Washington Commanders: Mistakes to avoid in the 2022 NFL Draft

Washington Commanders skimping on offensive weapons

This has been a problem for the Washington Commanders for a pretty long time. They have not had a very good offense in years. And it doesn’t help that they don’t seem too interested in adding weapons through the draft.

Yes, they’ve made some big additions through the draft in recent years. Those additions are few-and-far-in-between though. Let’s go through them, shall we?

In 2021 the Commanders took three “skill position players” on offense. They would be wide receiver Dyami Brown in the third, tight end John Bates in the fourth, and wide receiver Dax Milne in the seventh. Brown was expected to contribute immediately but Bates was brought in to be a backup tight end and Milne was depth.

2020 saw Washington take running back Antonio Gibson (there was a big addition) in the third and wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden in the fourth. Gandy-Golden didn’t do much of anything.

2019 brought them wide receiver Terry McLaurin in the third (major hit), running back Bryce Love in the fourth, and wide receiver Kelvin Harmon in the sixth. Love is already gone and Harmon is barely hanging on.

2018 was running back Derrius Guice in the second round (big yikes) and wide receiver Trey Quinn in the seventh. Both are gone.

2017 gave them running back Samaje Perine in the fourth and wide receiver Robert Davis in the sixth. Again, both are already gone.

2016 was the last time Washington took a skill position player on offense in the first round. It didn’t work out well, it being Josh Doctson. And maybe that scared them off for a bit when it comes to that.

Now, I’m not saying Washington has to take a skill position in the first. And I’m not saying it’s all their fault that some of those players didn’t work out. But the point is, they have made very little effort to add through the draft. The fact that they’ve taken one skill position player before the third round since 2016 is absolutely wild. Most years it feels like they barely tried.

That’s all fine and dandy if you’re making major splashes in free agency or have tons of talent on your roster already. We all know that hasn’t been what the Commanders were doing in recent years though. Especially not at those positions.

Go after a wide receiver early. You have a few needs, and offensive playmaker is definitely one of them – especially after seriously disappointing years from Brown and free agent acquisition Curtis Samuel in 2021.