Commanders News: Draft grade, Andre Jones, Ron Rivera and Emmanuel Forbes

Ron Rivera on new Commanders RB

There was always a high likelihood of the Washington Commanders providing Eric Bieniemy with another weapon at the skill positions during the 2023 NFL Draft. The new play-caller had to wait a while, but they managed to pick up Chris Rodriguez Jr. in the sixth round.

The former Kentucky star is a powerful presence with the patience and vision to potentially carve out a rotational role for himself. Rodriguez will start behind Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson on the depth chart, but coming in as relief cannot be dismissed if he impresses enough this offseason.

Head coach Ron Rivera stated his belief in Rodriguez via Sports Illustrated and there is clear excitement surrounding the pick. More importantly, this was someone Bieniemy was eager to acquire and sees as a perfect fit for his system.

"“[We] feel very good about what we have with AG [Antonio Gibson] and we continue see the growth and development with B-Rob [Brian Robinson]. I mean, those are two young guys that we like a lot. Adding a physical player in Christopher is a guy that, talking to Eric (Bieniemy) and what Eric wants to do and how he wants to use him, in Eric’s mind, this is a guy that will fit what he wants. We’re pretty excited about being able to pick him. We had a higher grade on him too as well. So, we thought we got a lot of value here.”"

There are some things for Rodriguez to clean up in terms of pass-catching, route running out of the backfield, and from a blocking standpoint before further confidence in the player emerges. However, if anyone knows how best to maximize the production of late-round running backs based on recent history, it’s Bieniemy.