Commanders Mock Draft: The Kenny Pickett Show 2.0

Washington’s draft ends here, with a significant trade up to add a piece that can also play in a special teams role immediately, but also provides the upside necessary to be a trade-up candidate.

Washington’s free-safety position is spotty at best, with no definite answer long-term and veterans like Bobby McCain, Troy Apke, Jeremy Reaves and others simply not being “the guy” at the position.

The Commanders go ahead and trade their sixth-rounders in both 2022 and 2023, in addition to their 7th round pick in 2022 and trade with the New York Jets to snag their 145th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The Washington Commanders add the fifth-best safety in all of college football last season, a safety that has true sideline-to-sideline range and is also one of the surest tacklers as a defensive back, in Illinois stud Kerby Joseph.

Kerby Joseph was a really solid free safety in college for the Fighting Illini, showing off strong ball instincts and versatility to be a split-zone, deep-zone, slot corner, any kind of DB you need, Kerby looks comfortable playing across the board.

Last season in particular, Joseph posted a coverage grade of 90.6 via Pro Football Focus that placed him in the upper 90th percentile among all safeties in college football. He forced an incompletion rate of 21.1% last season, but his play as a safety doesn’t stop at superb coverage ability.

Joseph also was able to showcase his run-stopping ability by shooting the gaps and wrapping up effectively, with a missed tackle rate of 9.5%, which placed him in the upper 70th percentile among safeties.

Joseph really would be a home-run addition for Washington in the 5th round, as he can come in and contribute in a role both on special teams and as your free safety immediately. There are some aspects of his game that must be cleaned up, but he’d be a great value pick on Day 3.