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The Washington Commanders sign first players from their 2025 draft class

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Virginia v Virginia Tech
Photo by Ryan Hunt/Getty Images

Draft picks are signing!

The Washington Commanders announced they have signed the first player from this year’s draft class. Virginia Tech WR Jaylin Lane was selected in the 4th round with the 128th overall pick. General manager Adam Peters told Lane after he was picked that he had the Commanders tag and was the highest-rated punt returner on their board. Lane is expected to compete for that role on special teams, along with trying to move his way up the WR depth chart. Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel are the top names going into the season, and Washington also re-signed Noah Brown and has Luke McCaffrey going into his second season.

Lane signed a 4-year, $5.11 million contract with a $913,840 signing bonus. He is set to have a $1.06 million cap hit during his rookie season, and a $1.46 million cap hit during the final year of his rookie deal.

The Washington Commanders also announced the signing of former UCLA LB Kain Medrano. He was a sixth-round pick(205th overall), and the only player the Commanders drafted that Hogs Haven didn’t do a pre-draft profile or write-up on! Medrano is very familiar with LB coach Ken Norton Jr. who has his coach in college.

Kain Medrano(6’3”, 220 lbs) is a 6th-year senior who was with UCLA for his entire college career. He had his best season last year with 72 combined tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 3 forced fumbles. He will join a Commanders team that is continuing to upgrade their defense as the look to build on their NFC Championship game season. Medrano will likely start his career on special teams, and he told reporters after getting drafted that that is his thing.

The Washington Commanders announced a third signing from this year’s five-man draft class. Former Arizona RB Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt was a seventh-round pick(245th overall), and the final pick for Adam Peters in this year’s draft.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt only played one game for Arizona before the NCAA ruled him ineligible after transferring from New Mexico by way of Alabama State. He has really good burst, can make explosive cuts, and accelerate quickly. If he can’t get around the defender, he can deliver some punishment to secondary defenders. At 24 years old, he might be close to his ceiling, but he could be a good rotational RB in a gap scheme.