MattInBrisVegasSat, November 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM UTC·11 min readThe second season of the Peters/Quinn rebuild hasn’t gone to plan, with the roster depleted by injuries, key players seeming to regress and growing questions about the coaching and schemes. With a 3-8 record, the Commanders would need to win their remaining six games simply to finish the season with a winning record.
That is a big ask for a team that has lost its last six games and is missing its star QB and multiple key starters on defense. There has been some good news this week that Terry McLaurin and Will Harris will play against the Broncos. But their return from injury, and even a late season return of Jayden Daniels, is likely to be too little too late to resurrect the team’s playoff hopes.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhile some fans will stick it out the bitter end before turning their thoughts to the off-season, others are already there. The Commanders will need an infusion of youth and talent this off-season to upgrade underperforming position groups and replace multiple starters who will retire or leave in free agency.
That will be particularly challenging for GM Adam Peters after having traded this year’s second and fourth round picks to the Texans for LT Laremy Tunsil. He will have to do much of the work to patch up the roster in free agency to set up the draft as an opportunity to raise the talent level and inject youth into what has become the oldest team in the league.
The DraftBot has been enjoying some time off during the regular season to pursue other interests. But it is never able to fully detach from its core mission to fix what ails the Commanders through better drafting. Since Adam Peters took over, it has been training its fifth generation bio-cybernetic neural network processing array to emulate his draft decision making process, as well as those of other top performing GMs around the league.
One aspect of Peters’ draft process that it has picked up on, and which will come to the fore in this mock draft, is stacking the draft board against the team’s existing roster. This is the process by which the scouting staff incorporates team needs into its prospect rankings. It was explained by Tariq Ahmad when he was Director of Scouting under Peters in San Francisco:
What does it do for the scouting process when you have a roster that looks like there’s virtually a starter at every spot, the depth looks pretty good? Does that change how you approach it and where your eyes go when it comes to evaluating the talent?
TA: Yeah, so it doesn’t change the process. We’re evaluating everyone through the fall as if we’re starting the roster from scratch to get the value exactly correct. But, as we talk about the players as we go in the winter and then, during the April meetings, we compare them to the guys on our roster and how they would fit in. So, initially it doesn’t change at all, but then we have to be able to clearly communicate what their exact value is a little bit later in the process.
In a nutshell, the scouts initially build a board by ranking players based purely on scouting evaluations. Then they adjust the rankings by asking what each prospect’s path to a roster position looks like given players already on the roster. As the draft proceeds, the GM won’t reach significantly down the board to fill a roster need. But players with the most direct path to a roster spot gain an advantage over similarly rated players who will have to outcompete established starters. The end result of this process is that team needs act as a tiebreaker between players with similar ratings.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn this mock draft, the process continued throughout the selection process, with each of the Commanders’ draft picks re-setting the DraftBot’s board for players at the same position. Don’t worry if that doesn’t make sense now. I’ll explain as the picks are announced.
If it looks like the DraftBot drafted for need, that’s because need plays a major role in its decision process, but without compromising on talent.
Technicalities: the DraftBot used the Pro Football Network Mock Draft Simulator. Its draft board was cobbled together from a combination of dg28’s Future Hogs reports and weekly draft stock reports and draft profiles from various corners of the internet. Consensus draft ranks are from the Mock Draft Database Consensus Draft Board. Player stats were sourced from Pro Football Reference and Pro Football Focus Premium Stats (paywall warning).
Way Too Early 2026 Commanders’ Mock Draft
Round 1, Pick 7: TRADE
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCommanders send pick 7 to Vikings in exchange for picks 12, 43.
The DraftBot has never been a fan of trading draft picks for veteran players. It felt disadvantaged coming into the draft with only two selections in the top 100 picks, far short of what it needed to even begin fixing all the holes in the Commanders’ talent pipeline. It was looking for trade opportunities. The Vikings made a very favorable offer according to the Rich Hill trade value chart. Minnesota used the pick acquired to draft LSU CB Mansoor Delane, who was near the top of the DraftBot’s board, but behind two other defenders.
Round 1, Pick 12: Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
6’2” | 200 lbs | Senior | Age 21
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement2025 Key Stats: 8 games | 59 rec | 689 yds | 8 TD | 62.8% rec| 11.7 yd ADOT | 2.34 Y/RR | 4.5 YAC/Rec | 1.7% drops
Consensus Rank: 7
Analytics driven drafters might question the wisdom of picking a WR this early, but the value and alignment with team needs is too good to pass up. Plus, the top defensive players were off the board when the DraftBot picked.
This pick gives Jayden a second premium receiving weapon opposite Terry McLaurin to stretch opposing defenses. Tyson is the top rated offensive skill player in the draft aside from QBs. He is a polished route runner with elite ball skills and strength to play through contact.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe DraftBot had to pass up on elite defensive prospects Caleb Downs and Arvell Reese to add a second round pick. An elite prospect falling to the Commanders at 12 makes it harder to question that decision.
Round 2, Pick 43: TRADE
Commanders send pick 43, 190, 222 to Lions in exchange for 50, 134, 200.
The DraftBot received another trade offer from the Lions. Without having to move too far back in the second round, it was able to add a fourth round pick and shuffle around some late round selections. With this trade, it has recouped picks in the second and fourth round which Adam Peters traded for Tunsil.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRound 2, Pick 50: T.J. Parker, DE, Clemson
6’3” | 265 lbs | Junior | Age: 21
2025 Key Stats: 11 games | 17 tkl | 16 asst | 19 stops | 2 sacks | 31 pressures | 10.8% Pressure Rate | 6.5 TFL | 1 PD
Consensus Rank: 18
The DraftBot could not believe its luck when Parker fell to him this late in the draft. He was the 11th ranked player on its board and far ahead of the next player. Parker would have been in play at 12, if Tyson had not fallen to the Commanders’ pick.
