter.com/2iNdWRRk5i
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) March 15, 2024
