NFL Draft 2024 Rumors: Commanders Rebuffing No. 2 Pick Trade Calls amid Raiders Buzz
Mike Chiari@@mikechiari
Featured Columnist IVApril 23, 2024
The Washington Commanders are reportedly showing no interest in moving out of the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, teams looking to move up for a quarterback who contacted the Commanders about the No. 2 overall pick "are being told they are not moving."
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo confirmed the Commanders have shown "no indication" that they want to move out of their current draft slot.
Mike Garafolo @MikeGarafoloNot surprisingly, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Raiders?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Raiders</a> are among the teams who tested the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Commanders?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Commanders</a> on moving out of 2, even after Washington GM Adam Peters told the media the team planned to stick and pick, sources say. <a href="https://t.co/SgeGbVeGBU">https://t.co/SgeGbVeGBU</a>
Assuming the Chicago Bears go with USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick as expected, the Commanders will have their choice of the remaining quarterbacks, including LSU's Jayden Daniels, North Carolina's Drake Maye and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy.
Washington's interest in selecting a quarterback early is blatantly obvious given the moves the organization made this offseason, including trading quarterback Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks and signing Marcus Mariota to be a veteran backup.
Daniels is the heavy favorite to go to the Commanders, with NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah (h/t David Harrison of Commander Country) saying coaches and executives around the league are "overwhelmingly convinced" Washington will take Daniels.
The 23-year-old Daniels is an electric dual-threat quarterback who is coming off one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in college football history.
Daniels completed 72.2 percent of his passes for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions, and he also rushed for 1,134 yards and 10 scores en route to winning the Heisman Trophy.
Joe Burrow was the last LSU quarterback to win the Heisman, and the Cincinnati Bengals' decision to take him first overall in 2020 worked out well, as Cincinnati reached the Super Bowl in his second season.
Much like the Commanders are now, the Bengals were struggling mightily before Burrow's arrival, going 2-14 in 2019.
Washington went 4-13 last season, but it has been active in free agency, hired a new head coach in Dan Quinn and is almost certainly poised to draft its new franchise quarterback.
As for teams looking to trade up for a quarterback, the New England Patriots at No. 3, Arizona Cardinals at No. 4 and Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5 are likely the teams to call.
The Patriots need a quarterback in their own right, but if they rate Maye and McCarthy significantly below Williams and Daniels, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that they could trade out and accumulate more draft assets to address some of their many needs.
The New York Giants at No. 6, Minnesota Vikings at No. 11, Denver Broncos at No. 12 and Las Vegas Raiders at No. 13 all need a quarterback to varying degrees, but it doesn't seem as though they can move up to No. 2 overall to get one.