Parker had a breakout sophomore season last year, with 11 sacks, 51 pressures and an ACC-leading 6 forced fumbles. He has been receiving more attention from offensive game planners this year, and his production has dropped. He is a power rusher, who wins with violent hands and refined technique. Perhaps his biggest selling point for the Commanders is that he brings strength at the point of attack, with length to set the edge against OTs and get off blocks to make plays in the backfield.
Round 3, Pick 73: Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement6’0” | 190 lbs | Junior | Age: 20
2025 Key Stats: 11 games | 15 tkl | 8 asst | 13 stops | 1.5 TFL | 1 FF | 1 INT | 4 PD | 1.24 Y/Cov Snp
Consensus Rank: 38
Cisse is creating buzz among NFL scouts and rising up draft boards, with more and appearances in the first round of mock drafts. He has speed, length and cover skills to blanket wide receivers. He has allowed a little more yardage in coverage than you would like to see. But he is young and still developing his skill set.
Cisse gives the Commanders a young CB with upside to eventually play opposite Trey Amos. He will compete for the starting job in camp. This is another prospect pick far later than the DraftBot expected him to be available.
Round 4, Pick 134: Domani Jackson, CB Alabama
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement6’1” | 196 lbs | Senior | Age 21
2025 Key Stats: 11 games | 17 tkl | 10 asst | 9 stops | 1.5 TFL | 0 INT | 0 PD | 0.59 Y/Cov Snp
Consensus Rank: 80
The DraftBot didn’t intend to double up on CBs, but Jackson was such good value at this pick that it would have been irresponsible to not take him. If there is one thing Commanders fans have learned this season, it’s that depth at key positions matters.
Jackson is the type of big, physical press-man corner that we associate with Dan Quinn’s defenses. In some ways, he might prove to be a better player than his new teammate, picked in the previous round. He jams receivers at the line and has good footwork and athleticism to blanket them on routes. He hasn’t made any plays on the ball this season, but he has shut down receivers in coverage. He is also a physical run defender and triggers downhill to blow up screens in the backfield.
Round 5, Pick 147: Zion Young, DE, Missouri
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement6’5” | 265 lbs | Senior | Age 21
2025 Key Stats: 11 games | 18 tkl | 19 asst | 27 stops | 2 FF | 6.5 sacks | 41 pressures | 15.7% Pressure Rate | 15 TFL | 2 PD
Consensus Rank: 45
Young profiles with the prototypical size and ideal length for a 4-3 DE. He lacks the elite athleticism of edge rushers projected to be taken in the first round. But his power game, driven by a non-stop motor and competitive mentality has generated first-round-level productivity against SEC opponents, including a staggering 15 TFL. Young is strong at the point of attack and will help to bolster the edge defense against the run.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe selection of T.J. Parker in the second round makes Young’s path to a starting position with the Commanders more challenging. He was the highest rated player on the DraftBot’s initial board through the last two picks. At this point in the draft, he is simply too good a value to pass up. He will start camp competing for a role in the DE rotation. It would not be a huge surprise to see him pushing for starting time early in his time with the Commanders. In the interim, he should be a massive upgrade to the team’s depth at the position.
Round 6, Pick 184: Tim Keenan III, NT, Alabama
6’2” | 335 lbs | Senior | Age 22
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement2025 Key Stats: 8 games | 4 tkl | 5 asst | 7 stops | 1 FF | 2 FR | 2 sacks | 7 pressures | 5.8% Pressure Rate | 2 TFL | 1 PD
Consensus Rank: 136
Keenan is a mountain of muscle and other biomass to clog interior gaps and make plays on the ballcarrier as a two gapping 0-tech, nose tackle. He is an immovable object at the point of attack, with the power to play through double teams and prevent offensive linemen from getting to the second level. Like most nose tackles, his impact will be reflected more in the output of other defenders than in his own stat line.
Keenan’s productivity dropped off this year from his peak as a junior. That might have something to do with his rehab from tightrope surgery on his ankle, which made him miss the first four games of the season. He has also struggled with weight, and came back from injury with some extra pounds.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKeenan will likely never push for a starting position, as he is not a high impact pass rusher. Nevertheless, he provides youth and a potential upgrade to a crucial role in the Commanders’ DL rotation, which has been manned by Carl Davis and Eddie Goldman over the past two seasons.
Round 6, Pick 200: Ian Strong, WR, Rutgers
6’3” | 211 lbs | Junior| Age 21
2025 Key Stats: 9 games | 49 rec | 725 yds | 5 TD | 63.6% rec| 12.2 yd ADOT | 2.22 Y/RR | 3.5 YAC/Rec | 57.1% CTC% | 2.0% drops
Consensus Rank: 125
Strong started the college season as a relative unknown and is one of the biggest risers of the draft class, if he declares. He is a big, athletic receiver whose 4.6 sec 40 time doesn’t reflect his play speed. He is a savvy route runner to create separation and a natural hands catcher, who uses his large frame and physicality to make contested catches and pick up yards after the catch.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStrong was rated higher than Tim Keenan on the DraftBot’s initial board. Jordyn Tyson’s selection in the first round lowered the priority level of his position. But at 200 he was simply too good a value to pass up. The Commanders can certainly do with better depth at WR.
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