Grading the Washington Commanders’ 2022 NFL Draft

R2, P47 Phidadrian Mathis IDL, Alabama

The pick of Mathis does two things for Washington: gives an immediate replacement to Matt Ioannidis and a potential long-term replacement to Daron Payne. Ioannidis played about 50% of the snaps last year in the Nation’s Capital, so expect Mathis to have a prominent role in year one.

Mathis is strong at the point of attack. He has strong hands and above average play strength that makes him stout against the run. He understands and reads the play early, plays with gap integrity and uses his strong hands to work through the offensive linemen to the ball carrier. Mathis should contribute from day one, as a run defender.

However, Mathis certainly has his weaknesses. His advanced hand usage works to his advantage as a pass rusher. He has a set of pass-rush moves, including a swim move that he used to compile 9 sacks in his senior year. He struggles at times to create power and push the linemen back, and his lack of elite athleticism is noticable.

Mathis also has leadership traits, as he elected by his teammates as permanent captain in December.

Mathis could always improve but he is already 24, so his cieling may be capped. Martin Mayhew calls his ability to rush the passer “sneaky” which is an apt description. Mathis will contribute from day one, be a solid run defender and the hope is he can grow into a better pass rusher. I would have taken Travis Jones from UConn here if the pick was interior defensive linemen, or Jaquan Brisker the safety from Penn State. But Mathis will contribute early.

Grade: C+ 

R3, P98 Brian Robinson Jr RB, Alabama

With the third-round selection they acquired in the trade-down from 11, the Commanders addressed one of their underrated needs, running back. While Antonio Gibson’s talent is exciting, his lack of down-to-down consistency is concerning. And Gibson had 6 fumbles in 2021, another concerning trend.

Robinson will provide a smash-mouth mentality, to compliment Gibson and J.D. McKissic. He already is advanced in pass-protection and he has solid hands out of the backfield, so he has the ability to play on all three downs.

Robinson doesn’t get taken down on first contact. He posses above average contact balance and a “mean streak” that will allow Washington to set the tone with their running game. Robinson may not be the most explosive back in the draft, but his long speed is good enough that he still can create chunk plays.

The role of Antonio Gibson and JD McKissic won’t be diminished with the selection of Robinson. If anything, it will keep them more fresh as the three-headed attack of Gibson, McKissic and Robinson won’t force any of the backs to take on the majority of the load.

The former member of the Crimson Tide backfield, has a strong chance to contribute early. And he will most likely take the mantle as “RB1” when Gibson’s and McKissic’s contracts are up. However, again Washington could’ve probably gotten better value here. LB Leo Chenal and CB Zyon McCollum were on the board here. Both are high-upside players, with strong athletic profiles at positions of need.

Grade: B- 

Overall thoughts: As is clear, I like both players the Commanders selected on day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft. I just thought they could have gotten better value out of the players they selected. But anyways value is a subjective term and I expect both to contribute early and often for Washington. I am just not sure that their upside warrants higher picks.