3 prospects Commanders confusingly passed on to draft Phidarian Mathis

1. Jaquan Brisker

It’s only fitting Brisker gets the top spot on this list considering he was the player drafted directly after Mathis at No. 48 overall. The Penn State safety fell right into the Commanders lap and they bafflingly passed in favor of Mathis. It almost served the front office right that Brisker went off the board to Chicago right after.

While it’s tough to tell whether Brisker would fill the Buffalo nickel role left in Landon Collins’ wake, his potential as a safety seen Kam Curl moved to the nickel, where he’s flashed real potential in limited opportunities.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Brisker was one of just two BFS player to log 400 snaps at safety, 100 snaps at inside linebacker and 100 snaps at slot corner last season. That sure reads like player capable of playing the nickel, no?

Brisker earned second-team Associated Press All-American and first-team all-conference honors in 2021 despite playing through a shoulder injury. He started 12 games and racked up 64 tackles, six for loss, two interceptions and five pass breakups. Simply put, Brisker would’ve added a playmaking presence that the Commanders secondary has lacked for a long time.

It felt like it was all coming together for Washington to take their second straight Nittany Lion … until it wasn’t.