Commanders 3-round 2024 NFL mock draft: Foundation building edition
By Dean Jones
Commanders draft T.J. Tampa
- Cornerback | Iowa State Cyclones
- Round No. 2 | No. 40 overall
The Washington Commanders could use another productive cornerback capable of helping on the defensive rotation immediately. Kendall Fuller departed for the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Michael Davis might help, but acquiring another dynamic young figure to become a long-term, dependable presence should be addressed during the 2024 NFL Draft.
This bears more significance when one considers Benjamin St-Juste is entering a contract year and the jury is still out on last year's first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes. Adding a wide receiver here is another possibility, but the wideout class is much deeper with value further down the pecking order.
T.J. Tampa boasts the size and scope normally associated with highly productive cornerbacks at the next level. He's a fast mover with eye-catching explosiveness and a quick-twitch turning ability to mirror wide receivers at all three levels of the field. This is matched by solid technique in coverage and enough strength to get wideouts off their routes quickly in press situations.
Tampa has the sort of high football IQ that can be a major asset within Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr.'s defensive scheme. If the Iowa State prospect can work on improving his tackling technique, someone is going to have a real player on their hands.
Quinn and Whitt are renowned talent developers within the secondary. If someone like Tampa comes into the organization, it would be a shock if he wasn't ready to make his presence felt from Week 1.