4 draft pick re-dos that could’ve changed Commanders’ entire recent history

1. Justin Herbert over Chase Young (2020)

This one comes with a huge caveat, obviously. Chase Young was always going to be the selection for Washington at No. 2 overall two years ago. At the time, Dwayne Haskins was still in the fold and Young, a Maryland native, was considered a generational talent and surefire superstar at a premier position.

In addition, Ron Rivera recently admitted that Joe Burrow was the only player whom Washington would’ve drafted over Young. As we know, the former LSU superstar was drafted first overall by his hometown Bengals.

With that out of the way, we can dream about what could have been had the Commanders drafted Justin Herbert over Young. Long story short, they’d be one of the favorites to represent the top-heavy NFC in the Super Bowl.

Already considered a top-five player at the position, Herbert is on a Hall of Fame trajectory after just two seasons. The Chargers phenom has the most passing yards (9,350) and completions (839) through the first two seasons of a career in NFL history. In 2021 alone, Herbert set the Chargers single-season records for touchdowns (38), passing yards (5,014) and completions (443).

As a rookie, Herbert set the record for most passing touchdowns with 31 and most games with 300 or more passing yards with eight. So long as the Chargers surround him with a stable infrastructure– offensive line, weapons, defense, coaching, etc. — Herbert has the talent to lead them to multiple Super Bowls.

This isn’t all to say we regret the Young pick. It was obvious at the time and we firmly believe he’ll live up to his potential after a disappointing sophomore season. With that said, there’s really no comparing him and Hebert. It’s just crazy to think Herbert, another generational talent, was taken four picks later.