The biggest mistake the Commanders could make in the 2022 NFL Draft

Though we’re still three weeks from opening night, the 2022 NFL Draft will be over before you know it. It’s kind of like free agency in a sense. The weeks of anticipation are both thrilling and exhausting, but once the legal tampering period gets underway the first wave is gone in the blink of an eye.

For the Washington Commanders, their performance in the draft will be far more consequential than anything they do in free agency.

They learned this the hard way by selecting Kentucky linebacker Jamin Davis No. 19 overall last year. In doing so, the Commanders passed on cornerbacks Greg Newsome and Eric Stokes, wideout Elijah Moore and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, each of whom are already solid every-week starters.

While Davis obviously isn’t a bust, it’s clear he was over drafted. Luckily for the Commanders they’ll get the chance to rectify the pick with the No. 11 selection. With such a high pick, it’s hard to envision them fumbling the bag.

Whether it be the best wide receiver available, Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton if he falls, or Sauce Gardner, there’s at least three different avenues for Washington to get a solid return on investment with their first pick.

You know what would be an unforgivable mistake, though? Drafting another linebacker in Round 1.

The Commanders drafting another LB in the first round would be a colossal mistake.

You know the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”? That’d be the perfect way to describe the Commanders drafting a linebacker in the first round for the second year in a row. That’s nothing against Devin Lloyd or Nakobe Dean, the two LBs projected to go in Round 1 this year, but the position has lost a ton of value over the years.

If you take a look at some of the best linebackers in the league — Bobby Wagner, Darius Leonard, Fred Warner, Lavonte David, Eric Kendricks, Roquan Smith and De’Vondre Campbell — only Wagner and Smith were taken in the first round.

History suggests waiting until the second or third round is smarter. Look no further than last year’s draft. While Davis and Zaven Collins were drafted in Round 1, the best linebackers from the class were the Browns’ Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and the Chiefs’ Nick Bolton.

Between Wyoming’s Chad Muma, Alabama’s Christian harris, Wisconsin’s Leo Chanel, Georgia’s Quay Walker and Channing Tindall, Oklahoma’s Brian Asamoah, Penn State’s Brandon Smith, LSU’s Damone Clark and Montana State’s Troy Anderson, there are ample mid-round talents to choose from this year.

With Cole Holcomb and Jamin Davis locked in as the likely starters in the classic nickel package, the Commanders don’t have to extend themselves for a LB. The need for more depth is glaring, but not glaring enough to the point where we’d bypass on a readymade receiver, a dynamic safety or elite corner for one.

Whether it be Garrett Wilson, Kyle Hamilton, Sauce Gardner, Drake London, Chris Olave, Jameson Williams or Treylon Burks, give us any one of those players over a linebacker for the Commanders with the No. 11 overall pick.

Anything else would a gross miscalculation.