Would the Commanders actually trade down, not taking a quarterback in the first round of April’s NFL draft?
Well, Sunday, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli posted his 2024 mock draft, and Commanders fans will most likely respond, “Well, that is not going to happen.”
Fornelli projects that three NFL teams will trade up in the draft for the direct purpose of getting into position to select a quarterback of their choice, and one involves the Commanders. Here are his entire first-round predictions.
Fornelli has the Bears staying at No. 1 and selecting USC quarterback Caleb Williams. As for the three teams trading up to select quarterbacks?
The Commanders agree to trade down with the Atlanta Falcons and the Falcons select LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. In the trade, Washington then takes Atlanta’s number eight position and selects Penn State offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu.
The second trade has the Vikings in the 11th position, trading up with the Cardinals to the fourth position and then selecting North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
Then the third trade involves the Pittsburgh Steelers trading up with the Chicago Bears to the ninth position and selecting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. In the 20th position, the Bears select Oregon inside offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Here is how Fornelli described the Commanders selection of Fashanu:
Like Latham, Fashanu is a better pass-blocker than run-blocker, but Latham is further ahead in that aspect, so I have him slightly ahead of Fashanu now. That said, I love Olu, an outstanding pass-blocker who is strong enough to hold up against a power rusher and athletic enough to move quickly and counter speed rushers. He also does an excellent job of diagnosing threats pre-snap and adjusting after the snap.