Washington Commanders: Mistakes to avoid in the 2022 NFL Draft

Washington Commanders playing it safe for no reason

In the past, the Washington Commanders have made some big trades to move up. One, in particular, is the one that saw them make a massive trade with the Los Angeles Rams to move up and take Robert Griffin III with the second overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.

That trade ended up not working out all that well for Washington. Griffin III was incredible in his rookie year. But the magic sort of ended there. Injuries (among other things) led to the demise of RGIII in Washington. Meanwhile, the Rams used that stockpile of picks to turn their franchise around.

Due to that, it’s turned a lot of fans off to the idea of trading up to get someone in the first round.

Now, I’m not saying they should give away a haul like the one they did for Griffin III. That was pretty hefty. And if we’re being honest, there’s no quarterback in this draft that elicits the type of hype or excitement that RGIII did.

This isn’t an insult. There are quite a few quarterbacks in this class with a lot of potential. But no one is close to that level coming out of the draft this year. When Griffin III was a prospect, it was almost unanimously agreed upon that he would be a star.

That being said, don’t be afraid to move up. If you like someone at seven and don’t think he’ll be there at 11, go get him. Don’t let past failures stop you from making a move that can help the franchise.

Washington desperately needs a quarterback. Maybe they don’t think their number one at the position is going to be there when they draft, and they really like him. Your 2022 first and next year’s first might be worth it in the long run. I know you’ve been burned before when trading future picks, but if you draft with fear you might never get those superstar players you want.

Of course, that means we also have to talk about something else in this aspect though.