Final Draft Notes

A brief look at 8 prospects the Commanders have shown interest in this draft cycle

With a day to go before the draft, I’ve tried to profile all the top prospects in the last month or so. So today, instead of a big detailed profile on an individual player, I thought I’d give you some brief notes I’ve taken on a handful of prospects that have been linked with the Commanders one way or another. These are guys that have been heavily linked to Washington in mock drafts, guys that the team has met with at multiple occasions throughout the draft process and guys that some media members have mentioned worth keeping an eye on.

It’s worth saying I’ve not watched my usual number of games for these guys, I’ve only done one or two for most of them, so they’re just initial impressions but I figured it could at least be fun to look at and read through. A lot of these players are likely to go between the second and fourth round, so they’re names to keep an eye on throughout the draft weekend.

Edge Defenders

Oluwafemi Oladejo, UCLA. 6’3”, 259 pounds

Let’s start things off with one of the favorites among Commanders fans. Oladejo has been linked to the Commanders a lot in the pre-draft process, in part due to his connection to Washington. Commanders linebacker coach Ken Norton Jr. coached at UCLA for two years before joining Washington’s staff with Dan Quinn last year. Oladejo was a linebacker that converted to defensive end this year, so he was coached directly by Norton. Despite having inside information with Norton on staff, the Commanders have still met with Oladejo multiple times. They met with him at the senior bowl, attended his pro day and had him in for a top 30 visit too.

It’s easy to see why they have so much interest too. When you watch him play and hear him talk in interviews, he very much fits the profile of a Commander. He plays at 100% every single snap in a Frankie Luvu type of way. He’s very much willing to throw his body around and play physically, surprising some offensive lineman with his relentlessness and physicality.

But it is worth noting that Oladejo is raw as a pass rusher. As mentioned earlier, he was a linebacker that is transitioning to edge rusher. So while the playstyle and character fits perfectly, the talent as a defensive end isn’t one that merits a first round pick just yet. He has developed a nice cross chop move, using his inside arm to chop across the body of a tackle and knock the tackle’s outside arm down, clearing a path to the edge. However, he’s overly reliant on that move at this point in time and doesn’t have enough other moves to build out a dynamic rush plan. That’s not unsurprising given his recent transition to edge rusher, but it leaves him a little too raw to be taken at 29, at least in my opinion.

The upside of that rawness as a pass rusher is that he has experience as a linebacker. That means he’s capable of dropping off the edge and into coverage. The Commanders used a lot of simulated pressures last year, with Frankie Luvu or Bobby Wagner joining the rush and a defensive end sinking back into coverage to replace them. Oladejo would be a prime candidate to drop off the edge into coverage on those types of schemes because of his history playing linebacker and how comfortable he is moving backwards.

He’s maybe a little undersized too, for a traditional 4-3 defensive end at least. He’s more of a 3-4 outside linebacker profile. In obvious rush situations, that wouldn’t really matter, especially in the modern NFL. But as a run defender, he can sometimes be overpowered and pinned inside. Again, the willingness to be physical is there, and when he faces pulling guards on power/counter runs, he’ll attack them and often blow them up. But when he’s asked to set the edge on a tackle or beat a downblock, he can be overpowered, in part due to size but also in part due to inexperience. I would expect this to improve in time as he learns the position better, but again at this point in time it’s raw.

Overall there’s a lot to like about him from an upside and development standpoint. He sounds like the type of character worth betting on too. But he’s still raw as an edge defender and will need some good coaching to get the most out of him, which could take some time. The versatility he could provide as an edge rusher with coverage skills, as well as being able to move around and rush from different spots, is intriguing though and would be worth keeping an eye on if he’s available for the Commanders on day two.

David Walker, Central Arkansas. 6’1”, 263 pounds

Walker is a very fun player to watch and super easy to like. He’s undersized and comes from a smaller school and his lack of length could cause him issues at the next level, but he has crazy power. He turns that disadvantage of being small into an advantage by playing low and exploding up into blockers with incredible power and leverage. Very few tackles are able to get under him, making it hard to anchor against that power, enabling him to bull rush them backwards towards the quarterback.

The issue for Walker will be making the jump from a smaller school to the NFL, where the level of competition is significantly higher and much more consistent. NFL tackles are a different breed, with size, length and weight off the charts. Power does always play at the next level, so Walker has that going for him, but there’s also reasons why teams have thresholds on things like size and arm length for certain positions. There’s not many guys with that frame that succeed at the defensive end position in the NFL because tackles are just too big and athletic for them to win. So Walker would have to break a trend, but he does have rare power and leverage advantages that could give him a shot.

If you want to take a bet on anyone on the third day of the draft, why not an undersized edge rusher from a small school with freaky power and a chip on his shoulder to prove he can make it at the highest level? He might not ever become a top pass rusher, but he could develop into a stout run defender on the edge with good containment ability and the power to bullrush tackles back towards quarterbacks and tighten the pocket.

If the Commanders don’t come away with a top edge rusher at 29, Walker could be an intriguing option later in the draft, perhaps in the fourth round. The Commanders reportedly met him at the senior bowl, attended his pro day and had him in for a top 30 visit as part of the crew that went to top gold. So there is significant interest there. I’m not sure they’d circle back to him if they do land a top edge rusher, but if those guys are all off the board at 29, which is a legit possibility, then Walker could be in play later on.

Cornerbacks

Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky. 5’11”, 183 pounds