The Washington Commanders have four games left to navigate this season. However, with the team on an eight-game losing run at 3-10, fans have already turned their focus on what comes next.
Nobody expected the Commanders to be struggling so much. Head coach Dan Quinn's squad was among the primary Super Bowl favorites this season. Injuries haven't helped, but it's clear this exciting project isn't as far along as fans thought after their memorable run to the NFC Championship game.
General manager Adam Peters has a significant amount of hard work ahead when the 2026 offseason arrives. The Commanders could have over $100 million in available salary-cap space, but they also have the most pending free agents of any club. There is also the small matter of six draft picks — two of which are in the first four rounds.
The Commanders have a top-five pick as things stand. That could improve or worsen, depending on how they fare over the next month. Either way, it'll give Peters several options, including the prospect of trading down for additional assets if one of the top quarterbacks in a weak-looking class is still there for the taking.
Using the Pro Football Network simulator, we looked at this scenario and what it might yield in our new Commanders' seven-round mock draft.
Commanders' 7-round 2026 NFL mock draft triggers dream opening twist
Commanders draft Sonny Styles
- Linebacker | Ohio State Buckeyes
- Round No. 1 | Pick No. 20
The Commanders landed a dream trade-down scenario with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza still on the board. Whether he'll make it that far down the pecking order remains to be seen, but this would provide general manager Adam Peters with enough leverage to get a king's ransom back in return.
The Pittsburgh Steelers duly obliged, and the Commanders have more to work with this year and next. Given the problems Washington faces, more assets will only help its cause.
This is an exceptional linebacker class. Sonny Styles might be the most underrated of them all. He's flying under the radar due to Arvell Reese's exceptional surge, but he's a first-round lock with the potential to have a sensational NFL career barring injury.
Styles is a typical off-ball linebacker with outstanding playmaking traits in all three phases. The Commanders need help at the defensive second level if Bobby Wagner retires after the campaign, and this would be the perfect plug-and-play option.
With more picks to utilize in the later rounds and next year, the Commanders could take the best player available. And Styles represents precisely that at this stage of the first round.